Page 13 - USA ROAD TRIP SUMMER of 2000
P. 13
We couldn’t stay long enough for the several hours’ tour but did
go through the small visitor’s center with exhibits. Did a bit of
shopping as well. Christmas will be here before you know it.
Close by was a house we had read about in the AAA magazine. It is
very unique and huge with architecture build into the rocks and a
very unique glass corridor built out 50 feet into space over the
valley below. We really wanted to see this house but apparently
the current owners didn’t have the courage of their convictions
that the house would serve as an attraction on its own so they
really hokyed the place up with awful side attractions that you
couldn’t avoid. We were horrified by the gaudiness of the place
and ran from the site as quickly as possible.
Made it to the Dells in time to get tickets for the boat tours of the
river below and then above the dam. The glaciers a few million
years ago were in this area that had previously been a shallow sea.
There were massive sandstone deposits laid down. The glacier
scraped most of this sediment away but spared a long strip of land
in the middle. This then eroded with waters of the Wisconsin River
and left the exposed banks as bizarre sandstone cliffs on both
sides of the river for several miles. The cliffs then suddenly stop
and the shoreline is flat again just as in all the other rivers in the
region. We enjoyed the boat ride and the short walks they had us
take from the boat. The town however is three Gatlinburgs rolled
into one – thousands of people roaming the streets eating ice
cream and shopping in tee shirt stores. We left.
13