July 11, 2010

Today was the most wonderful day. We got up at 5:00 a.m. to get ready to get on the road. We drove down to Johnson Shut Ins and got there around 8:20 or so. It was still not very warm out and no one seemed to be going into the park yet, so we went to Elephant Rock.

When we got to Elephant rock there were only a few other people there. We wandered around the trails and up onto the top of the dome. That place just amazes me. Just the size of those granite rocks is amazing enough, but the fact that they are sitting up there on top of everything is mind boggling. The trails have been black topped and walking on them is much easier than the last time I was there.

It started to get hot by the time we finished wandering the trails. The park was starting to fill up with people, too. So, we headed back to Johnson Shut Ins. They have done a great job restoring that park. It's really beautiful.

We parked and walked to the Shut Ins. I was expecting the water to be cold since it is rushing water. But, I guess the rocks getting warmed by the sun must help because while it was cool and great for cooling off it was not cold. It was actually perfect.

I am obviously not as agile as I used to be. I could not walk across the rocks. I had to use my hands and climb and crawl across them. But, getting in the water was worth it and the deep parts of the water was so refreshing. I had so much fun and so did Michael and the kids.

We went down to the big rocks that make cliffs and the kids had fun jumping off of them. Michael even jumped once. I had no desire to climb up on those big rocks, so I just watched. But, it was still so much fun. I love these days when we get to go and do stuff like this as a family.

We swam and played around on the rocks in the Shut Ins for a few hours. Then, we went back to the van and found a picnic table to eat lunch. I think we were all pretty hungry. It was getting kind of late for lunch. By the time we finished eating it was well past 2:00. So, we changed into dry clothes and headed up to Tam Sauk State Park.

We went to the over look up there and got some pictures of the view. We tried to go up on the look out tower, but it was closed. There were storms moving in and there was lightening in the area so I guess they thought it best not to let people up on a metal and wood tower.

By then it was time to head home. We had to drive through some rain, but we managed to make really good time getting home. We came home long enough to unload things from the van and let Abby outside. Then we went to church for the BBQ VBS kickoff. We were there for a couple hours and got to visit with friends. It was a nice end to a fabulous day.