World United States Wisconsin Baraboo

Pottsluck-Shining Waters

Wisconsin Dells Sep 16, 2011

Picture Niagara Falls (the American side town not the falls) on steroids and you have the Wisconsin Dells. Apparently, this is the water park capitol of the world and we cannot dispute that based on what we have seen thus far. We are staying in Baraboo, Wisconsin about 8 miles from the town of Wisconsin Dells. The campground (Fox Hill RV Park) is really nice and the people who run it even nicer. We have internet and cellphone service! Wow!

However, a few miles from here, the madness begins. There are huge casinos owned by the American Indians (no surprise there) and each one has a water park. There are outdoor water parks, indoor water parks and every variation thereof. All of them are really tacky looking but huge. Roman Ruins, Dinosaurs, Frontier forts...you name it. When you cross the Wisconsin River and into Wisconsin Dells, the town itself, you pass the tacky t-shirt shops and all the tourist traps. This weekend is their fall festival with some unpronounceable name and unspellable one as well. The town park is one huge craft show and bad knee or not, I was determined to go today before the weekend crowds arrived so leaning on Bob and my hiking stick, I limped through the craft show. What dedication and stamina to endure all for the sake of shopping. Girls....you would have been proud!

It is actually interesting to go to craft shows in different parts of the country. Last year, we went to a high end one in Manitou Springs, Colorado that had some of the most beautiful and unique crafts (and expensive) that we had ever seen. This one had nice crafts (and some normal tacky ones) that were different than we see at home. Lots of country style crafts but different than our Pennsylvania country style - lots of woodworking, interesting jewelry and using everyday items to make decorative items. Thankfully, we have no room in the RV so my purchases were limited to new fabric runners for the buffet in the living area and some Christmas gifts.

My knee is improving...I can almost straighten it though not without discomfort and it stiffens up if I am sedentary too long. But alot of Aleve and liquor seem to lubricate the knee enough to take the edge off the pain. I WILL be okay by next week when we meet up with our friends Nancy and Tim Okal near Chicago. On a philosophical note, though, yesterday, I had to do some food shopping. I could hardly walk and now I really know what my mother goes through when she has to do shopping or try to get around with her really bad arthritic knees. Using the shopping cart as a "crutch" made the walking much easier and I really realized what she experiences every day and why her "wheelie cart" is so much better than her cane. Made me feel really old too. Hopefully, I'll be a little more sympathetic in the future.