Early Summer, 2023

Y’all, I’ve been sitting on this post and I’m not sure why, although life going by at breakneck speed surely is a big part of it (hot tip: you think you’re kids are time-consuming when they are young? Ha. Wait until they are older and you’re running around all over creation every evening…).

Anyway. I happen to like early summer, although this time is also bonkers busy, and 2023 was no different. Wisconsin in June means end-of-school stuff for us. School picnics! School Concerts! School 5Ks! All the school things! The mad dash to finish up end-of-year projects, collect belongings, finish conferences. My job means heading to out-of-state conferences, Scottie’s work means a headquarters visit back in Connecticut. Life is like, lovely but also busy, my dudes.

Add to that: Dance. Man, I love our kids’ dance studio. And I adore the end-of-year madness. But still: it’s madness. An entire weekend of dress rehearsals, practices, and performances, all of which means long days. Case in point: I love everything about it and I tote my camera with me everywhere, and yet I do not have even one single photo (not even a phone photo!) to show for dance weekend.

All that to say! Lots happens but photos are few. Below are some things that I was actually able to capture with my camera.

Pete’s birthday: in the midst of the madness (plus he’s a seasoned teenager by now), even with his “party” being a low-key affair between chaotic June events and celebrated with a cheap cookie cake we picked up last minute at the grocery store – this kid is a laser beam of sunshine, as always. What luck to have this lovely human for a son.

Happy 14th, baby.

He outgrew that Pizza Shuttle shirt shortly after his birthday and don’t think for a second that this fact didn’t make me a little sad (it’s okay though I got him a larger-sized replacement for Christmas, ha).

Alfie and Kris came for a visit in June! We dragged them to The Dells for a day, starting at the boys’ favorite breakfast spot to start, Paul Bunyan’s Cook Shanty.

Then: off to the old downtown area to catch a boat tour.

Fun fact: Wisconsin Dells (or just “The Dells” to locals) was named by the French who came down to the area from Canada, they referred to the area as “Les Dalles”, which means “the narrows”. Wisconsin Dells is now known for waterparks and outlet shopping, but originally the draw to the area was its beauty, with the most distinct feature being a five-mile-long slot canyon along the Wisconsin River, formed by ancient glaciers.

Our boat tour took us along the Upper Dells, which follows the Wisconsin River above the dam and includes this very slot canyon, as well as a series of cliffs and sandstone formations. So we were in for a nice, scenic 2-hour boat ride.

Our area of Wisconsin is abundant with slot canyons, glens, and gulches. And my favorite thing about these areas is that on a hot day, they are a cool respite from the heat. This boat trip was no different, and once we got in the forested areas things were dark and cool and lovely.

There were a few spots where the boat docks and you can take a short walk through the natural areas. The first of these is Witch’s Gulch. Wind and water carved out a trail through the canyon, and the walk is an easy quarter mile to an area with concessions and restrooms.

Some old graffiti:

The biggest bummer is that this is officially a state natural area, but a handful of years ago the state made a deal with this particular private boat tour company, and now you can only access Witch’s Gulch via a very expensive boat tour ticket.

After a bathroom break and grabbing snacks, we made our way back to the boat to keeping heading up the Dells.

The second stop was at Stand Rock. The boat docked and we again walked a short distance through the forested,carved sandstone area to see this famous formation.

And there she is: Stand Rock. This formation was made famous by the work of HH Bennett. He was an early photographer who became famous through his imagery of the region, including his most famous image including this very formation.

HH Bennett came to Wisconsin from Quebec after some time in Vermont. He tried his hand first at portrait photography, but found it hard to make an actual living this way, so he pivoted to shooting landscape photography. He also worked to progress camera technology, inventing a stop action shutter which allowed him to take photographs of instantaneous events (at this time, most photographs meant standing still for several minutes). In 1886 he tested one of his early devices by taking the iconic image below, a photo of his son mid-jump onto Stand Rock:

His invention changed the landscape of photography, and he’s also credited with being the reason Wisconsin Dells originally became a busy tourist destination, as his landscape images were widely published and brought tourists from all over the country.

As part of the tour and as a tribute to HH Bennett, a trained dog makes the jump onto Stand Rock for every boat tour (don’t worry, there’s now a protective net in case any puppers making that jump has an unfortunate slip).

Then it was back on the path, a short loop with a few stops to take in the scenery and a convenient stop at a gift shop before you head back to the boat.

And away we go, back on the boat and on our way.

It may be a crazy busy time of year, but it’s always a good time and I’m glad we did this tour with Kris and Alfie. And I’m proud that I got this finished up and posted before it was summertime again, ha.