August 5, 2008 - Wisconsin Dells

Ok, so I missed blogging about our trip to the Dells. We stopped at the Dells between Tomah and Sheboygan. It is still a fun place to be - even without the Lake. We didn't want to get wet as we were on our way to a waterpark resort so we went to the Deer Park and let the boys (and this includes Randy) go go-cart racing.

The Deer Park is expensive but you can spend as much time as you would like there. For a family of 6 (with 6 packets of food to feed the deer) it cost $70. I am sure there are coupons and such but we weren't staying in the Dells, so purchasing a book didn't make sense. For those of you who have never ventured into the deer park, there are various species of deer, some goats, rabbits, a raccoon and a couple of lemurs. You can feed the animals with hooves.

Some are kept behind fences with their own kind but there are lots of them wandering free. I shouldn't say wandering that implies an aimless meandering. These animals are on a mission and they know that the kids give up those crackers much easier than adults so they attach themselves to a child until they have relieved said child of all his/her crackers. Michael is a prime target. This deer loved Michael. He followed him after the crackers were gone.
These deer have not met many Ukrainian former orphans. Lera was not about to give up her crackers without considerable effort on the part of the deer and once they got a cracker from her there was no guarentee that she wasn't going to take it back. She smiled the whole time though. We didn't get a great photo of her doing this with the deer but she treated the goats with the same determination.


Caelia is much more soft hearted. She tried repeatedly to feed this sitting deer. Unfortunately, the deer was so stuffed that no amount of conjoling by Caelia could get her to eat even one bite more. She did figure out a few tips from Lera however...
Generally, you see small groups of deer but if you sit quietly and wait you may just get mugged by the whole herd.
Randy had to tell them to back off!

5 comments:

Bethany said...

I love the Dells! I grew up an hour south of there and we love it there. Did you guys do any waterparks?

Sheila said...

Fraid not this time. We were going to stay at Blue Harbour Resort in Sheboygan that night so we figured they would have plenty of water. Car rides go so much better if you have lots of stops with lots of fun.

Bill, Sheryl and Melissa said...

Hi Randy & Sheila - We enjoyed visiting with you all last weekend so much! It was great to meet Lera & see all of you. The girls are so cute and sweet. We will look forward to meeting Masha on our next trip back to Minnesota next year. Take care! Love, Bill, Sheryl & Melissa

Arizona mom to eight said...

Hey, that looks like such a good time! The $70 hurts huh, but what a memory you are making, I personally have always wanted to touch a deer.

Wendy said...

LOL....... I am glad to see that Macey is not the only one who will attempt to share her food only to have her instincts of survival kick in and get it back!!

My poor girls have done very little this summer and I am working on changing the rest of the summer..... You and your family have inspired me!!

Wendy