Waterpark Capital... Wisconsin Dells

We made it to the Wisconsin Dells, better known as the Waterpark Capital of the World and boy do they mean it. Even the cheapy hotels had some sort of water slide in it. It has to be one of the biggest tourist traps, I mean ... destinations that I have seen. About 20-30 waterparks, with about 10 of those being very large scale amusement/water parks. 

Can you imagine seeing this going down the street.

We stayed at the KOA while we were here and went roaming through town. Unfortunately, the parks closed about 7pm and we worked until 5pm, but we did get to see many of them. We also got to go on a Dinner Cruise up the Wisconsin River (Upper and Lower Dells) with Jason and Carol. That was sure pretty. They served steak and lobster... very yummy.

I love watching the sun go down.

Well, we received notice that the house finally has been sold... well, in reality, the bank bought it back, but either way.. it is no longer ours. The kids are working on their move out plans and we are headed back, once again, to put our stuff into storage and hand over keys. Thought we could do this remote, but the storage company needs to see Delbert since he is the only one registered on the motorcycle. Oh well... nice 1800 mile trip, but at least we have about 4 weeks to do it in.... so next stop Iowa and Nebraska.

You can view videos at Delbert's Videos on YouTube.

Gotta run.....

The Twin Cities....Minnesota

Minnesota is nicknames the Land of 10,000 Lakes... well I think I saw half of them just driving in from North Dakota. Every few miles there was more water. We stayed just outside of the Twin Cities at a campground called St Paul East RV Park. It was a nice park and close to shopping. Also, Mall of America was only about 20 miles. We didn't know it was here until we saw the signs coming into town. We decided to take a drive out there and see what it was all about. WOW... First, it was built where the old Vikings/Twins stadium was. There is even a plaque in the amusement park part of the mall where the home plate used to be. It is 4 stories and yes for those who didn't catch it the first time... has an amusement park in it along with an aquarium. Lots of shopping and restaurants.

Our next task was to look around the Twin Cities. We like to pick a few places to see... usually historical or trendy I guess is the word I would use. For instance, we saw the Capitol, a couple of beautiful churches, ball parks and bridges, but we all so the Mary Tyler Moore statue. This statue is in the place where they filmed her throwing her beret in the air in the opening credits.

Also while we were here, we had a nice dinner and visit with a friend of Delbert's, Ken. It was a really fun time and boy can his wife cook.

We head to Wisconsin next.

You can view videos at Delbert's Videos on YouTube.

Gotta run.....

North Dakota

Hey there. We made it through the storm in South Dakota and headed North to...... you guessed it, North Dakota. Really this is just an overnight stop so I can add it to my map and it doesn't look any different than South Dakota. We stayed at Lindenwood Campground in Fargo, ND. It was a pretty park on the river. We didn't find a whole lot to see around there, but we did eat dinner at Pop's Roadside Eatery which shares its kitchen with Mom's Diner and Tailgator Sports Bar. Pretty neat place, 3 restaurants in one and the food wasn't bad either.

Well our next stop is the Twin Cities.

You can view videos at Delbert's Videos on YouTube.

Gotta run.....

Little House in De Smet

I made it. I got to the Ingalls Homestead in the town of De Smet, SD. So cool to know that Laura use to live here. The town of DeSmet keeps here memory alive... Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway, Laura Ingalls Wilder Pagent Society, Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society and Laura Ingalls Wilder Elementary school are all there. The Homestead sits about a mile or two from De Smet. 

Laura was born in Pepin, WI. She moved with her family from Pepin, WI to Independence, KS to Walnut Grove, MN to Burr Oak, IA back to Walnut Grove, MN to De Smet, SD where Pa, Ma and Mary stayed the rest of their lives. Laura, of course, married Almanzo and moved to Mansfield, MO.

The first winter in De Smet (1879-80),  the Ingalls stayed in the Surveyor's house below. Laura wrote about this house in the book, "By the Shores of Silver Lake".

Pa built the house below in 1887 and it is the last home for him, Ma and Mary. This is the original location and they have it filled with original items of the Ingalls family.

After viewing this house, we went to the cemetery to visit the grave sites of Pa, Ma, Mary, Carrie, Grace (with her husband) and Baby boy Wilder.

This was such an awesome trip and it was so nice to hear so much about Laura and her family.

Well we head to North Dakota on Saturday and the Twin Cities, Minnesota on Sunday for the week.

You can view videos at Delbert's Videos on YouTube.

Gotta run.....

Crusing the Coeur d'Alene Lake

We went for a dinner cruise today on the Coeur d'Alene Lake. Such a beautiful Lake and surrounding area. They had a great buffet with Prime Rib and Salmon on it and we cruised the lake for 2 hours while eating and chatting. Met a really nice lady, Stephanie with mom and son. The  Coeur d'Alene resort sits on this lake. There is a golf course where one of the holes is actually in the lake. If you make it on the green, then you go down and take a little boat called "The Putter" to the hole, finish your shot and then take it back.

It was a beautiful time to take the cruise.... not too hot, wind blowing a little and sunset happened while we were on it.

Well our next stops will be Missoula, Montana and then a long drive through Wyoming and South Dakota to get to Sioux Falls. I'll update you when we get there.

You can view videos at Delbert's Videos on YouTube.

Gotta run.....

Spokane and Northern Idaho

We are in Post Falls, Idaho. This is about 15 miles past Spokane, WA. We stayed here so I can put my Idaho sticker on my map. It is a very nice place. This whole area seems to have lots of lakes and streams. 

We went into Spokane and looked around. We were told that they had already "turned the falls off" so that was a little bit disappointing, but we drove by the Riverfront Park. They have some really neat statues throughout the park. One really neat one is called "The Joy of Running Together" and they look like a bunch of runners running around the park.

After spending a few hours looking around Spokane, we called it a day.

You can view videos at Delbert's Videos on YouTube.

Gotta run.....

Astoria, Oregon

Hello all... we made it to Astoria, OR. We stayed at the KOA near Fort Stevens State Park. He was a wonderful place. They had indoor pool & jacuzzi, a playground, basketball courts, horseshoes and All you can eat Pancake breakfast. It was nice and cool while we were there also. Astoria is a border town between Oregon and Washington right on the Columbia River. There is a beautiful view of the river. It is also where they filmed parts of Kindergarten Cop and the Goonies.

Astor Elementary used in Kindergarten Cop

As I said before, we stayed at the KOA that was across from Fort Stevens State Park. This is a really neat place. They have 4 or so parking areas that go out to the ocean and the beaches. One of the neat sites was the Iredale shipwreck. The Peter Iredale was a four-masted steel barque sailing vessel that ran ashore October 25, 1906.

Peter Iredale shipwreck, 105 years later

Fort Stevens is an old fort used during World War II. There were not many buildings left standing, but it is pretty cool to drive through.

Our next stop will be Spokane, Washington.

You can view videos at Delbert's Videos on YouTube.

Gotta run.....