Giant City State Park

We spent arrived at Giant City State Park on Monday afternoon.  As soon as we arrived, the skies opened up and rained on us.  The folks got really wet because we didn't have full hook ups and Dad had to fill the water tank up. It took a while.  He went inside while it was filling, but he still got wet.  Mama got wet because she needed to direct Dad out of a tight spot with the motor home.

Our trip on Monday was a little stressful.  We couldn't get one of the jacks to come up all the way on the motor home.  It came up enough that we could drive with it, but it gave out a warning beep, beep, beep the entire trip.  It is kind of like the warning signal you get for not wearing your seat belt. Can you imagine that sound for 200 miles?  Dad said that if it didn't come down at our site and if our site was not level, we would not be able to put the sides out.  YIKES!  The jack didn't come down, but we are level enough to put the sides out.  The next day he did some research on the problem and found that a fuse might be the problem.  He replaced the fuse and the jack started working again. It seems to be working fine now.

Scout was completely miserable at Giant City.  She didn't want to go outside at all because of the horseflies.  The folks wanted to take us on a trail, but they knew Scout wouldn't be happy. I wanted to go, but I stayed behind with Scout so she wouldn't be lonely.

The folks visited the visitors center and watched two movies on the park. The guide suggested they take a trail that is one mile long and really shows why the park is called Giant City.  Mama bought a walking stick at the gift shop and she said it gave her more confidence when they had to walk on the rocks.  She is pretty clumsy.

 

This is why it is called Giant City.

There were a lot of old carvings.

Cool!

One of the places that a walk stick helps a clumsy person.

Balancing rock.

The folks decided to eat lunch at the lodge. They ate dinner there the night before and they were not impressed.  They decided to give it a second chance because they really didn't feel like going into town.

The lodge was built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) in the 1930's.  The folks watched a film about the CCC  at the visitors' center which made their visit to the lodge even more interesting.

These guys are at the entrance to the lodge.

The dining area.

The lodge.

The lodge is a very popular place for the locals to eat.  Mama decided to try the chicken which is served family style if more than one person orders it.  It is all you can eat.  It is $8.99 for lunch and $10.99 for dinner.

It comes with chicken dumplings, corn, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw and biscuits. 

Mama says the chicken was delicious. They forgot to bring her coleslaw and biscuits.  She said she had enough food without those anyway.

Horseshoe Sandwich - turkey covered in cheese and bacon.

Dad said his sandwich was really good. 

Water tower near the state park.

We really liked Giant City State Park, but the horseflies and mosquitoes were really bad.  We are glad we stayed there though.  I hope we go again so that I can hike some of the trails.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Bites Back At Horseflies

The Snood

Mama loves knitting on her loom. She has made dishcloths and two "scarves" for the dash of the motor home.  The "scarves" are to protect the dash from picture frames on the dash.  We have way too many dishcloths now, so she decided to make a snood.  She couldn't find a pattern for a snood using a knitting loom, so she has been experimenting.

The first snood was, well, a little tight and very long.  She apparently thinks our necks are really long.

"I can't breathe!"

"I look like an old lady."

"What the heck?" 

  This is actually the same snood, but the lighting is different so the color looks totally different.

"Why do I need a snood?  Has my neck ever been cold?"

"I would rather have cold ears than wear this thing?"

"I am not going to look happy wearing this!"

"Okay, this one fits better, but I still look like an old lady."

"Seriously, I don't think a snood is necessary."

"You know, I am never going to wear this thing out in public."

"I am not amused!"

"Turn the camera off!"

Mama really needs to find something else to knit.  We are not happy about the snood.

In other news, we have left the Memphis area.  We are now near Carbondale, IL at Giant City State Park.  We leave here tomorrow and will continue our journey north.  Any guesses on our destination?  Scout is not happy here. There are horseflies. She says she is never going outside again, but I think she will have to eventually.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Doesn't Look Manly In A Snood