A perfect weekend, or the lost was found

Wow! This weekend was incredible--the weather was gorgeous as we headed southeast to Whitewater State Park to enjoy our last camping trip of the season. The nights were cool and crisp, and the days were sunny and in the 70s.

We weren't too sure the trip would go so well when as we traveled to our site and when we first arrived. We forgot to fill our reserve tank with water, but were able to do so at a gas station in Rochester. We had some trouble hooking up our battery, and the back up battery died as soon as we hooked it up. Tim went to let Raven out of the van, and, startled by the five dogs at the campsite across the road, Raven bolted into the darkness of the surrounding roads and woods. Mark finally found him several minutes and about 1/2 a mile away, trotting toward him and his flashlight as though nothing had happened.

The kids went to bed and Tim and I went to his parents' site. Tim's brother had not yet arrived, and concerned that they may not have good directions, we took them in our van and drove until we could get a good signal to call them from my cell phone. They were still over an hour from arriving, but we were able to give them directions to their site. (It turned out they didn't get in till 1 a.m.)

Tim and I went off to bed, but I couldn't fall asleep until 2 because the people with the five dogs were up drinking and talking loudly till that time.

Saturday dawned, crisp and beautiful. We headed with Tim's parents to the breakfast down the road prepared for by the Model A Club organizers. (Tim's dad owns a Model A, and the club sponsored an event near our camping location, complete with food for our families.) We enjoyed a late breakfast (everyone else was out on a Model A tour through Amish country) of omelets and pancakes that tied us over until supper.

Saturday afternoon we relaxed and Tim, Mark, Christina and I decided to go horseback riding. It was a lovely day, and we rode through open fields and woods, enjoying the beauty of the fall colors and the fun of riding. Christina has been begging to go horseback riding since our trip to southern Minnesota over Labor Day, so this worked out wonderfully well.

In the evening, we enjoyed a pig roast with the Model A group. The entertainment was by the Froiland Family, a bluegrass family who entertained us with old-time bluegrass, gospel and patriotic songs. They have two children, a boy 17 and a girl 14. The boy played the fiddle like nobody's business, and the girl was amazing on guitar. She played so hard and fast that she broke a string early on in the concert. The mom played bass fiddle, and the dad played the banjo. The father had handcarved wooden covers to the guitars, as well as an ornate lion's head on the top of the bass fiddle. They also played cowbells, a saw, and bicycle pumps. It was an amazing night, and their love for music, family and God was very evident.

Back to the horseback ride--Tim discovered after he dismounted that he had lost his checkbook on the trail. The guide told him to come back tomorrow--he'd keep an eye out for the checkbook on the morning ride. Meanwhile, Tim went to the campground where we'd bought the horseback riding tickets to find out what check number was written so he'd know how many checks he'd lost. At the campground, we discovered a room full of old carriages, and later brought Tim's parents back for a self-guided tour.

Well, Sunday came too soon, and we had another wonderful breakfast, this time eating around the fire in a big smokestack fireplace in the middle of the room. We packed up and headed out, first stopping at the horse barn to inquire about Tim's check. As we drove up, I said, "I bet they found it." Sure enough, we pulled in, and the guide was there. "Are you the gentleman who lost his checkbook?" he asked. He was standing there talking to a couple who had just been on the ride. She had discovered the checkbook not far from the stalls! Grateful, Tim took the checkbook and also got directions for a shortcut back to the Twin Cities.

I could write a lot more about the hawks we saw circling, how our battery died before a cold night, but we were able to find a plug in to save the day, the wonderful nature center, etc. etc., but I'll stop now. Hopefully Tim will post some pictures on his site soon. Cold weather will set in soon, but we'll always have the memory of the beauty of this fall weekend.

Till next time,

Suzi