Where Did We Go Wednesday? Devil's Lake State Park

Isn't the view from near the top amazing?

I'm not going to kid you this was no easy hiking to get to this spot. There was an easier route, which we took down, but it went through the woods and I really wanted to be overlooking Devil's Lake as much as the road took us.

Devil's Lake state park is in Baraboo Wisconsin which is near Wisconsin Dells. We met some family in Wisconsin Dells for the weekend but we left earlier so that we could do additional things besides water parks.

Hiking on this was a bit much for some of us and we should have brought along a lot more water than we did. Actually, it was the adults who remember to grab water bottles and the kids did not. We had severely underestimated the intensity of the hiking.

And is definitely worth checking out the state park if you are in the Wisconsin Dells area and want to get away from all the hubbub of water parks and shopping and tourist attractions.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Noah's Ark Waterpark in Wisconsin Dells

This is our 2nd year of going to Noah's Ark in Wisconsin Dells and meeting up with some family there. Noah's Ark is dubbed "America's Largest Waterpark" although, after looking at a post about best waterparks in the world I have to wonder if it is bigger than the ones in Florida. It may have been the largest at one point and is probably still the largest in the Midwest, but not sure if it is still the largest in America anymore. Regardless, it is so much fun and there is only one ride (the Scorpion) that my son can't go on because they have a minimum weight. This year he wanted to be "really brave" and go on everything and did go on a couple that he was too scared to go on this year. He was really proud of himself.

I don't have any pictures from inside the park because we choose not to carry anything around with us, which prevents anything from getting lost, forgotten or stolen. And this year we all had aqua socks so we didn't have to go to the shoe corrals after every ride. I highly recommend having water shoes to make things easier and more efficient. I heard someone ask about wearing their Keen sandals on the rides and they said it depended upon the ride and some they may be asked to take off.

Another thing I recommend is paying the extra $3 for premium parking (only if you can get there before they open so you can get a close spot). That $3 makes it easier to go out to eat snacks and meals at your vehicle which will save you a lot of money from having to buy it inside the park. Plus the entrance for the premium parking is right by the bathroom and is in a central location allowing you to choose which of the 4 major areas of the park you are going to as the other entrance (regular parking) bring your in to one of the major areas and you have to do more walking when you want to come/go to your vehicle.

It has been a fun trip to meet family there for a weekend vacation and gives my kids the opportunity to create some memories with family in the summer. To save some money, I had signed up for the newsletter from Noah's Ark and bought BOGO tickets (good any day of the season) in the spring. Read about last year's trip to Noah's Ark here.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Caribbean Club Resort

This year on our summer trip to meet some family in Wisconsin Dells we stayed at the Caribbean Club resort in Wisconsin Dells. We were heading to the Dells to go to Noah's Ark Waterpark as our feature event.

This Resort seems to have individually owned condos that the resort will rent out and take care of for the owners or in our case we found one that was privately owned and managed through VRBO.com. what you see in the interior pictures for mine is what our property owner has done and updated. I had read some reviews on TripAdvisor that some of the condos there are more dated. I highly suggest checking out vacation rental by owner and see what they have on there. This one was unit number 108.

The resort itself features a sand beach on Lake Delton which my kids enjoyed because as much as they get to swim they don't always get to play in the sand as much since they swim in pools a lot. On the property there is an indoor pool and hot tub and sauna in doors. There is also a outdoor pool with a waterfall and slide and children's Splash area with swings.

The resort does have docks that are available first come first serve so if you are renting a Motorcraft or bringing your own you could have a place to put it.

Since these are condos they have full kitchens, which is why we rented a condo because we wanted to be able to make many of our meals there which is a lot easier with traveling with kids.

Last year we had rented a cabin at a different Resort but that wasn't available so this year I went in search of another place and found this. A huge draw to this place is that it isn't overrun with people like some of the other hotels and Resorts have that are.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Granddad's Bluff in Lacrosse, WI

I haven't yet told you about our hike to the top of the Bluffs at Devil's State Park but this isn't it. This is Grandad's Bluff in Lacrosse Wisconsin. I think the fact that this was A drive up Bluff with a short walk was very appealing to my family after spending a strenuous day had Devil's Lake State Park followed by a full day of water slides at Noah's Ark Waterpark.

This was only about 10 minutes out of our way off of the interstate to go check it out. I was very impressed with the facilities up there they had full bathrooms, not Vault toilets for porta potties. There is also this very nice Stone Pavilion that had fireplaces on each end of it. On this day it was warm so no one was using the fireplace but I thought this would be a wonderful place to go during the Fall colors in August and look at the colors Over Lacrosse as well as areas of both Minnesota and Iowa that you can see. Lots of beautiful wild flowers are planted here as well. It is worth a drive to come check it out.

Where Did We Go Wednesday - Doc's Harley Davidson of Shawano County

Doc's Harley Davidson of Shawano County

We have been to Doc's Harley-Davidson of Shawano County twice now. It is a nice stop on our way across Wisconsin. It is not your usual Harley-Davidson store. It really is a tourist attraction. The owner has many animals that have been his pets for many years on display there. I have pictured some of them above but there are others that are not pictured. There is also a museum of different vehicles and antiques that is free to walk through as well. They also have a restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor here as well - one of the pictures in the collages of my kids on a pirate ship. It is a large wooden pirate ship that you can explore on your own. Definitely something you don't normally see. 

