If you’ve never ridden a duck or a hippo, it’s an experience quite unique, and you simply must try it out. The World War II era Ducks, and Korean War era Hippos are amphibious watercraft that have been sagely appropriated for tourist rides, and if you want a mixed land/sea adventure, there’s little finer you can find for your adventure.

Although goggles aren't normally recommended, we just happened to have some we were already wearing anyhow.

Seattle, San Francisco and Boston all have Duck tours, but the Ducks are the older, heavier, slower craft, all designed and built more than 60 years ago. The Hippos, conversely, are much faster and lighter (as they’re made out of aluminum instead of steel) and they’re design is much newer, dating back only about 45-years.

It may not sound like a quantum leap, but the WWII and post war years witnessed massive jumps in engineering and understanding, and haven been a passenger on both, I can tell you the Hippo really is a much more sophisticated craft.

To be more clear, this LARC is a 20,000 pound hippo, as opposed to its 80,000 pound duck counterpart. It can hit a land-speed of 30-mph, and 15mph on the water. The land speed may not seem impressive, but it’s plenty fast enough for tooling around town, and 15mph on the sea is mighty fast by any estimation, especially when compared with the 5-8mph offered by the duck fleet.

The Ducks were thusly named because troops sitting in them were considered sitting ducks for enemy fire. I can only assume the hippo was named because those are dangerous mammals of the water, and ones you’d never want to get to close to.

This amphibious tour is pretty darn fun, though. You get your tickets at the Three-Dog-Down location, climb aboard, don your protective floatation device, and before you know it you’re cruising through the streets of Polson and splashing down in the water.

By land you’ll get a pretty solid tour of the town, and then you’ll splash into the water where you’ll find the many glories of the water. Beyond that, you’ll be taken through the nearby channel and under the bridge, and from there you’ll be attacked by hired pirates who will soak you thoroughly.

For us, on that particularly cold day, the soaking, chilly water was too much to bear, so we pulled towels over our head and rode it out. On a super hot summer day, this would be a welcome experience, but it was a breezy and brisk day, so it was a bit too much for the younger members of our party to endure.

You can learn more about the Hippo tours, check days, hours and other booking info at ThreeDogDown.com/hippo.htm as you need to find it.

Even though we were chilly and ultimately cold, we still recommend this tourist attraction whole-heartedly, but bring a towel because you will be soaked by the time you’re done.

Three Dog Down Adventure tours is located right in front of the Three Dog Down Store at 48841 US Highway 93 in Polson, Montana. It’s pretty easy to find with the giant LARC Hippo parked out front.

This is what you see as you drive by along the highway.

Kids are even invited to take a turn at the wheel while faring on Flathead Lake.

If this look doesn't say happiness, then I don't know what does.