The Bunch Go To Eisenhower State Park

 

Ok. So it turned out I did pick the wrong trail. It was way more mountainous than I had wanted. However, it was a mile shorter ( sorry the cliff scrambling made it take an hour longer!).😁

As most everyone knows Eisenhower State Park is one of my favorite close parks. It is only a little over an hour from our house; it has great hiking trails and swim beach; and the sites are huge. Even better, this time we were excited to try out the new FULL hook up spots. Unfortunately, things started out not so good. The site I reserved was so unlevel that 2 packages of Leveling Blocks (20 in total) were not enough to get us level! Plus having that many blocks on one side was like trying to climb half a mountain. We tried for about 20 minutes to make it work before we gave up. Our trip would have ended there, but luckily they had another spot available. The second spot was much better. In fact we did not even need one leveling block.  About 3 feet from the door there was a pretty steep drop off, but overall we liked the site. However, we unfortunately discovered that the uneven terrain is too much for Maisy now in her old age. She kept falling down everytime she went outside so she had to stay inside most of the time which was no fun for her. While the full hook ups were nice, we ultimately decided that we prefer the older camping sites. They are more level so we can have a bigger patio area and Maisy can have space too. Also, since we don't stay more than 3 nights at a time, full hook ups aren't really necessary. If we have more than three nights to spend somewhere, we always go somewhere a lot farther and usually to a KOA. We did have fun hiking and we also toured the birth place of Dwight D Eisenhower. 

Everyone was happy before I got us lost.

I really need to start bringing an old fashioned compass. The trail looks like it was clearly marked, but it,in fact, was not. What is not pictured is the other 2 trail markers pointing in different directions.

Everyone was a good sport about it, mostly.

We have been here tons of times and this was our first trip to Eisenhower's birthplace.

We were heading to the lake to swim after this.

The birth house of our President. They shared this house with another family.

I am fairly certain that his statue was NOT in front of the house when he was born.

They have done a decent job with restoring it to the proper time period.

We finally made it to swim. It was COLD!

D and I went up the mountain to get a better view. T used this tiny bit of freedom to explore the cave that I had deemed too dangerous for him to climb wet and without shoes. Luckily he was fine. It apparently had wasps and T doesn't mess with stinging insects. His fear is from a traumatic bee incidence in early childhood.

L found a tiny baby turtle. It did not have a hard shell yet. This is super magnified. Look at how it is compared to her thumb. 

A had to work and do school so she stayed behind and took care of the animals. We also left Noelle with her for company. Noelle was so happy when Maisy came home. She purred, rubbed up against her, and started licking her face. When Maisy went to go rest in her bed, Noelle curled up right next to her! It was so cute. Maisy doesn't usually allow such cuddling, but she actually let Noelle snuggle with her. It made us realize that when Maisy dies our cat will need a pet to keep her company. Maisy is doing better since we have been home. She has only fallen a couple of times on her walks. I think our days with her are numbered. Age just really came up fast with her. Six months ago she was doing fine and now she seems very fragile. This is the hard part of having pets, watching them deteriorate.

A also received her Vet Assistant Certification this week. She now has about 2 years until she gets her Vet Tech Certification. We are also looking for her first car. She really likes D's little mirage and we have had zero issues with it so we are leaning towards getting her one. Car prices have gone crazy! 3 years ago we paid $6100 cash for a 5 year old Mirage. Now, a five year old Mirage is about $18,000. It is insane! My kids ( well the younger three) are never going to be able to move. Housing prices are crazy, grocery prices are super high, medical costs are insane, and car prices are through the roof. I feel for all the young adults just trying to start life as an adult. It is literally impossible without help. 

I am so proud of her... though she seems to be stressing a little. I told her next semester that she can take less classes so she won't feel so overwhelmed.

I sewed ties on her scrubs so the tops were more fitted.

Maisy missed her A time.