Dells Part 2

As promised, we've tied up the boat and donned our land legs.




We've come to explore The Witches Gulch.

Again, these formations were formed by ice, not water.
But there is now water running beneath the walkway that you see in the pictures.
A creek, if anything. But a beautiful creek.

To traverse these rocks would be next to impossible without the walkway.

And when this area was named, it was believed that witches were evil, devil worshiping, beings that were looking to destroy anyone who came upon them.

Or something like that.

Many people went out to explore these rocks and never came back, so there must be an evil witch living out there.

I'm sure that it wasn't because it was a dangerous natural phenomenon.

It's much easier to explore now. But there is something very scary at the end of that walkway.
Very scary, in deed!

NO! It's not Stew and Ed!

It's a concession stand!

We were saved by the fact that it was before Memorial Day and the stand was closed.

Another point of exploration is on the opposite side of the river. Here we were treated to a wonderful German Sheppard who loves to jump back and forth from the cliff to the rock formation.

It's not really dangerous for the dog and he totally loves the attention.

Looking North up the river....

Some place in a box full of old photos,
taken on a 126mm box camera, no doubt,
Ed has a picture of his young mother
tucked into this same cave.

Because this type of sandstone is so porous it is possible for all those trees to grow in them with no dirt on top like you'd see with granite cliffs.

It was very odd to walk through these towering formations, thinking they've been like this for thousands of years.

The state of Wisconsin ensures that they are protected and will last for many, many more years. But you never know what nature has in store.

A few years ago, one quiet April morning a famous rock formation (Minors Castle)
on Michigan's Northern shore crumbled in half, teaching us to appreciate what we have now because there are no guarantees.

A lesson we can apply to our everyday lives.

Thanks for coming along on this adventure across Middle America.
After dinner in the Dells, we got back on the road.
After we made it through Chicago, I thought,
'It's only 5 more hours to home, I'm awake and the road is clear'
So we finished our journey around 2:30am.

As you know by now, I love to drive. 

I don't want to miss a thing.

I want to take my time and enjoy everything this earth has to offer me.

I want to meet the people that call it home.

To me, the earth is like a beautiful birthday cake.

It excites me every day.

The earth's crust is like the frosting.

And YOU, yes YOU are like the bright, bright burning candle on top.

Thank you for your light, your love and your warm hearts

 that make this world such a wonderful place to explore.

Keep your eyes open, because you never know where I might pop up next......