A Camping We Did Go

We finally got to take our new pop-up camper on our first official camping trip.  We did get to use it a few weeks ago for a weekend visit to my parents too.  That was the perfect test run for the first time using the camper.  A cool night, rain, hail, breezy, a warmer night…  The weekend gave us the whole gamut (is that how you spell that word????) of weather conditions, and the camper and occupants all faired just fine.  Good to go.

We intended to camp another weekend in but weather just did not cooperate.  So we decided this was the weekend.  Packed up and ready to go, we headed to Ferne Clyffe State Park near Goreville, IL (just 10 minutes or so from I-57 and I-24).  This is one of our favorite spots to go camping or even just take a day trip to.  If you are ever passing through that area and need a break, check it out!!!!  We love it for the awesome trails, exploring opportunities, great playground areas, and nice quiet campground.  It is close to home too.  We can be there in  about an hour.

Despite some torrential heavy rains, lots of thunder, and light up the skies lightening through the middle of the night, the trip went just fine!  Riley would even argue with you whether it really rained that much let alone stormed like it did.  He and TanMan slept like rocks.  Braden, Ross, and I waited out the storm together and all finally got to doze back off when things calmed down.

 

Once we got our campsite picked out, everyone got busy helping set up camp.  Riley and Braden started looking for sticks and wood for a fire, Tanner and Ross started setting up the camper, and I started taking pictures of everyone’s progress.  (Ha Ha!) 

Had to stop for a snack too. 

   

Rileyis Dorkus making silly faces, Braden the Cicada hunter, and sweet TanMan lovin’ every bit of the camping trip.

Along with the actual camping, we hiked a couple of trails.  One the first evening that was short little hike along the bluffs near the campsite.  I didn’t even take the big camera and haven’t downloaded the pics from the other camera yet.  We came back and played at the playground with our camping neighbors and their two kiddos.  They were nice folks, and the boys kind of liked having some other kids to hang out with.  Kept them all five busy when we were cooking and tearing down camp.  =)  The next morning was our big fun hiking adventure.

The Waterfall Trail…

 

A nice short little trail…  Water was running in the waterfall after the previous night’s rainfall. Not many people were out yet.  Quiet (well as quiet as a hike with three young guys can be!)  Serene.  Peaceful.

While the boys played in the water and explored, I played with my camera.  I have been trying to get more familiar with the manual settings for our SLR camera.  so I practiced a little with the waterfall to get more of the blur effect.  I think this one turned out great! 

Then we discovered…

…a box turtle hanging out in the water at the edge of the waterfall.  I took him to safety and took some pictures while I was at it.  After I got my pictures, I tucked him up in the rocks off the beaten path a little ways.  Hoping that someone else didn’t find him and try to take him home.  They just don’t make good pets and are best left where they are found.

The boys played in the water…

 

  building dams and channeling the water…

then destroying the dams and letting the water go…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nobody was in a hurry to go.  Several other families came and went.  Looked at the waterfall for a few brief moments and then moved on.  I love how we get our guys to stop and look around.  There is so much more to see than what is obvious!  It is good to take time and explore a little deeper.  That is how we discovered the box turtle, the millipede, the frog way up under the rock…

  

 

TanMan and Braden climbed, moved rocks, threw rocks into the water, sat together helping each other, and walked up and down the creek.  When it was time to go, TanMan was the most reluctant.  He kept pointing back and saying “water”.  He did not want to leave. 

 

Nova was a patient girl while we were playing around in the water.  She enjoyed watching everyone that came and went.  Even got quite a few pets from various folks.  That social lab that gets no attention from us!  =)

On the way back to the van, we made a few more stops…  Braden and Riley led the way…

We checked out some stepping stones leading to a trail across the creek…

TanMan, Ross, and Nova patiently waited while the other two boys got soaked discovered how quickly they could make it across the stepping stones and back again.

 

Then the boys discovered a GIANT earthworm as we walked to the van.  Everyone had to take a turn to hold it and check it out.

  

Finally we got everyone back in the van and went back to camp to pack up and head for home.  The boys are so ready for a longer trip!  Hopefully soon we can take a few days to go explore somewhere else!  Now that we have air conditioning, I can handle summer camping!  There will be many more trips to come!

A Steaming Adventure!

What month is it?  What day?  I seem to have lost track.  It must be the end of July or the beginning of August the way things feel outside!  The pool is 88 degrees, the air is thick and muggy, and it is just plain hot!  Oh, but it is just the beginning of JUNE!  Wow this could be a long summer…  Hope that we have many more adventures like today to help it pass all the more quickly.

What to do on a sultry summer day?????  Go on an adventure of course!  Today’s adventure was certainly a steamy one.  (Tee Hee)  Want to take a guess as to what we went to see today?  Need a couple of hints?  Well, lets see what we can come up with…

Still need a few more hints?  No problem!!!! 

 

Surely you have guessed by now.  We went to see a train today!!!!!!  But not just any ole’ train…  This was a massive steam engine that was produced in 1944.  The Union Pacific steam locomotive No. 844 was on display in Cape Girardeau today.  Cape Girardeau is one of several display stops that the steam engine will make as it continues its excursion from Cheyenne, WY to Little Rock, AR and back again.  What a cool sight for all of us!

Yep, you could walk right up to it, touch it, crane your neck to see the top.  We were all in AWE!  This thing was absolutely MASSIVE!!!!!!!!!

We got to Cape right at the beginning of the official start time for the display today.  So glad we did!  There were a lot of people around already, and more and more folks coming in by the time we left.  An added bonus…  We got to ride on one of the university shuttle busses.  TanMan wasn’t so sure about that at first and really did not want to get on that bus with strange people and a guy driving that he did not know!  By the time we took our return bus to the van, he was loving it though.   

We walked from the front of the engine all the way to the end of the last car and back again.  You can see the structure behind the steam engine.  Added bonus number two…  The mighty Mississippi was directly behind the train.  We walked under the big new bridge that crosses the Mississippi from Cape Girardeau into Illinois.  With all the recent flooding Braden has been infatuated by the river, so he was almost excited about this as the train.

 

After a short break to check out the river and watch a barge go past and under the bridge, we were all ready to go again.

 

 

There was so much to take in, the boys just couldn’t decide what to pay attention to.  Obviously they were not too concerned with me at all.  The are getting used to me taking tons of pictures and usually just ignore me and my camera.  =)  Look at how huge those wheels are!

Massive chains, wheels, and so many parts!  One guy commented, "…if something were to go wrong, where would you even start?”   Good point.  Again we were just awed by the size of the engine.  There were several cars along with the engines.  One car was set up with souvenir sales, but that was the only car open for people to go into.  The rest of the cars were for the crew that travels with the train.  This particular excursion lasts for about 5 weeks.  They left Cheyenne, WY on May 27th and are scheduled to return on July 2nd or 3rd. 

 

After checking out the train for a while, we took the shuttle bus back to the van, took a drive across the Mississippi river and back again, and then we spent most of the rest of the day in Cape shopping, before we came home to let the boys get in the pool for the first time this summer.  The whole family had a great time!!!!!!