Stayed in Sparta, WI

Bathroom with a tv. So cool.

Slide in the kiddie pool.

Sun Up soda that I never heard of before.

After our pit stop in the Wisconsin Dells, we got back on the road.  I'm pretty sure the McDonald's we went to was the third of three exits for the Wisconsin Dells when heading west on I-90. Finding a hotel up the road another hour was our goal. Saw some interesting cloud and rock formations while driving.

Found a nice hotel right off the interstate. A Best Western Plus in Sparta, WI. My dad was able to use his AARP discount so we paid about $80 for a really nice room IMO. The night before we paid $78 for the Maples Motel.

The room had a tv in the bathroom which I thought was kind of funny. My daughter took a bath while watching Disney Channel. The next morning I took a shower while watching Frasier. Lol. The beds were really comfortable. The room was on the first floor right by a door going to the parking lot, so we could easily unpack the van. My dad was happy about that. There was an indoor pool with a slide,a kiddie pool with a slide, a hot tub and even a sauna! We went down to the pool around 11pm after I ran out to get block ice. We have some food in a cooler instead of eating out a lot. We trying to stay on a budget. 

I went out to get a block of ice around 9pm before the store closed. It was dark and raining. I didn't know exactly where the store was but the lady at the hotel, Sarah, said to make a right and it was up the street. Sarah was very helpful calling a few places for me until she had found a place that sold block ice.  I drove for what seemed like a while 'up the street'. Thinking that maybe I heard wrong and was supposed to turn left out of the hotel, I turned around. With the rain, the dark night and being in an unfamiliar place, I began to feel like I was in an episode of the twilight zone. When I went the other way past the hotel, there was a sign for an army base. Drove a little more and another sign said I was on military property. I felt like any second someone would appear to escort me off the property.  Instead I turned around and quickly got out of there.
 
Went back to the hotel and learned from Sarah, that if I just gone up the road a little more I would have found the store. I went back out. The grocery store looked like it was closed. There wasn't a single car in the parking lot, but it was open.  I was looking for the ice and the lady said it was by the Sun Up. I was looking for a picture of the Sun. I didnt see one though. I eventually realized that it is a brand of soda. I had never heard of that soda before.

Sparta has a nice small town feel. It is the bicycling capital of America because it was the first to convert an old rail bed into a bicycle path. There are many bicycle paths in the area. There is also a museum about Deke Slayton, one of the seven Mercury astronauts.


When leaving the grocery store I saw a Culver's across the street. It is a Mid West fast food restaurant chain that sells among other things, butterburgers and custard. I only heard of it when reading hotel reviews on tripadvisor. I was curious so I went inside. It was cute. There was a nice quilt with Sparta landmarks. There was a special on custard because of it being national frozen custard day or something. They have a flavor of the day. Each Culver's has a different one. This ones was Oreo Overload. They have a Reuben on the menu that I will have to try. I love Reubens. I'm glad I was able to get out and experience a little of the town while in Sparta.

Water Tower that said Sparta on it.

At the hotel for breakfast. Our first morning in CDT.