Our Final Adventure... with Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Jim! (by Walden)

Silly faces!

I've missed a lot of people while we've been on our trip. Dave the Minion. Big Winnie the Pooh. Oscar my goldfish. But two of the people I've missed an extra lot are Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Jim. Sure, we've Skyped whenever we could along the way, but, let's face it, it's hard to play tag through a computer screen. And I have a short attention span. They also sent me a neat book about the moon; when I turn the pages, I hear their voices reading the words. This has been fun too, but I would much rather be sitting on their laps and reading. So, when Mommy and Daddy told me that Grandma and Grandpa were coming to visit us on our trip in a month, I was super excited! But... when I learned that a month is really 30 "big sleeps" rather than 1 "big sleep" like I thought, I was so disappointed that I would have to wait soooooo long and I cried and cried.

Well, thank goodness that I survived all of those days waiting. Finally (on August 23), we drove from Iowa to a neat park in southeast Minnesota called Whitewater State Park. The park is surrounded by limestone bluffs carved by the twisting Whitewater River (named by Dakota Indians because the water turns milky white in spring).

Grandma, Grandpa, and their tent

Grandma and Grandpa beat us to the campground, where we had two campsites next to each other. Mommy said we were spoiled because the sites had electricity. I was excited to visit Grandma and Grandpa's camping trailer, which is MUCH BIGGER than ours and even has a TV for watching Scrat movies (Ice Age), my favorite thing to do with Grandpa. When we got to our campsite, I was so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa after almost 6 long months! I ran around like a crazy boy and wanted to play tag right away. But then I noticed that Grandma and Grandpa didn't have their trailer... they had a big tent instead on their campsite. They told me that they had to leave it at home because the truck was making funny noises. After thinking about it for a few minutes, I asked, "Does this mean we can't watch Scrat movies?" I was pretty disappointed. So were Grandma and Grandpa who had already started driving with the trailer before the noises started, and then had to drive back home, unhook the trailer, and pack all of their tent camping supplies in less than an hour. But we still had a great time cooking outside and playing in the tent!

Nice shirt, Grandpa!

Walking on a trail between our campsites, I had my first run in with a plant called stinging nettle. Mommy and Daddy had been warning me about it for the entire trip. Now I know why. Boy does it hurt! And the hurt just keeps going and going, no matter what. I avoided that nasty plant for the rest of our time.

Hamburger dinner

For supper, Grandpa grilled hamburgers and Grandma made sweet corn and strawberry/blueberry fruit salad. What a feast! For desert, Grandma made special gluten-free Rice Krispies treats with chocolate on top. Mmmmmmmm. I showed them how good I can cut with a scissors (little strips of paper were blowing everywhere) and played tag almost nonstop. We walked on a trail from the campground, over lots of bridges, and to a beach. At the beach, I threw sand at Grandpa and he said he was going to throw me in the water (but I knew he was just kidding). We also saw a Great Blue Heron in a tree. When we got back, I was pretty tired from all of the running around, but I helped Grandpa light his Coleman lantern, which was AMAZING!

Coleman lanterns are AMAZING

Mickey Mouse pancake

The next morning (August 24), Grandma made me a Mickey Mouse blueberry pancake with a strawberry nose and sausages. Yeah, I know, I'm spoiled! We then hiked up and explored some steep trails called the Chimney Rock Trail (0.7 mi) and the Inspiration Point Trail (1.2 mi). Grandma and I counted over a hundred stone steps as we climbed to the top of a bluff. Chimney Rock was a neat formation that stuck up like a hoodoo that I've seen in other states. It had a small cave in the bottom of it just big enough for me to fit through (Daddy was worried I would crawl through and fall over the cliff on the other side, but he worries too much). We hiked along the ridge to a lookout called Inspiration Point, where we could see the ridges, river, and woods far below. All of the grownups were very "inspired" (whatever that means), but I just liked looking over the edge of the big rock that hung out over the valley. On our way back to the campground, Mommy found some crazy seedpods on a plant called jewelweed... when you touch them, they shoot their seeds all over the place.

Taking a rest on the steps with Grandma

View from Chimney Rock tunnel

At the overlook

Inspiration Point

Catching minnows at the beach

In the afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa took me back to the beach so I could play in the sand and water. It was still pretty cold outside... not much sun and a strong wind... but I didn't mind. We built castles, a pond, and a river. I also tried catching little fish with a net that I borrowed from some other boys who were playing. I caught only caught two (they were so fast!), but I gave it my all and fell in the water a few times. Brrrrrrrrrr. My favorite game was taking sand balls that Grandma made and dropping them in a cup of water where they turned to "mushy mushy mush."

