Anniversary Trip to Wisconsin Dells

Matt & I just celebrated our 11th anniversary. We decided, last minute, that we would go as a family to Wisconsin Dells. We wanted to get away for a few days and enjoy the last few days of the kid's spring break. We knew that we would be able to get some great deals with the cooler weather...and smaller crowds! Just what we need for our young family!

We left at 8:00 on Friday morning. Our goal was to hit a handful of letterboxes in the Madison area and get to the hotel by dinnertime. Our first stop was to grab the "I-39: Dead Too Soon" box. Another beautiful carve by Krait! Quick stop for lunch and onward to Verona, WI. We were able to snag 4 boxes - "Reading by Matchlight", "Hometown Letterbox", "Happy Birthday Green Bird" and "Morning Delight".

We got to the hotel, checked in and drove into the Dells to witness the "Waterpark capital of the World". Even the twins sat in awe! We decided on Moosejaw for dinner. I was hesitant to take 4 young kids (who had been in a van all day!) into a sit down restaurant on a Friday night! I was pleasantly surprised with no wait and the family friendly atmosphere (I don't know why I didn't expect that??). The kids were given moose ears and chalkboards to color on.

It took a while for the kids to finally drift off to sleep...but they finally did! We woke up the next morning and headed out to do the touristy things!! First stop was at the Welcome Center to get discount coupons...but they weren't open yet, so we headed back to Baraboo to try to find 2 letterboxes. With a little luck, we were able to find "Pugzo the Clown" and "Mounds of the Midwest Series: Man Mound". Cool history for both of these places!

We headed back to the Dells to purchase our tickets. We first headed to the Lost Canyon. It is a horse drawn "carriage" ride into a canyon carved by the glaciers so many years ago. It is beautiful...

We decided it would be good to eat lunch at this point before the restaurants got too busy. We headed to Buffalo Phils and boy, that was probably the favorite part of the trip for everyone! We got there early enough and asked if we could sit by the train (it delivers the meals). We were able to get the "bar" seats and have front row seats to see the train. The kids absolutely loved it! They also received buffalo hats and a pass/tokens to play at Knuckleheads (next door).
We left Buffalo Phils and made our way to the Wisconsin Ducks. This was the one thing I wanted to do. When I was a child, my family went to the Dells but we did a "regular" tour boat ride. I really wanted to do the Duck ride so I said that at some point I would go back and do that for myself. We went looking for another letterbox but couldn't find the park (even after stumping a few welcome center clerks!). We decided to stop at the R & GN railway to take a ride - another success!


We stopped at Knuckleheads on the way back to the hotel and used our free passes from lunch. The kids had a blast in the big play area - we were there over an hour. We picked up dinner for the kids and headed back to the hotel - leaving just enough time to swim for an hour or so. The kids fell asleep instantly! Matt went to Subway and we celebrated our 11th anniversary over sub sandwiches and watching Deadliest Catch!

We got another early start Sunday morning. We had a handful of boxes that we wanted to get and still get home at a decent time. Mount Horeb Troll was the first stop. A great stamp and we loved looking at all the troll statues in town...very cool, even for non-troll fans!

We looked for "Ebbenezer says..." and "Mushroom Mania" in Blue Mound...but only successful with the latter box. It got too muddy and long for use to continue on. We decided to forego and move on.

"Mining Wisconsin" was the next box - we loved reading the rich history of Wisconsin through so many clues / boxes!!

Our last stop for letterboxing was in Platteville, WI. I have seen this M since I was a child...now I got to climb to the top...all 262 stairs!! It felt wonderful to do this as a family. My kids never cease to amaze me.

We arrived home around 6:30 - just in time to unload and give quick baths to get ready for back to school! I found that we brought home some extra souvenirs - ticks!! urgh. I shutter as I type!!