# House on the Rocks, Wisconsin



## jackandnancy

We have not seen any mention in all the sites we visit that talks about House on the Rocks in Wisconsin Dells. Or anything on the Dells either. We have been there twice and so much changed between those times, it was amazing. We were told about the House by someone who said, "You have to see it to believe it", and they were right. The house itself is made of rock, but it isn't a cave. It is kind of built in the side of rock and all the inside is rocks, but it is a house nonetheless. The man that built it started out by himself, and to fund it, he began charging fifty cents for people to visit it. From there, it blossomed to something that truly is indescribable. After the house, there are tons of different buildings with rooms with vignettes in each room of anything and everything. One room is devoted to miniature circus scenes all behind glass. There is a big display in the center of the room and more around the perimeter of the room. Another room is devoted to musical instruments displayed in orchestra type settings. You put a coin in and they play with no one there to play them. In one area, there is a full sized locomotive. In another, there is a battle between a full sized whale and giant squid. There is a brewery of sorts and if anyone remembers what Willie Wonka's "factory" looked like, this is the same type of room. It is several floors high and goes on and on. In one area, there is a giant carousel with 200 animals on it and has never been ridden. The one animal not on it is a horse. They are staged all over the walls, the ceiling and the floor. As we remember, there are 2 million lights in that area. There is much, much more to see there and like we were told, "You have to see it to believe it". There is a room that has replicas of the Crowned Jewels in England. But, perhaps the greatest sight is the Infinity Room. It is a self supporting "room" that juts out from the house in the shape of a sort of triangle. It goes out to a point and is surrounded by glass. You can walk out on it if you dare and when you look down, you are looking at the tops of the trees. Not sure how high up it is, but three feet would too high for me, Jack did wander out to the end. It is about 100 feet long as we remember and shakes when you walk out on it. There are 300 windows along the way. When you look at it, it's like looking at a railroad track in the distance where it seems to come together...hence the name-the Infinity Room. And no visible support.:shrug: 

Not too far from there, there was a small casino on our first trip, run by the HoChunk Indians. A metal building was all. On the second trip, the area had exploded into a real tourist mecca. The casino was all built up and there were hotels and motels all over. Including the Great Bear lodge...or was it the Great Wolf lodge. Anyway, it has a water park that goes inside the hotel and it is build to look like a very, very large log cabin. In the Dells, there are the Dell Ducks that you can ride along a waterway and relax. We didn't have time either time we were there to do that, but the next time we will. If you are in that area of Wisconsin, stop and prepare to be amazed.


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## grace

Jack and Nancy - I read about your trip to Wisconsin Dells !! My Dad took us there when we were kids! That place is awesome and so big. It has rocks and tress everywhere. We even got to ride in a Duck boat. It goes from the road to the water. They had rocks that looked like a piano (a Grand piano). I'll never forget that visit to Wisconsin Dells. It was the best.:way-to-go:


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## ctfortner

Sounds like a really cool place. 

I have been to WI a few times, my brother in law lives in the Eau Claire area. Beautiful country up there, really is. We always go to this cheese place up there, I think its called Katy's or Katies, something like that. The cheese curds are so fresh they squeak when you eat them.

We went up there one year and drove from Wisconsin through MN and into Canada for a week at a cabin on the lake there. It was an awesome drive and trip.


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## l2l

I actually bought the trailer I have now in WI...


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## grace

We also had a family member that lived in Eau Claire. We have known her and her husband for years. So my Dad took us to visit. I never forgot the place. When we in the duck boat the man shouted, "Everybody look back there. Now you can say you looked out the back of a duck." :rotflmao1:


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## glfortner

Growing up in Minnesota many of my friend's parents took them to WI Dells for vacation. They all had a great time. I could never get my parents to take us there-oh no they had to _torture_ us. They took us camping out west-Yellowstone, the Rockies, etc. It is so beautiful out there..one day I hope we will be able to torture my child and take her camping out west.


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## grace

Hello Gail! I know what you mean about torture for sure. But I have never been camping out west. My Dad only went as far west as North Dakota, and South Dakota. We never went beyond those states. I would love to take my children too. You must have had lots of fun out there. My Mom had a blast when she went. Let's not forget we're talking about "Old Faithful".:10001:


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## bigjr

Yeah ive been to the house on the rock it was pretty amazing! and dells were fun too if you get a chance see the biltmore mansion its really cool to in the ashville ten


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## jackandnancy

We have been to the Biltmore twice and that is truly amazing, too. 250 rooms in all. The thing that was most amazing was the staircase with no support. It was cantilevered out to the outside and you can see it in the photos of the outside of the place. We had taken the behind the scenes tour and gotten up to the fourth floor when we were told about the no support thing. I immediately got terrified and literally slid down the step walls to the ground floor forty feet below. Very scary, but I made it.


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