Dale & Debbie Part 51 - Minnesota and the Wisconsin Dells

Exploring the Unexpected: Vikings, Waterparks, and the Oddities of House on the Rock

After leaving North Dakota, we took a quick detour through Minnesota and stumbled upon some intriguing local history—did Vikings really visit here centuries ago? Then, it was off to Wisconsin Dells, the self-proclaimed Waterpark Capital of the World, where we traded the water slides for a scenic boat tour through the Upper Dells. But the true surprise of the trip came with a visit to the bizarre House on the Rock—filled with odd collections, eerie displays, and a carousel unlike any other. Buckle up for an adventure full of history, mystery, and unexpected twists!

After leaving ND we made a quick stop in MN. Dale took a bike ride along this lake. I was having issues with my arm and didn’t go ~ looks like I missed a pretty ride.

The city of Alexandria's alternative to the huge Paul Bunyans seen throughout the state. Haha! There’s controversery over whether ancient Vikings actually visited MN by way of Hudson Bay and left a Runestone.

The story goes that a Swedish immigrant unearthed the Kensington Runestone in 1898 while clearing land for farming. The inscription purports to be a record left behind by Nordic explorers in the 14th century. There’s been much debate over the stone’s authenticity, but since the first scientific examination in 1910, the consensus classifies it as a 19th-century hoax. Nevertheless, there still remains a community convinced this runestone is the real thing.

Replica of a Viking ship.

Upon our arrival to Wisconsin Dells, we quickly found the closest hospital in a neighboring city. A trip to the ER confirmed I had a blood clot in my arm, which the doctor said was caused by the IV in my hand during my kidney stone surgery. Fortunately, it was a superficial thrombosis and eventually went away with the help of some treatment on my part.

We also went ashore at Stand Rock.

Photographer H. H. Bennett was the inventor of stop action shutter which he called the “snapper." The best known photograph taken with this device was of his son jumping between two rocks at the Dells. The image was used as proof that the advanced technology worked. FYI…the story goes that Bennett had his son repeat the jump multiple times to get just the right shot! This picture was copied from the Wisconsin Dells History site. It’s titled “Leaping the Chasm."

Today dogs are trained to make this jump to and from Stand Rock. There is a safety net below which Bennett didn’t even provide for his son! The jump happens at the blink of an eye. We barely got a photo of it, but if you take a close look, you can see the dog returning to his trainer.

The House on the Rock is quite unusual, to say the least. It’s located about an hours' drive outside of The Dells. Alex Jordan, Jr. built his dream Japanese house on a monolith in the 1940’s, and it opened to the public in 1960, but he never lived there! There are also Japanese gardens.

The infinity room extends 218’ from the house and has more than 3000 windows.

There is a huge mechanical band. It was eerie yet fascinating watching the manniquins and instruments move. Tokens are needed to make many of the displays work.

There is also an orchestra.

Angels fly over the world’s largest indoor carousel. It’s outfitted with 20,000 lights and 183 chandeliers. Of the 269 hand-crafted animals, not one is a horse!