Mommy and Daddy selfie

While I played with Grandma and Grandpa, Mommy and Daddy went hiking on the Coyote Point Trail (2.7 mi), which they said led up to another bluff in the park and through a prairie. The steps down were so steep and narrow, they were labeled as a ladder. According to Mommy and Daddy, this was the first date they had alone since being in Arizona in May. Good for them! I needed my alone time with Grandma and Grandpa.

That night, I helped Grandpa build a fire. We waited patiently (well, some of us were more patient than others) until the wood became hot glowing embers. Then we roasted marshmallows and I got my second S'more of the trip. Grandpa told funny stories from when he was a park ranger at Kohler-Andrae State Park about a girl getting a marshmallow stuck on her nose and a chickadee getting stuck in a marshmallow.

I love S'mores!

Elba Fire Tower

The next day (August 25), we drove to the nearby town of Elba to climb the historic Elba Fire Tower. The fire tower was built on a high bluff, and it was long and steep climb up just to get to the top of the bluff... over 500 steps! As it said on the interpretive panel, it's like climbing up and down your basement stairs 50 times. But I held Grandma's hand and walked all the way to the top myself. She's a good "motivator" (as Daddy says). When we finally reached the top of the bluff, the metal fire tower rose high, high into the sky almost touching the clouds. Daddy put me in the backpack (what a worry wart), and we all held on tight to the rails as we climbed the spiraling steps to the top of the tower, 110 feet up. The wind made the tower move back and forth. The view from the top was amazing. We could see the bluffs and forests stretching out forever, the Whitewater River curving through the valley, and the little town of Elba. Daddy said that the fire tower was built in 1933 by the CCC for the State Division of Forestry. But it's not used anymore for spotting fires.

Climbing the tower

Grandma and Grandpa at the top of the tower

Panorama from top of fire tower

Secret spot on Whitewater River

That afternoon, we played at the visitor center, which had fun puppets, puzzles, and books to read. Grandma and Daddy loved sitting next to big windows and watching all of the birds at the feeders. We then went hiking on the Meadow Trail (1.7 mi), which loops through a meadow filled with grasses, yellow flowers, and fluttering butterflies. Daddy said it was probably the only flat trail in the park! We found a neat "secret spot" along the river where the water carved an overhang into the bluff and the stream makes a rushing sound. After some more playing at the beach, Grandma made ham, scalloped potatoes, and applesauce for supper. Daddy said it was the same meal Grandma made when he, Aunt Krissy, and Uncle Jojo went camping as a little kids. He was all "nostalgic" or something like that. But I just thought it was nummy and ate everything. After supper, I played shadow puppets with Grandma and Grandpa in their tent.

Last day with our Burro

On our last day of the trip (August 26), everything was wet because of the dew, and Mommy and Daddy thought it looked like the Burro was crying (they're so emotional). It sure was fun snuggling in my little bed and playing in the Burro for the past six months. It kept us dry in the rain, warm in the snow, and calm in the wind. It carried my tricycle and Minion bag filled with toys all over the country. It was our little home. But I'm also looking forward to getting back to our REAL home in Wee-scon-sin (as I call it).

We loaded up all of our stuff and drove from Minnesota to Wisconsin. Grandma and Grandpa wanted to stop at a place called Wildcat Mountain State Park on the way home, and we decided to join them. We had lunch, played on a playground, walked to an overlook of the Kickapoo River Valley, and hiked the Hemlock Nature Trail (1.3 mi), which climbs steeply (lots of steep trails on this trip!) through neat sandstone bluffs to Mt. Pisgah. At the top, we really did see smoke from a fire this time! Then, we hiked down and had to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. I'm so happy that they were able to join us on our special trip. And I look forward to seeing them more, along with all of our other friends and family, now that we're back in Wisconsin again.

At the top of Mt. Pisgah, Wildcat Mountain State Park

[P.S. From Mom and Dad: Don't worry! This isn't our last Blog post. We'll be sharing our reflections of the trip, our transition back to a sedentary lifestyle, and our final trip numbers over the next few weeks.]