Day 2
Day 3 would be our last at Inks Lake. We'd considered adding a 3rd night to our stay, but camping with small kids is pretty exhausting and we had a lot to do at home during Daddy's vacation week. We were able to move back our check-out time a few hours so we could enjoy the morning at the park!
When Steven initially checked in, they told him there would be a field trip taking place on Tuesday morning at 9am, and that we could join the group. What a fun morning!
We had another bacon breakfast, with many volunteers and cars buzzing around the area, getting ready for the students to arrive. They had 5 stations set up and split the large group of children from a local public school. We tagged along with one class of 1st graders.
First, they listened to a talk about predators and prey, and got to check out a bunch of skins and real stuffed animals (I missed this one). Then they went to the station about Native American life, where a man was dressed in Traditional Native American clothing, they had more skins and antlers and discussed how those were used, and the kids got to go in the tipi!
Next was the lake station. They brought in a huge net of fish and let the kids take a fish from the net to put in the tanks (of course my kids had no interest in that).
This man was talking about the lake habitat and different kinds of fish.
Then someone brought out an alligator for the kids to see and touch!
(Why do my kids have no interest in touching wildlife? Their Daddy studied Animal Science!)
The last 2 stations were about birds and plants/trees. It was really informative and a nice long field trip (2 1/2 hours!). I think the girls learned a lot and it was a great way to finish out our time at Inks Lake!
The only negative part of this field trip was experiencing a little bit of what it can be like in a school classroom with a teacher who isn't a very encouraging and positive person. We felt so bad the way many of the children were treated and talked down-to. It definitely made us grateful that we currently have the ability to homeschool. I know that most teachers aren't like this (I did spend much of 22 years of my life in a classroom!), and it challenged me to be aware of my own attitude as I'm schooling my children each day. I'm sure many days I sound just as bad!
Steven Joseph sure loves his baby brother!
and he loves fishing!
Girls standing by Cabin 4 before we left
And a shot of the inside of our clean cabin!
We had a wonderful lunch at the "Country Cafe" down the road. The owner served us and doted on all the kids. Steven Joseph was pouting about wanting lemonade, and she joked that he would be so cute in a commercial for the restaurant! We had a great lunch, complete with cake for dessert, and then took the scenic route they had recommended.
There is a REAL castle up in the hills! From what I read, it appears it's only used for weddings.
We stopped at the scenic spot for some photos but the boys were asleep, so again no family photo for us...maybe at Easter?
The view of the countryside and lakes in the distance
The girls took a few pics of the happy couple :) Can you believe I'm wearing orange? I've never bought an orange shirt before (Aggies just don't), but it was on clearance and will be a good reminder for me of little Cooper whose favorite color was orange and many wore orange at his funeral. A challenge to live each of these precious moments with my kids to the fullest!
(and yeah, half my body is hidden behind my husband, if you're wondering)
We survived the long drive home with iPhone, candy, and crazy screaming the last half hour!
Here's what our truck looked like, filled to the brim!
I love this one with little Tommy in the grass looking back at me.
It was an exhausting, but fun 3 days! I think after a couple months we'll be ready to camp again. It's not my favorite kind of trip, but it's great for us all to be outdoors, it's relatively inexpensive, and can be very educational. I'm thinking I'll need to stick with the places with cabins, though, and I'd sure love one with our own bathroom!
Overall, a fun little getaway. Hope to go back with some friends and/or family some time soon!
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