Today we had our first big snow of the year. We had a couple of good snowfalls back in November, but December was warm and dry. It looked like we were about to enter a cold period with no white stuff on the ground, but mother nature took care of us!
It snowed all afternoon and we got out after dinner to clear the driveway and sidewalks. This year we also haul some of the snow from the driveway to the back deck, so we can build a little hill for our kids and the school kids to play on. It is a little work, but well worth it.
The weather was beautiful this weekend and we were able to take full advantage of it. On Friday night the kids and I went on an ‘Owl Prowl’ with Polk County Conservation. We learned a little bit about the owls in our area and then went for a night hike to see if we could make contact with any owls. Our guide was unsuccessful, but it was a beautiful night to be outside. After the event the kids and I hit Over the Top, our favorite ice cream shop in Des Moines. Where was Susan for all of this? She was in Ames with her mother for a craft fair and dinner at The Café.
Saturday was spent mostly at home, with Andy visiting in the morning, naptime (for Lucia) and then we went exploring in the woods on the other side of the creek. The plants are thick so in the summer it was difficult, but now things are thinning out a bit so it is more reasonable. There are some awesome areas for the kids to play and I am hoping to put in a short single-track trail through the woods.
After dinner on Saturday we carved our pumpkins. The kids love it and couldn’t wait. There was some frustration, but in the end it was all smiles.
Sunday was a busy day, with most of the day spent away from home. We left at around 11 and headed to Stone Park, just outside of downtown, for a Cyclocross relay race. My team was Nate, John, Scott, and I. It was fun and the weather was awesome. Susan and the kids were there to cheer us on. After the bike race we headed to Hope’s birthday party at a farm outside of Ankeny. There were a ton of activities, including a very cool corn maze.
This past weekend we visited Wills Apple Orchard, a small farm owned by a homeschool family that puts on a fun fall festival. It is a cool place in a beautiful setting.
This afternoon we were back at Jester Park for our Nature Guild hikes. I think we are entering our 4th year and there is now a traditional cookout after the first and last meetings of the year (and sometimes in between). It was great to get out and enjoy the cool weather.
There was nothing on the calendar for today, so we decided to knock-out a few summertime standards. This morning we hit the Downtown Farmers’ Market, where we enjoyed some treats from La Mie and our traditional fried rice and egg rolls, which I think we get every time.
Lunch on the Lawn
After the farmers’ market we headed to hooping in the park, where our friend Leah was leading this week. She had everyone working on some new skills. WE all have fun hooping and hanging out with a fun group of people.
By mid-afternoon we were back home for Lucia’s nap and some downtime. By 4 we were on the road again, headed to Ledges State Park. Ledges State Park is n area near the Des Moines river with the corn fields suddenly turn into a beautiful canyon that has been carved out of the sandstone. It offers some interesting hikes and a great creek that flows right through the heart of the park. We hiked, ate a nice picnic dinner, and then the kids enjoyed playing in the creek.
The day started out dark and cloudy, as predicted. It looked like it could rain at any time. By noon we had the car packed and ready to head to Mahoney State Park for our nearly annual trip with the Liess clan. About 45 minutes into the 2.5 hour drive it started to get very dark and we could tell that it was going to rain. It rained – hard. It was nothing unusual, so we continued heading West.
It got incredibly dark because the clouds were so thick and up ahead the kids were relieved to see some brighter skies. I could see the skies, too, but I knew that they were not supposed to be green. I have always heard that the sky turns green before a tornado and now I knew what that meant. It was an eerie calm before the storm. Even when we got to the ‘brighter’ skies the rain never stopped. It just intensified and it started to hail. Driving on the interstate was difficult because it was so hard to see. I would have exited, but there was not an exit for several miles.
The rain and hail was so hard that we had to pull over. We were in a construction zone and the right lane was closed so I joined the legions of other drivers who decided to ride out the storm in park. We still had the radio on and our song was interrupted by the emergency alert system, “A tornado has been indicated by radar in Guthrie County near Stuart, IA and is headed toward Des Moines. Take shelter immediately.” Or something like that. Does a car count as shelter?
By this point Lucia was asleep and the other kids (and mom and dad) were a little scared. The wind, rain, and hail were intense and we could not see even when we were parked. The car was rocking because of the wind. I told Susan to just keep an eye out and if need be I would drive off the road into a ditch. I pulled up the radar on my phone (a screenshot would have been nice) and the blue dot indicating our location was right in the center or the purple area.
It was definitely tense for a few minutes, but eventually the storm started to slow down and once we could get driving again I couldn’t wait to get out of there. I don’t know if there was a tornado, but the high winds were evident. The construction cones were all over the road, there were entire corn fields where the corn was snapped in half, we saw one semi that had been blown off the road, and there was plant matter all over the place.
After the storm we called Mimi and Papa. They were just a few minutes behind us and had decided to stop at Subway for lunch. This all occurred while they were at Subway in Stuart and they had to spend 10-15 minutes inside of the pitch dark refrigerator!
This weekend we tried to get out camping with some friends, but we ran into an issue at the first attempted campground (Whiterock Conservancy) and decided to relocate to Springbrook State Park. We ended up having a great time and really enjoyed Springbrook State Park.
We knew when we bought our new house that our creek would have its share of high water and today we got our first taste of it. There has been a lot of rain over the past 24 hours and the creek has finally spilled over its 8-ft banks. It is only into the corner of our back yard and I have installed a lock on the back gate to make sure that no one accidentally gets too close.
