FIFTY STATES AWAYBright, early and rainy in Wisconsin, we were ready to start the adventures. Having had a couple of long days in the car we were pleased to get out in the fresh air. We have an usual set of activities planned so let’s get down to it! Our first stop was literally a five minute drive from our accommodation in the Wisconsin Dells area. We were visiting and taking a ride on a duck… Don’t worry mum no actual ducks were harmed in the making of today 😉
A duck in Wisconsin terms is a World War II amphibious vehicle! We both thought that this was just such a cool idea that we had to have a go, come rain or shine and today was definitely rain! We were however, pleased to find out that our perseverance paid off as it seems that the weather had held off most people. Making myself, Ben and our superbly funny tour guide the only people on board giving us a fantastic exclusive adventure! We both wished Ben’s dad could have enjoyed the experience, we reckon he would have a thoroughly good time on one of these!
This unusual vehicle is not only capable of travelling on land but in water and on both sandy and rocky terrain, switching seamlessly between them. Built in the 1940s this is truly an incredible piece of engineering, it has no problem reaching top speeds of 50mph on land and six knots on water, the ability of the thing to be controlled in either terrain in completely different ways is fascinating! I couldn’t help but think the duck would have been exceedingly handy when we were driving through the floods of Louisiana! Super excited, we boarded the seven ton vessell and off we went!
Our four mile adventure began with a trip into the woods, through trees and wildlife, up and down some pretty steep hills! There was quite a blind drop at one point, which our guide took great pleasure in joking that we were going off the edge as he’d sped down it! Before we knew it we’d reached the Wisconsin river, wondering if the change over was going to be bumpy we were in for a pleasant surprise as we slid effortlessly into the water, ready to take in a number of spectacular rock formations. The rocks are made from sandstone a rather unique feature we are told, and one that apparently can only be found in three other places in the world besides here; Switzerland, Germany and parts of New York.
After taking in the sights of the water, including the wildlife on the banks (a fox and a pelican) we headed to a sandy beach where the duck reverted to driving mode crunching over the sand before popping back into the waterway known as the Dell Creek. After a shot journey on this part of the lakes we were taken to see Newmans Dam, followed by another uphill drive on sand reaching a calm lake. It was here our tour guide came out with a cracking joke! Pointing through the duck to a house on the river banks behind us, he casually said ‘this house has nothing to do with the tour, but at least you can now say you’ve looked out of the rear end of a duck! Catching us off guard we had a good giggle!
It was now time to leave the water and speed off down into the rollercoaster woods and narrow canyons spotting deer along the way. After a fantastic activity we hoped to follow this with a horse carriage ride through some nearby canyons, however this was not to be! So we headed off to Illinois!
