Timeless. Beautiful. And full of surprises. Today we take a river trip on the Upper Dells. Not only is this place gorgeous, it's full of memories from my childhood. There are still "Yogi Bear" and "Woodsy Owl" places in America and this is one of them. The format hasn't changed much over the years. The Dells are the same as they were when my Grandparents and family brought me here over 30 years ago and they still delight people from around the world.
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| Barn Swallow |
As a birder, the barn/cliff swallows were everywhere! It was a tight trip with a firm schedule. It was tricky because I wanted to capture all the swallows shooting in and out of the holes in the sandstone rock! It was very cool, but I didn't have control over the time and could take only what was present at the moment. The pic below is the best I could get on this tour.
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| Cliff Swallow |
People always tease me and say vacation with me isn't vacation at all:) That's not true at all. I just believe that if you spend all this money to go somewhere and prep for several weeks to be out of your house, you should utilize your time wisely and not waste any of it. I watch a lot of people in my circles sit and watch TV inside a building on their vacation. I can do this in Tucson! My parents joke with my other siblings...."Oh I'm sure your brother will keep you busy." And I do:) Sitting around is fine but not for most of the day (unless you are sick). So my other half lets me do the planning for certain vacation periods.
It was a hot and humid day around the Dells but once on the boat, we had the nice cool breezes and shade from the forest and river. Wisconsin Dells is expensive so plan ahead. It's a great family environment as they have a lot of Water Parks for the kids. Plus the shops are made for those who like to buy things. And I think they sell fudge at every other store. Not my scene but a lot of tourists seemed to like it.
There are miles and miles of cliffs like this one. I searched high and low for bear or deer, but mostly it gave me time to unwind and have a nice conversation with Pat. If you go this time of year, remember to bring sunscreen, a hat, and of course....water. You'll get thirsty.
And of course people who LOVE geology will love all the rock formations along the way. They have a lot of nicknames for several of the areas with strange rock sculptures like the "Pancake". I didn't place that pic on here because I didn't want to ruin the surprise. It's really neat to witness live.
Along the way, we stopped in shady glens. We got off the boat and did some walking around the wall to wall cliff path. They were a nice relief from the humidity. Cool, breezy....and full of ferns!
I wish we had more time to spend in these areas. Lovely spots to imagine a world of fairies and unicorns.... or contemplate our past, present and future goings.
A dog jumped across from one cliff to another and everyone ooo'd and ahhhh'd at this German Shephard.
My eyes spotted more than swallows. I actually got some great Great Blue Heron shots on this vacation! People laughed at me because they are such a common bird back in Wisconsin. But when I said I was from the desert, they understood:) However, they do live in Tucson:) Just trickier to capture because they are so far away sometimes.
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| Great Blue Heron |
There are two tours. The Lower Dells and the Upper Dells. Both are quite lovely. They happen all day long. This particular tour was 2 and half hours so give yourself some time in the morning or afternoon to check this gorgeous river out. Before I leave, I just wanted to apologize for the malware notice that popped up yesterday if you tried to view the cranes post. It was unfortuneatly on another person's blog that showed up on my blogroll. Unfortuneatly, I had to prevent the blog from reappearing on the side bar. If you ever get a notice, please email me. This is the 2nd blog that was attacked this month in the blogosphere(that I know of). It's not the blogger's fault, but it happens within the links attached to their posts. I am working on several special posts scheduled for the end of this month and into August. More tomorrow.....
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(so I can take you out of my malware quarantine folder again ;~)
ReplyDeleteHello there, this will be the last time you have to do this as it is my last time using the blogroll. I have a 3 strikes policy. This is the 3rd time it's happened with that function and therefore, it's off my blog. Sorry that you had the issues.
