Tour of Missouri: Elephant Rock State Park

The last week before school started we packed up our camper and headed out on a long road trip to explore the southeastern part of Missouri. After spending four days at Montauk State Park we moved further east to Johnson Shut-In's State Park.

We were so lucky to have shared this vacation with some great friends and family members. The Husband's father joined us on the first leg for fly fishing. One of my work friends and her family joined us at Johnson Shut-In's. We were not the only one's who had family join us, our camping buddy's mom and husband also joined us. In the end, we had a group of fourteen people for parts of our Johnson Shut-In's stay.

After a hot dog cookout on our first night in Johnson Shut-Ins we were ready to gather by the campfire to enjoy some adult beverages and a few laughs while the kids "tore up" the campground on their scooters. Apparently our space and group looked so inviting that a venomous copperhead snake decided to pay us a visit.Thankfully a park ranger stopped by just in time and diverted the snake away from our party. As our gathering, well I can say nothing like a venomous snake to send everyone inside for an early bedtime!

Our first full day on the eastern side of the state, we traveled twenty minutes north of Johnson Shut-In's to visit Elephant Rock State Park.

If I learned anything while visiting the state parks during our vacation, these geological features have been in the making for thousands of years. They are volcanic rocks what have been eroded over time by wind and water. What remains are giant red granite boulders the size of elephants that dominate this state park.

Many of the rocks show evidence of previous mining; miners from a long ago carved their names into many of the large boulders and they are still visible.

A paved walking path winds throughout the park, so that made hiking enjoyable for all of us. However, once we gave the kids permission to climb the rocks, we had a hard time keeping them on the trail!

We hiked to the quarry. We hiked to the ruins of an old engine repair house. Train tracks still run into it. There is no camping at this state park, it is a day use park only. There are numerous picnic tables at the entrance to the park which we made use of for a picnic lunch.

After lunch, we hiked a bit more. Explored some more. Generally just took advantage of a mild-temperature, overcast day. I often ask my kids at the end of the day or the end of a weekend, or even the end of a vacation one simple question, "What was your favorite thing?" The Boy has continued to tell me that this day, this park, this adventure was his favorite thing.

Hopefully all the kids...and...even the grown-ups walked away with some new memories. Given that the composition of our family has shifted since we returned from this trip aand we are now sprinkled over two states and a few hundred miles, my favorite park is that we got to spend one last week together before we branched into different directions.

Thanks for sharing this installment of our vacation! Yes, I have more so stay tuned.

My Weekend Project: A PVC Camping Lamp Post and Flag Holder

I have seen a few of these around campsites and I knew I would like to have one. The only problem that I had is The Husband. He already thinks we drag too much stuff with us when we go camping and if I had told him my desire to have a PVC Camping Light Pole he would have shut it down quickly! So, that leaves a girl with only one choice: Figure out how to do it by herself. I did some internet searching and found a few road maps on RV forums. They seemed easy enough! I visited the local hardware store for the supplies: An exterior post lantern light 2 inch PVC pipe (I used 5 feet but had to purchase a 10 foot piece) A 3 inch toilet flange A 3 inch to 2 inch Reducer PVC Glue A 12 foot electric cord kit 2 - 3/4 inch PVC Caps I also used a few supplies we already had on hand: White Spray Paint 3 1/2 foot - 3/4 inch PVC Pipe Drill Bits (1 inch and 1/2 inch) Tent Stakes The first step was preparing the lantern light. I could only find black i

Tonsillectomy (Warning Photos!)

The Short Chic came down with a pretty nasty case of strep throat back in April. So, when The Boy started complaining about his throat hurting about 12 days later, I was pretty confident that he had inherited his sister's strep. Instead, The Boy was diagnosed with a peritonsillar abscess growing on his right tonsil. We had to immediately see an ENT Physician who took a needle and drained the abscess. He removed about 5.5 cc of puss from The Boys throat.and then told us that once you have a peritonsillar abscess you were high risk to keep getting them. The Boy's tonsils were now compromised and needed to be removed. We were told to plan for a two week recovery so we worked a surgery into our summer plans. Between family vacations, summer sports, and the beginning of school The Boy had his second surgery. A tonsillectomy. Pre-surgery prepping went well. It must be nice to be young and have healthy veins for an IV! The Boy had lots of pre-surgery visitors. My

Liver Cheese: A Family Tradition

Today is an anniversary date. One of those dates you wish you did not have to remember but there is no way you can forget. Fifteen years ago today,two days after his birthday, my father died of lung cancer. He was a lifelong smoker and his cancer was aggressive. His battle was short. He fought for six short months after his diagnosis. He knew the chemo was not working and that his time was limited. When he came to this realization he became the best dad in the world. In the days before my father's passing, my family shared some memorable moments. One of those moments centers around the deli meat: Liver Cheese.I would not be surprised if you have never heard of it, or even never tasted it. But I was raised on it as it was one of my Dad's favorite things. What is it? Well, it is a German food that is actually called Leberkase. It is bacon, corned beef, pork, and onion that is ground together and baked. It comes with a

It's My Life

Search This Blog