Yes! There and back.

 We made it safely!

Funny how this trip was much harder to plan for but also much nicer to do. 

The back seat driver never showed up. In fact he just spent time napping and pointing out how things had changed since the last time he could recall going into that area. Since his last trip to K-town, there have been some major road changes.

The bypass around two of the towns we used to drive through were major changes and hubby commented about them.

It had been about 20 years since Hubby has taken a trip to Kenosha. 

Charlie and I enjoyed early morning walks through the neighborhoods and even met up with other friendly dog folks. 

What a pleasant way to start a Saturday morning.

I also found a Road Runner car in someone's driveway and stopped to admire it. [Hubby used to have a Road Runner of the same vintage.]

The highlight and purpose of the trip was to see Rory [aka Aurora]. Of course she absolutely kidnapped Rich's heart. Let's just call him smitten with Rory.

Spending time with the Grands are always wonderful. But when a little one is around, something extra special happens. You know, hugs, snuggles, and more snuggles. 
As many snuggles as you can manage.

Poor Charlie, he felt like odd man out. However, he did get to steal a toy from Twila who is my son's dog.

Here he is acting as if he has no idea how the Sloth Toy ended up next to him.

The dogs played and Rory stole everyone's attention. And why not? Wasn't that the purpose of the visit?

I have to say that Megan is a master cook. Our evening meal was beyond delicious.

Thank you to the best host and hostess around [and let's not forget the cutest baby ever!]

So we did it. It was a trip that was hard to plan and execute, but it all came together nicely.

Rich's company on drive was a real bonus. 

We are tired but very content and Rich keeps talking about that Rory!

We did it!

The Big Meet up of Pets

There was quite the build up to Charlie and Twila meeting for the first time. We were not exactly sure what to expect.

When I pulled up to Eddie and Megan's house, Eddie and Twila were at the gate waiting for us.
Charlie sniffed through the gate and so did Twila. 

We opened the gate and let Charlie in. Charlie glanced at Twila and then ignored her.

The Big Meet was as exciting as watching paint dry.

Twila pictured below, was more interested in my toy tossing abilities. Charlie was more interested in exploring the yard. [He is the little black blob in the back].

We went to the Triple 4 so Eddie could show me around his land he'd purchased years ago. He and Megan plan to build their home on this land not too far from where they live now.

Here you can see Charlie's size compared to Miss Twila. 

The dogs became best buddies very quickly.

Charlie got to meet Aldo. He is one of Megan's cats. Around home, all the cats we see are feral cats.
Aldo doesn't seem to understand he is a cat at all. 

Charlie had no idea what to do. He just stood next to the cat that was taller than him and let Aldo sniff him. Twila was something he could deal with. Aldo? He had no idea.

Aldo:

Elenore hid from us most of the time, but I got to meet her finally on Sunday morning.

Perhaps Aldo told her about his early morning cuddle with Charlie and I. Ever have a cat come and sit on your chest to wake you up???

Maybe he told her that we weren't dangerous. I'm convinced that Aldo has no idea he is supposed to be a cat.

For a birthday present I got a Lego Minifigure! I was so happy! Now Acorn Guy...

can meet with ...

Acorn Girl!

My weekend was wonderful. I can be happy just watching the dogs play in the yard and reading a book on my son's deck. Or taking a walk along the lakefront ...

We took a guided night hike at Hawthorn Hollow, walked the beach, watched the Kit Festival, and took the dogs for a Sunday walk at a new favorite park called Poerio Park which I never knew existed. Kenosha has so many great places to go.

The puppers were worn out by the time I decided to head back home. 

Whew! It was in the 70's when we left. When I got home, it was 92 and stinkin' hot.

Charlie and I put one more K-town visit behind us. 

We will look forward to more adventures and chillin' on the patio watching Aldo in the Catio. [A cool outdoor cat patio!]

One more shot of Twila.

What a beauty!

I'm...baaaacccckkk...

 It seems like it takes at least a day or so to recover even from a mini trip of 48 hrs.

The drive across the state was pretty nice aside from the intense heat. I had mapped a route that would take me to Paradise Springs Natural Area. I planned on a picnic out of the back of my 'Ru with Charlie.

When we pulled up and parked in the small lot under a tree there was no one else around. I shared some PB&J with Charlie and he had a big drink of water.

I grabbed my back pack and thought we'd head into the little trail to see the spring building.

Another vehicle pulled up and two older guys stepped out into the heat. They asked if they could pet Charlie. Charlie loved the attention. When we walked around the corner from the parking lot there was a huge red sign:

NO PETS!

I was crushed. I stood there. It was too hot to leave Charlie in the car. The guys looked at me and the one said: We won't say a thing. I doubt he will harm anything.

I tucked Charlie under my arm and headed down a paved trail. The last time I'd been to Paradise Springs, the trails were dirt. The area had suffered quite a bit of neglect. After the 2018 record floods groups got together and donated monies to fix this little beautiful place. New trails were laid down and paved. The pond was cleaned and benches along with a nice little deck for viewing was made.

