A Push West

After a few weeks of ping-ponging back and forth between Wisconsin and Illinois, we figured it was time to get our pedal to the metal and keep moving west!

Once we left Wisconsin Dells our first time, we learned from a fellow traveler with dogs that the Wisconsin Dells Duck Tours are dog friendly. Since our general travel plan had us passing back through the area, we decided to give it a try! We had loved our glimpse of Wisconsin Dells, and especially the Wisconsin River, so this was a great opportunity to spend a little more time there and even get out on the river. So we booked our tickets with Original Wisconsin Ducks and headed back to the Dells.

I’d never taken a Duck Tour before, and they were a lot of silly fun. We boarded with Reese and Winston and Reese immediately made himself comfortable on the seat, which left Craig and I to squeeze into the other half. Our driver was kind enough to offer Craig a spot in his fold down passenger seat, so Winston and Craig got to play co-pilot for our tour! It started off driving through various nature preserves, including hopping along on some hills and through a gorgeous fern dell. Then vroom! We cruised right from the land onto the Wisconsin River. Our pilot pointed out several cool rock formations, like Hawk’s Bill, as we floated down the river. Then we were out of the water again, meandering through the gorgeous wilderness trail where we then sped down roller coaster hill. We rounded the corner to our last beautiful panoramic view of the Wisconsin River, before kicking the duck into gear again as we coasted into Lake of the Dells. After our scenic float on the lake, we were out of the water again and into two narrow gorges, where we got close looks at the sandstone and felt the cool air as we made our way through.

I was really glad we managed to swing back through Wisconsin Dells to take the duck tour! It’s always delightful finding unexpected pet friendly activities that allow us to get a different look at the town we’re visiting and get to experience some tourist silliness. The tour itself was also enjoyable. Our pilot made just the right amount of goofy jokes, we saw beautiful sights from new perspectives, and it was a really unique experience moving from land to water in the same vessel. And now Craig’s got some big dreams of converting an old duck to our next rolling home… and I for one, won’t complain about turning into The Wild Thornberrys!

After our thrill ride, we headed out to Perrot State Park for a relaxing night at a campground. As we travel, we’re always balancing a few considerations when deciding where to spend our nights, and in this case, we all needed a night in nature after our time in Chicago, and we also needed access to water to fill up our tanks. Our spot was so lovely and private, surrounded by lush greenery. We had wanted to spend more time by the fire, enjoying our little private oasis, but the mosquitoes in Wisconsin were vicious!

The next morning we did some hiking at Perrot, getting our first expansive looks at the Mississippi River. We headed up Brady’s Bluff first, before winding our way back up to Perrot Ridge. It was a beautiful day of hiking, but hot and humid, so we found a spot for Reese and Winston to splash around a bit before heading back to relax at our campsite. We opted for another night here because it was such a quiet and peaceful spot. I guess we forgot how terrible the mosquitos were, but at least we managed to eke out some s’mores on our second night!

The next day we continued heading west, pit stopping for some laundry and bus cleaning, before rewarding ourselves with a lunch at Villa Bellezza Winery. When I stumbled across this winery during our last visit to Wisconsin, I knew I wanted to make sure it made its way into our itinerary for our next journey through the state. They had the most charming little Italian piazza, where we sipped our wine in the sun and dined on delicious pizza and decadent tiramisu. I felt like we were temporarily teleported to Italy, and it was such a delightful stop as we said goodbye to Wisconsin.

Our route towards Minnesota took us along the Mississippi River, and Craig was awestruck by its size and wonder. Thankfully, there were a few pull offs along the road where we could stop and marvel at this expansive and beautiful river. It was a warm and lovely evening to pause and soak in the stunning natural beauty this country has to offer.

We finished our journey through Wisconsin and finally made our way to a new state - Minnesota! We spent the night in the outskirts of St. Paul, where a local map search led us to a Lebanese restaurant that had a vegetarian dish my Nana used to cook! My family is Lebanese, and it’s always exciting for me to find and try new Lebanese and Mediterranean restaurants in our travels. Our dinner was delicious, and it was extra nice to not have to cook on this hot Minnesota night!

The next morning we headed to Minnehaha Park to see the falls, but due to a terrible local drought, the falls were down to mere drips. We read a report that later in the week, the falls ran completely dry for the first time in a decade. Although we didn’t get to see much of the falls, the park was a beautiful spot for a morning stroll before we hit the road again to head further west into Minnesota.

Our next stop was one I’ve been looking forward to ever since we started planning our drive around America. The Largest Ball of Twine! This ball of twine in Darwin, MN has the modifier that it’s the largest made by a single man. I love weird American roadside attractions like this, but I didn’t know that there was quite the battle surrounding the all-important title of Largest Ball of Twine! Thankfully, my friend Kristen pointed me in the direction of a 99% Invisible podcast about the 2, no wait 3, actually make that 4, balls of twine currently in competition for the official title! I would definitely give the podcast a listen to, and check out the related pictures for more context, but in short, there’s debate over which of these 4 is the “largest ball of twine” because there’s no way to get everyone to agree on a definition of basically any of those words. Does “largest” mean by size or weight? Does “ball” mean it must be spherical? And what counts as “twine” - authentic sisal only, or do we allow modern nylon?

After listening to the podcast and seeing the Darwin, MN ball myself, I think I’m inclined to declare this “Largest Ball of Twine” my personal winner. Maybe on our journeys I’ll see the others and change my mind, but for the moment, I think it's most impressive that a single man rolled this perfectly round ball of twine all by himself.

With that final roadside stop, we said our goodbyes to Minnesota, and got ourselves ready for our next state - South Dakota!