September 13-16: We got back on the road and headed to Wisconsin Dells, WI. We were headed into the pretty farming hills of the country and ultimately decided to travel along the Mississippi River and stay off the interstate roads.
Randomly drove by headquarters of Red Wing Shoe Company in Red Wing, MN.
I started to hear a rattling sound while we were moving and it turns out the hub cap was coming loose and we weren't able to tighten it anymore due to a stripped bolt. We tried a Freightliner dealer in the next town, but turns out the truck dealers don't carry these items and have to be specially ordered.
We followed the Mississippi River until we would soon cross over into Wisconsin, but before we did, we made a stop at a Welcome Center and walked down to look at one of the locks on the Minnesota side. There is a video on the bottom of the above group of the lock in action.
After our break at the locks, we were soon crossing over the Mississippi River and into Wisconsin!
Sean found a bike trail that he wanted to try out called "400 State Trail". It starts in Reedsburg, WI, where the Headquarters is located and does cost $5 per person to use. Luckily, it is well maintained and had some very pretty scenery of the area.
We rode to LaValle, WI and saw a couple of interesting things while there. The tank was a Veterans Memorial, the grate with cones around it was supposedly a snapping turtle nest, found some turtles in a pond, and then, while finding a place to stop for a picnic lunch, found this really nice memorial by a lake.
When we headed back, we stopped by this little stand that a sweet soul put out for the riders on the trail.
Sean found another cool immersive light show called Aquavia Lumina. This is run by the same company that we visited while in Whistler, BC and is the only one in the US.
We had to try out a Mac and Cheese shop! It was soooo tasty!
Exploring Wisconsin Dells was a tall task! There was so much to experience. We decided to go to the Riverfront to look at shops and walk on the Riverwalk to scope out kayaking potentials. Sean finally decided on which cheese shop to visit and this is where he discovered spreadable beer cheese, which he is now a big fan of!
That evening we finished up dinner and were in clean up mode when we heard sirens and flashing lights that stopped at the site behind us. Sean had briefly met the couple that occupied this site when registering for our space and they were from Victoria, TX. It turns out that the man died, despite life saving measures by the multiple EMS on scene. Our hearts were just breaking for his wife that he left behind. This goes to show that you never know when your end will be and you need to make the most of the time you are gifted.
Overnight, our water heater decided that it wasn't going to work anymore. Sean was fairly sure that the board gave out, so he went to an RV store to buy another and it was very expensive. Feeling there was no other choice, he bought it. We installed it and seems that it also failed. Sean troubleshooted for other possible issues, but always came back to the board being bad. So unfortunately, we were out a bit of money for a bad electrical board (that couldn't be returned), we were at the point of spending more money on an old water heater v. buying a new water heater, and we missed out on being able to kayak because we were messing with the water heater all day... but, we were blessed to still be breathing and have each other for another day...
After giving up on the water heater, we decided to try to win enough money for a new one. Turns out Sean is a lucky guy! It wasn't enough for a new water heater, but it was more than we walked in with, lol.
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