Eventually we were able to avail ourselves of the mini-golf, though we soon started skipping holes.  Turns out it’s rather time-consuming to mini-golf with three kids who’ve never really done it before and have no idea how to hold a golf club.  So we only played the holes that had fun moving hazards, like the windmill and the clock pendulum, before hitting the pool.  Bob managed a hole in one! We’re so proud.

Later it was on to nearby Effigy Mounds in Iowa.  This is a pretty cool national monument containing a lot of pristine land right on the Mississippi, as well as many ceremonial earth mounds built by Native Americans long ago.   The kids were less thrilled by the mounds than they were by the Junior Ranger program, where they could do various activities to earn a plastic badge.  We went on a beautiful hike and I had to force them to put away their booklets and actually look around. 

The ranger had sized up our crew and recommended a short hike on a wooden boardwalk, but we are more intrepid!  (Plus the girls wanted to see the Little Bear mound so they could check it off on their bingo activity page.)  So we did the 2-mile loop trail past several mounds and leading to an amazing view of the Mississippi.  Of course, the reason the view was so amazing was that it was so high, which meant that the first half of the trail was straight uphill.  Also, did I mention it was over 100 degrees?  Some of the children handled this challenge better than others.  (Hint: Lanie, the four-year-old, was the most energetic and actually ran most of the way back down.)  Nothing ever felt better than going into the cool visitor center and resting their while the girls completed their badge work.

A great deal of effort went into these junior ranger badges

Next, on to Minnesota!  Fortunately our campground, while not especially nice, was right off the highway, so we didn’t have a repeat of the previous night’s debacle.  Also, we arrived before the pool closed – bonus!  And more air conditioners!  Life is good.

***

The states just keep ticking away, brand new states that I’ve never visited before.  Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, and now Minnesota.  Just so posterity will always know the exact time I entered Minnesota, and all of these other backwater nowhere places, we’re keeping a detailed trip journal with such entries as “[5:45 – Entered Minnesota]”.  Posterity will eat this up.  We’re also tracking time on the road, miles logged and gas consumed.  For those who are interested, the cheapest gas I’ve seen advertised was $3.33 in Pennsylvania, but the cheapest I’ve purchased was $3.43, in New York. 

We’re supposed to be writing some color into the journal as well, but so far it’s mostly just nuts-and-bolts stuff.  We’re trying to keep track of what we’re listening to, as well.   Today we started our third Little House series book of the trip, The Long Winter.  I wanted to skip this one, as it is tremendously depressing and everyone almost starves to death; however, it takes place in DeSmet, which is where we’ll be sleeping – in a covered wagon! – tomorrow night.  Happily, it’s been anything but wintry, so we’re not likely to have in Ingalls flashbacks during our visit; or, if we do, they won’t involve the hard questions of whether we should cannibalize Baby Grace or throw her onto the fire.

Some other people might not be interested in this but some might want to know what I’m reading.  Actually, I haven’t been reading much because it’s been a busy time, but I have had a chance or two to look at Keith Richards’ autobiography on the Kindle.   It’s quite entertaining, particularly because the opening vignette has Keith and Ronny Wood driving cross-country from Memphis to Houston.  How’s that for a parallel to my life right now.  One major difference is that Keith’s car is filled with drugs and alcohol and ours is filled with stuffed animals and snack food.  And snack food wrappers.  And camping gear.  And kids’ clothes.  Keith hasn’t mentioned having any of these things yet.