#ad 10% off Wisconsin Dells Attractions!!!! Plus My Review of them

My readers can get 10% off admission and popcorn using the code GREEN to Wizard Quest, Ripley's Believe It or Not and Oodlesmack Popcorn in Wisconsin Dells.

I received free passes to or samples to Wizard Quest, Ripley, and Oodlesmack in order to facilitate a review. All thoughts, opinions, and photographs are my own. No monetary compensation was received.

Wizard Quest

I had no idea what to expect when we went to Wizard Quest as this is not something I have really heard much about. When I explained it to my husband he said this would be the time when all of his video gaming skills where applicable to Something in real life. When you get there you get to choose from a variety of missions that are listed as being easy medium or hard. We chose one that was medium. You first have to complete your first mission then you are given for more submissions, or at least we got four more with the one we chose, to complete within 75 minutes.

If you answer something wrong on your Kindle that you are using to complete your mission, you will lose five minutes of time for each incorrect answer. Luckily we didn't answer incorrectly for anything. We had gotten through almost all of the submissions but we're not quick enough on answering the very last one which we were kind of bummed about.

On the mission was myself, my husband, my ten-year-old daughter and my six-year-old son. We had a lot of fun but some places are not very conducive 2 the height of my husband, which is 6'4. So he found himself getting frustrated because he kept hitting his head as we went through quickly trying to solve everything. In the end though he said it was actually a lot of fun. I could see us all going back here again to try the next medium mission.

Oodlesmack Popcorn


Free popcorn samples! They do offer free popcorn samples, but we opted to just let me pick out what one I really wanted which was birthday cake. I wouldn't say it was my top choice but considering I was with my family I figured it would be a choice that we all would agree upon. I really wanted something that was sweet instead of savory. And birthday cake was something we all enjoy. It did not disappoint at all. We all loved it and got to the bottom of our bag way to quickly. The coupon code included is for any readers to purchase popcorn online. It does not appear that the birthday cake flavor is available online but in the picture I have included you can see all of the flavors for purchase online.

Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum

I had not been to a Ripley's Believe It or Not museum since I was in junior high and we were on a vacation in Florida. I loved it then and I loved it now. My daughter has several Ripley's Believe It or Not books and was quite excited to see some real-life replicas in a museum and not just read about them in the book.

One of the nice things this location has to offer is it has a couple of secret passages and there are secret buttons as well. One of the rooms is sort of like in Indiana Jones Mission. There are rooms that come off of that where you have to find things. They had a lot of fun being able to be interactive. There were quite a lot of amazing things to view their and we had fun. We told my sister and her family who were vacationing with us that they needed to check it out next time they come to the Dells.

Bidder No. 4
You are playing Minute to Win It games.. Games cost $2 and you can earn 5 points per game if you finish the challenge in 1 minute. You turn the points in to buy antique-type prizes that start at 10 points. You can also get your name on the leader board if you are faster than someone else up there.

Wisconsin Dells DISCOUNTS!!!!!

I am so excited!!! We are heading to the Dells soon for a family trip and are meeting some other family there as well. We already have a cabin booked at a resort and plan to go to Noah's Ark. Now it's time to plan for some fun indoors (in case of rain) or to do before we can check in to our cabin. This Downtown Dells Discovery Pass is perfect. I can tell you already that my daughter is most excited to go to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.

But with this pass you get MORE than that. All of us will be happy because my son is super excited about Wizard Quest and my husband can't wait to try out Bidder No. 4, and me, well, I can't wait to taste the Oodlesmack Popcorn!

Discover the world's oddities at Ripley's Believe It or Not in the Wisconsin Dells. Featuring three floors with 11 amazing galleries, you will experience puzzling illusions as you examine the large eclectic collection of odd and interesting things you will never see anywhere else. Become an explorer and survive the curse of King Tut as you travel the dark cavernous tunnels of his Egyptian temple. Continue your exploration and unveil objects hidden throughout the museum and decide for yourself if you Believe it or Not!

Wizard Quest is the cutting edge fusion of a story driven computer game and a 13,000 square foot magical wonderland. It is packed with secret passageways, physical obstacles, endearing illusions and over the top artistry.

Downton Dells Discovery Pass - Buy our Dells Downtown Discovery Pass online where you can save more than half off the admission of your second attraction!http://usfamilycoupons.com/coupon.php?regionid=75&bid=12033&dealid=1965 @usfg

Don't they all look like fun! What is also pretty awesome is that all four of these things are very close to each other. My mouth is watering just thinking about the popcorn flavor choices.

Wordless Wednesday: Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary in Green Bay, Wisconsin

Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary in Green Bay, Wisconsin

Wordless Wednesday: Copper Culture State Park in Oconto, Wisconsin

Copper Culture State Park in Oconto, Wisconsin

Wordless Wednesday: North Bay Shore County Park on Lake Michigan in Oconto, Wisconsin

North Bay Shore County Park on Lake Michigan in Oconto, Wisconsin

Wordless Wednesday: Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, WI

Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin

is such a fun place. I grew up going here once a summer with my family and on some school field trips. I enjoy being able to share this with my own children.