Dells Ducks

For the last several summers we have had a tradition of going to the Wisconsin State Fair with grandma and grandpa Dorgan.  It started when we lived in the Milwaukee area and continued for the first 3 summers after we moved back to Illinois.  Those last 3 summers our annual Fair visit was an overnight trip to a hotel with a tiny little water park.  This year we decided to mix it up a bit and went to The Wisconsin Dells instead.

I have vague memories of going to the Dells with my family as a kid.  All I can really remember (besides staying in a cool motel with a pool) was eating at a place called Paul Bunyan's where you sat at picnic tables and ate with your hands.  We didn't get to re-live that childhood memory, but we did get to revisit another one ... the Dells Duck ride.



Having convinced the kids that it was an awesome experience, they were excited to go.



I even managed to convince Mark and my parents that it was a "must-do" activity on our trip.  What good sports they are.

 The kids did enjoy the ride and were especially thrilled the first time our land vehicle drove down into the water and floated like a boat!  Such a uniquely "Dells" experience : )

We spent some time on the Wisconsin River looking at rocks and cave formations, which were cool ...

... then we lost attention and started taking other photos of random things and each other ...

notice Jack in the background -- that's the face of boredom

The highlight of our 60 minute trip might have been the deer we spotted as we drove back to the starting point.

All in all I'd say that I enjoyed the Duck ride ... it was just like I had remembered it.

And the other 6 people on the trip simply endured the event to appease their mother/daughter/wife. 

Perhaps my kids will one day look back on the event with nostalgia and make their own children endure the ride.  And the cycle will live on.  Making it possible for the Duck business to continue charging a family of 7 over $100 for the 60 minute experience.  Surely that's how they've managed to stay in business for so long!