DeleteI've been through Wisconsin a few times but the driver I was with was one that would.not.deviate.anywhere from the freeway. Yes. It caused many a -shall we say - spat? But I loved that state. I'd like to go back again and see what I didn't get to see. :)
ReplyDeleteI know people like this! I've had the same issues. Oh does it drive me nuts. It's better knowing the driver before the trip and from this point, I only go with certified road stoppers:)
DeleteA beautiful place to visit, I was there in 1980, cool birds and rock formations!
ReplyDeleteI think the most that has changed are the roads(wider) and the price increases:)
Deleteit has been many years since i was there (class field trip). i remember those duck boats. :)
ReplyDeleteThey still have the duck boats!:) We just didn't have time to wait for them. Classics:)
DeleteWonderful photos of the beautiful dells! Glad you had a nice time.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful day to be out. It was a nice escape.
DeleteI remember the Dells from childhood also. A fun place to play. Of course I wasn't a birder then or knew anything about geology.
ReplyDeleteVacations are for having exploring more than a TV.
That's the reason I went back. Older eyes and it was nice to see those things differently. I didn't remember the swallows or some of the other things. Still lot of fun.
DeleteQué bonita es la tierra.. Cuidémosla.. :-)))
ReplyDeleteEn algunas parts, hacen muy buen trabajo en su conservacion....pero en otras, tenemos que mejorar el plan. Este lugar no ha cambiado mucho.
DeleteWow! What stunning features!? I had no idea there were these sorts of landforms in Wisconsin. Very cool!
ReplyDeleteI know....there are lots of areas like this around the Great Lakes area. The Cliff Swallow show was incredible. The revisit was good with new birder eyes. Definitely worth a vacation during the summer or fall.
DeleteWhat a beautiful area. We missed out on this space on our trip to WI. Love all the rocks.
ReplyDeleteI know. We missed out on Macinac island this time around....too much to do and see.:(
DeleteA lovely place to see, and glorious pictures as well.
ReplyDeleteI would enjoy touring around the Dells. It is a very pretty place. Love the rock formations and the swallows. I am amazed at how far the German Shepherd was able to jump. Your photos are wonderful, thanks for sharing your tour.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos! I visited the Dells many years ago and had forgotten how lovely they are!
ReplyDeleteWisconsin is a state I have never visited - thanks for taking me along. :)
ReplyDeleteOh i love walking those pathways beneath the rockwalls, and seeing creatures every now and then! Regarding malware, i read your reply to Diana, i don't know what to do when i open someone's blog in my roll and it says there is malware. What should i do? thanks.
ReplyDeleteUsually if you see that malware notice, I'd just not click on it at all until the owner clears it up. In the case of the blogger, it's usually a link that the blog owner attached to the post. So if you click on their blog, it would probably still be okay as long as you didn't click on that link within their post. It's been happening too much lately in the blogoshere. Just email the owner and let them know so that they can clean up the link(s). Hope you have a good week. Kreesh:)
DeleteLove the swallows, I took some shots of a family of swallows nesting right above the door of a busy supermarket, they do make their nests in the oddest spots! I so agree about the getting out and exploring, my family always say coming on holiday with me is exhausting, but i like to see everything..why go if not!!
ReplyDeleteThe Dells are place I have always wanted to visit, but you can keep the fudge shops. Give me some hiking boots and a kayak to paddle and I will be set. I know exactly what you mean about staying busy on vacation, as I want to go and see as much as possible. Last week on vacation I had to wake my wife each day so we could get going. I only have a few weeks, she being a teacher (Spanish also) has all summer.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful scenery Chris and the rock formations are out of this world.
ReplyDeleteSo great to see such a timeless magical place and yes I can imagine unicorns and fairies too :) and its great to know there are some places that remain the same.
Sorry about the lack of comments for a few days - I hope you won't be offended but I did get the malware notice and guessed it was a link to another blog but I decided to give it a few days in the hope it would disappear and yes it has!! So thanks for explaining. I didn't realise these things could happen so thanks so much for the warning. So relieved I can get back on your blog now without any problems :)
Amazing eroded rock formations! I would love to explore those places. Great shots!
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