Fisher's AgriPark Fall Festival

This is a continuation of a fall travel series.  If you missed any of my previous posts you can find them here:  Bird Watching at the La Crosse Marsh, A Return to Galena Illinois, A Visit to the Lincoln Home, A Visit to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, and The Lincoln Tomb and Historic Springfield, and Turkey Run State Park.

The day after hiking in Turkey Run State Park we went to a fall festival at Fisher's Agripark.  Fisher's Agripark is a 33 acre urban farm located in Fishers Indiana.  The park pays homage to Fisher's agricultural  roots and provides inspiration to future farmers and homesteaders.  The park has public fields and gardens, livestock,  a playground, nature trail, nursery, and more!

The park holds a variety of activities from May through October, one of which is their Fall Festival which we attended!

The festival had so much to do we couldn't even do it all in four hours!  Here is a list of everything they had going on at the farm:

• Movie in the barn (“Home on the Range”)
• DIY veggie stamp tote bag
• Mini pumpkin painting
• Wood pumpkin craft
• S’mores & fire puts
• Putt putt golf
• Face painting
• Photo booth
• Super slide
• Inflatables
• Animal encounter
• Nature trail and playground
• Food, snack, and drink vendors

Because we had young ones, we spent a lot of time playing in the inflatables.  

They had a corn maze inflatable, which I thought was kinda cooky coming from Wisconsin where we have 'real' corn mazes, but the little ones seemed to enjoy it.

They had an inflatable farm, which seemed to be Elisha's favorite.

And they had an inflatable barn to jump in with a slide attached!

They also had a real tall, fast slide!

After playing in the inflatables, the kids were hungry so we headed for the food trucks.  We enjoyed smash burgers, walking tacos, hot dogs, and hot pretzels.  With full tummies, I thought it was best to let the stomachs settle before playing again, so the kids all got their faces painted!

Atticus and Elisha chose different Spider Men variations and Alethea chose a unicorn colored kitty.

I was so impressed with the ladies doing the face painting.  They were so good at it, and they were great with the kids!

Grandpa and Ashley took turns holding baby Lazarus,  I was the photographer that night, so I'm not in any pictures unless I handed my phone to someone and said "Here, take my picture!"  I do that at least once so when we're looking through family photos someday no one thinks I'm dead cause I'm not in any of the pictures. 😀

I don't know what's going on in the photo below.  I think Elisha is using his bargaining powers on Grandpa Todd.  He has learned when he doesn't get what he wants from one authority figure, to just go try another.  I have no idea where he learned this from, and why he even attempts it, because it does not work!  Trust me, we're on to him! 😂

Once everyone's face was painted, we headed over to the farm animals.  The children were given feed to give to the animals.

We decided to take the short nature trail back to the play activities.  The trail went through the woods where some small fall arrangements of pumpkins and hay stacks were displayed.

It was finally time to roast some marshmallows and make s'mores.  Atticus had been asking to do this all night and we kept saying "later", "later".  Well, "later" finally came and he one happy boy!

After s'mores time it was time for me to get in a fall photo so I grabbed Elisha and had Grandpa take our picture.

The grandkids really enjoyed playing on the playground and on the giant haystack.

And I thought I should include a photo of this little guy, baby Lazarus, since you couldn't see him much in mommy's Snuggie.

I hope you enjoyed our fall activity and photos, even if it's a little late as it is now the Christmas season.

 Next week I will finish up with this series and then I will be taking a two week holiday break.  I will come back after the New Year with a new travel series on Yellowstone National Park and more!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

"Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart" Devotional Coloring Book

I really enjoy adult coloring books, but I don't just color any ol' book.  I prefer to buy books that have some connection to my faith, that way, I can both color and mediate on God's word at the same time.  I find coloring very relaxing.  I usually do it after all the chores have been done for the day;  about an hour before it's time to start supper.  It recharges me to sit and rest a spell after running around all day.

I have been working on a coloring/devotional book of the Book of Psalms which I showed you in these two blog posts:  "Coloring Through the Book of Psalms" and "Coloring Through the Book of Psalms, Part II".    But I decided to take a break from the book and return to it in the spring/summer after I saw the "Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart" book on Dayspring.  I thought it was such a pretty winter book, and would look lovely sitting on my coffee table, and who doesn't love cardinals, right?

The book has over 158 pages, half of which are coloring pages, so it is quite a thick, large book, and I doubt I'll even finish it this winter.  

It is spiral bound, which makes it so much easier to color than normal coloring books.  And the pages are super strong and thick so you don't need to worry about bleeding through the other side (unless you use markers, which bleed through anything).

The very first page is a dedication page.  I colored the page, but I left the spaces blank.  I'm not sure if I'll regift this book when I'm finished.  Not every one likes to color, and they may appreciate reading the devotionals and looking at the beautifully colored pages by yours' truly.

The next page is an introduction to the book.  This book is all about "Resting in the Lord";  taking advantage of the long, cold winter as a time to experience the calming presence of God.

