Marshall Gold Discovery State Park

The Marshall Gold Discovery State Park had their Junior Ranger kick-off on Saturday and we decided to go. It turns out the park is pretty awesome. In addition to the Visitor's Center and trails, they had interactive exhibits and a great river/beach/picnic area. It was a wonderful day. I couldn't have asked for anything better. The drive wasn't that long, and we stayed from 10a until after 2p. It was a fabulous day. The whole thing was free- except for the day use fee for the park.

The kids got to see what an old school schoolhouse looks like. The tour guide asked Nicholas to turn on the lights and Nicholas looked up at the ceiling and said, "There are no lights." It was a pretty awesome moment to see that he does -sometimes - internalize things that I teach him about the world. They sat in the old school desks and listened as a kids' day was described. He was thrilled to learn that, like him, kids in the old days didn't have school work because they had chores after school time.

So we ate lunch at the "north beach" area. The kids actually ate sandwiches. And I've decided that we are outgrowing out little cooler and are going to need a bigger one soon. We also played in the river.

The kids had a blast in the river. They simply played and played all afternoon long. It made for some very, very tired kids. Jon skipped rocks and spent a while trying to teach Nicholas to do it. Nicholas simply preferred to throw them and make big splashed. Abby wanted to find the rocks that were thrown. It was pretty fun watching them all play.

The water was FREEZING cold. But the kids loved it. I even waded in with them for a bit.

But we all had lots of fun playing and hanging out by the river. I think I need to remember that we simply need water wherever we go. If they have water, the kids are happy.

A great picture of her and her dad.
One that I'm going to keep for a
long, long time.

They were so tired they didn't want to walk to the car - we also had temper tantrums about having to leave the water. Jon solved all these by slinging the kids over his shoulder and carrying them to the car.

The kids were asleep in the car all the way home. It was perfect.