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.
Fun Around the Campfire
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.
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.
Today we decided to join the Clive Aquatic Center. It is just a couple of miles away on the trail and the kids had such a blast yesterday that we couldn’t resist. Hopefully we will have a hot summer with a good swimming weather!
Tonight we got out for our final hike of the year with the Prairie Grass Guild. We wrapped up our third year of hiking. We meet on the second Friday of each month and go for a hike, usually at Jester Park.
There is a fairly large creek behind our house that the kids love to play in. I can’t wait to get some kayaks that we can play around with, but in the meantime we are using a tube that is intended to be used for sledding. I tied a rope to it to prevent it from floating away and the kids had a blast today cooling off and enjoying the water.
Tonight we went for a short bike ride to a local playground. The kids loved the tire swing!
Today we got out for a walk through the woods behind our house. Andrew had a fun place he had found that he wanted to share with us. The kids had a fun time playing in the sand and throwing rocks in the creek.
Today we got out for our first family bike ride from the new house – something I definitely want to do more often. We can hop on the bike trail just 8 houses down the street which is awesome. Today we headed west, stopping at a couple of playgrounds along the way to have some fun.
It is nice and warm today (46° F), so after our afternoon walk the kids made some snowmen in the front yard. Mari helped with Lucia’s.