The improvements were beautiful. The building was the same, but the area was much cleaner. 

The Spring Building from across the pond.
The water smelled bad because
of the lack of rain and fresh 

water.

Inside the building looking out through 
the windows across the pond
back towards where
I had been standing.

The two older guys looking

for turtles.
One fella told me that he

'rescued' turtles by taking them off

the road and bringing them to 

this pond.

I saw no turtles and they didn't either.

There were quite a few nice benches along the paths with donor's names on them. I took a few shots with my IR camera and scurried back to the parking lot so as not to get in trouble. Charlie stayed tucked under my arm.

No selfie with Charlie to add to our collection of doggie photos. I was disappointed, but understood that sometimes people who don't make their pets behave ruin it for those that do.

I sat in the back of the 'Ru with my dog and we had some water while I plotted our next stop. Beula's Bog. 

In truth, it sounded way too hot and muggy to go to a Bog, but we'd head that way and check it out.

I followed the directions...until...

the connection between my smarty phone and my car stopped. I couldn't stop on the narrow back road safely to try and figure it out. So I just 'winged' it. I drove on one curvy road and to another unmarked black top and eventually came out in a town. I pulled into a parking lot and disconnected everything and restarted the phone.

I really regret not having a good ol' paper map in my car. I must have cleaned out the 'Ru and tossed it. 

By the time everything was set, I decided that it was too hot and nasty to go explore a bog with Charlie. I set my sights on Petrified Springs Park and decided to go there until it would be time to drop in on the 'kids'.

I was looking forward to cooler weather near Lake Michigan.

And so it went...

Geology and hiking at the Kenosha Sand Dunes

We visited the Kenosha Dunes on our second day together.  I don't think most people think of Kenosha as having some very interesting areas to hike and look at.
But this is at least the second time I've been to the Kenosha Dunes and hiked it.

After last week's wicked storms, the winds and water eroded portions of the shoreline dunes and we explored them.

Ed pointed out the lines in the dunes which would mark changes in the lakeshore. I could be explaining it wrong but according to this sign the dunes were created with the glacial drift and the constant motion of littoral drift.

Okay I think that is about as much as I am going to even try to explain. Although I did find a photo which might help show it.

First we hiked the dunes.

And since the snow was glare solid ice on top, we 'slid' the dunes...

Then we got to where the shore waves during the storm had eroded the dunes.

Ed started explaining the layers of sands we were seeing and I was glad that we'd gone because even though I would have noticed the layers on my own, I may not have wanted to learn more about them if he hadn't been there.

Enhanced photo for detail

So perhaps these layers that go in separate directions were caused by shifts in winds.  The darker materials are different kinds of sediments.  We even found a very thin layer of very similar sized pebbles.

This was really cool.  And it was even more interesting to have someone along who could explain it.

This section had material that was similar to that of a peat bog in it.  We found ancient trees that had been revealed by the erosion of the waves and the winds.

Teslin however was herself and showed off her abilities to act like royalty.

To her it was a good day to be a dog and enjoy the beach and fresh air.

To me it was a great day to hike and explore with my son and his wife.

And last but not least, the incredible ice formations from over-spray or from the wind and the waves on the 29th.  There were some amazing displays of ice and trees.

The only sad thing is that I am too far away from this place to go on a whim to get some great ice shots.

The Triple 4

It seems when I go hiking with my older son and his wife we always end up having an adventure of sorts.

On New Year's Day it was brisk and cold yet we loaded up in the Subaru and headed out to Ed and Joy's property so I could see what they had done in the past year.  They are cleaning up a parcel of land for their future house. 

Their address ended up with three 4's in it so it became dubbed 'The Triple 4'.

We first took a tour of the land and I'm sure my son will correct me if I am wrong, but I think the property is about 3 acres.  The work they have done to clean up and clear noxious weeds is great.

The Triple 4 is shaping up to be a wonderful place to build their house in the near future.

At one end of the Triple 4, there is a steep ravine in which a seasonal creek runs. It happened to have water in it because of the recent heavy Christmas rains and the snow/sleet/storm they'd had last week.

So we decided to try and get down the iced slope to the creek.  We all made it safely and I joyfully explored the creek with my camera looking for ice and water.

I think my son made the comment while I was laying on the iced snow to take the photo above that 'We can leave mom here all day'.  Yes I supposed he could have as I love creeks and water, especially when I can find ice.

Photo Credit: Joy

We ended up walking and exploring before facing the challenge of getting back up the ravine slope that was covered in ice.

Ed went up first, kicking toe holds into the icy surface and Joy and I followed.

No, I did not attempt to take photos of us climbing down into the ravine or out of the ravine, it simply was that slippery and a fall could have meant damage to my Nikon.

I left it in my sling pack on my back until I got to the top and turned to see Joy coming up the slippery slope.
How I do love adventures.

The next day we went to the Kenosha Sand Dunes.