14: A Waterfall DONE!

Pine Creek, Paradise Valley, MT. August 2010. We had a bit of an ill-fated hiking trip up to the waterfall at Pine Creek. Everybody decided to do the hike (including all the children)...it was only about a mile up, everyone was having a good time and all the kids were doing really well until about halfway up, when a storm hit. We all got soaked and by the time we got to the waterfall all the kids were crying and shivering. It was awesome.

Here are the little ladies on the trail, just before the storm struck. Looks like Cook had his goggles around his neck...he had the right idea. He would need them in just a few short minutes.

The other side of the waterfall. Eric and Chris climbed up to the top, and the extra time it took meant that they got absolutely nailed when the second storm hit. Lots of hail in that one.

15: An Olympic Training Center

16: A Swimming Hole DONE!

Willow River State Park, Wisconsin. July 2011. This series of waterfalls has a lot of shallow wading areas and some deeper areas that you can swim in - it was icy cold and moving fast, so fast that Cook lost his sandals forever.

Cook crawled behind the biggest waterfall and then apparently jumped out of it onto a pile of sharp rocks. He screamed bloody murder and got pretty beat up. We actually thought he might have broken his arm because it was all swollen up, but he ended up being just fine. He scraped himself up pretty good, though.

17: A Kooky Capital DONE!

 

August 2014. Bemidji, MN: Home of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. So we spent a short weekend in Bemidji because Chris had to go there for work, and while he did his work stuff I took the kids to explore its downtown on foot. We went to a souvenir shop where Cook got a new pair of sunglasses, and then got ice cream. Then we went shopping at a book store: Cook got a Stephen King book (Night Shift), Ama got book 3 in the Nevergirls series (and a Nevergirls activity book), and Rowan got a My Little Pony plush of Rarity. We ate at a local pizza place that was really good - we sat outside and it was a lot of fun!

This town is small and touristy, and I kept wondering if the people who live here just hate Paul Bunyan after a while. There's the Paul Bunyan Playhouse, the Paul Bunyan Mall, Paul Bunyan's Animal Land, a tv/internet company called Paul Bunyan Communications, Paul Bunyan Transit (their bus system), and Paul Bunyan Broadcasting (their radio station). You get the point, but there's just so much Paul Bunyan crap. Paul Bunyan Elementary School, the Paul Bunyan triathalon, Paul Bunyan realty, the Paul Bunyan Dog Training Association (PBDTA). It's just mind numbing, and we were only there for one night!!

18: An Art Museum DONE!

Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN. Fall 2011. We had some extra time one day and so Chris suggested that we walk through the gallery at the Northern Clay Center. The gallery wasn't huge, but it had some really breathtaking and interesting art in it. There was also a showroom where you could buy stuff, but we didn't buy anything.

19: A Rock Art Site DONE!

Pictograph State Park, Billings, MT. August 2010. We detoured only slightly off the interstate to get this one. And we brought almost the entire family reunion with us! The pictographs have mostly disappeared from the caves, but they have signs showing where they used to be. The cave art was actually quite a bummer - there is a lot of history peeling off the walls of those caves. But the surrounding area and the caves themselves were really beautiful. It was a worthwhile stop that we probably wouldn't have made if not for this blog!

20: A Wind Farm DONE!

Wind Farm, near Linton, ND. June 5, 2011. Grandpa and Grandma took us out to see the wind farm because I didn't know how to get to it. There are over 100 turbines scattered throughout the wheat fields, and strangely enough, you can drive right up to them! They are really huge!


This is a cool picture of an old-fashioned windmill right in the middle of the wind farm. In the past, farmers would use windmills like this to run well pumps in remote areas (like the middle of fields or pastures) for water for their cattle. See the cows?!

We were talking about the environmental impact of wind turbines (versus oil wells--we've got lots of both in North Dakota), and Grandpa said that the shadows created by spinning turbines are actually really annoying for people who live near wind farms. The phenomenon is called "shadow flicker." It's really hard to imagine how powerful the shadow from one of these things is. When you stand in its path, it feels like the shadow is going to hit you in the face and knock you over!