The next page features a devotional with an illustration to color on the opposite page.  The entire book is set up this way.  Each time you flip the page, there is another devotional and another coloring page.  The devotional always includes a scripture, which I try to mediate on as I color, and pray.

The designs in this book are so large and intricate it takes me a long time to finish coloring one page.  I chose to use colored pencils so it doesn't bleed on the other side of the paper.  I never used to like coloring with pencils, but I taught myself how to work with them and I've really been enjoying it.  It does help to use high quality colored pencils like Prismacolor Pencils or Castle Arts.

For the duration of this post, I will only show you the rest of the pages I have colored so far, along with the title of the devotional and a scripture reference.

"A Candle in the Dark"

Romans 5:5

"Revealing Love, Inviting Peace"

Proverbs 15:1

"The Calm Path"

1 Kings 19:11-12

"A Blanket of Peace"

Proverbs 15:18

"The Light Kept On"

John 1:5

"Rest and Reset"

Isaiah 9:7

"Giving the Pace A Break"

Isaiah 30:15

"Personal Peacemakers"

Proverbs 17:27

"With Full and Grateful Hearts"

John 1:14

"The Love We Crave"

Zephaniah 3:17

"God's Work in the Wait"

Isaiah 40:31

"Good and Helpful"

Psalm 94:19

"Things Our Soul Needs"

Psalm 119:52

 I hope you enjoyed my colored pages!  I will show you more as I complete them.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

A Fall Hike in Turkey Run State Park

I am back from fall break and I will be continuing on with my fall travel series.  If you missed any of my previous posts you can find them here:  Bird Watching at the La Crosse Marsh, A Return to Galena Illinois, A Visit to the Lincoln Home, A Visit to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, and The Lincoln Tomb and Historic Springfield.

After three days of vacation with just my hubby and I, it was time to meet up with the kids and grandkids.  We chose Turkey Run State Park because it was on the way to their place for us, and only an hour and half drive for the kids.

Turkey Run State Park in Indiana has over 14 miles of hiking trails ranging from easy to very rugged trails.  We had little kids plus a five month old, so we weren't able to hike very long.  We crossed the famous suspension bridge (pictured below) and visited "Rocky Hollow", then we hiked just a little bit of "Turkey Run Trail 10" to see the Crevice Rock and then we had to call a day.  I was kinda bummed because I had never been here before and I really wanted to see it all, but with little kids, you have little legs, and they just can't hike as far as adults.

The Suspension Bridge

To get to most of the hiking trails in Turkey Run State Park you need to cross the suspension bridge.  It is seventy steps down to just get to the bridge.  Once you cross the bridge you will be in the Rocky Hollow Nature Preserve that contains deep sandstone canyons and one of the last remnants of forests that once filled Indiana.

The bridge is a 200 foot long wire suspension bridge originally built more than a century ago.

The bridge hangs over Sugar Creek, but swimming and wading is prohibited in the park, so you can only enjoy the water from above. 

Baby Lazarus had it easy that day, taking turns between being carried by Grandpa Todd or snug safe in Mommy's baby's wrap.

The view of Sugar Creek from the bridge.

We were so excited to see a crane in the water below.

Rocky Hollow Nature Preserve

Rocky Hollow Nature Preserve is a well preserved piece of the past.  20,000 years ago the glaciers retreated leaving a barren landscape.  Soon, vegetation blanketed the newly exposed bedrock.  Tundra turned to forests of spruce, hemlocks, and other evergreens.  In Rocky Hollow, the clock stopped about 12,000 years ago.   The canyon has kept the temperature and moisture conditions similar to that long time ago.  In 1975, Rocky Hollow was awarded status as a National Natural Landmark.  It is also a state Nature Preserve.

The trail is very beautiful.  You are surrounded by tall sandstone walls and the most fascinating geological formations. 

Just look at the height of the rock in comparison to my daughter and new born baby.  Wow!

There is a lot of interest on this trail, and lots of rock climbing, so the little ones were also entertained.

I loved the color on the rocks produced by all the moisture.

Depending on what time of year you go, the water levels vary.  When we were there it was pretty dry so we were able to hike pretty far, but I heard in spring you may not be able to hike as far because of the water depth.  It seems like it is always wet, so be prepared to get your shoes muddy.

At this part, we decided to turn around and go back rather than make the loop.  The rocks were getting wetter and slippery, and we worried Ashley was going to fall with the baby.  I was kinda bummed because I did want to see the "Punch Bowl". 

We spent some time taking fall family photos.

                         Turkey Run Trail 10

Next, we headed for "Turkey Run Trail 10" to see "Crevice Rock".

This was a cool trail because of the wooden steps going up and through all the interesting rock formations.

This trail is 1.4 miles long and leads you to the "Camel Back Overlook".  We just climbed the stairs to the top and then came back down.  That was cool enough for the little ones.

Before I leave, I have to mention that there are several historic buildings in this park too, like the "Leiber Cabin" pictured below.

I don't know if I'll ever get back to Turkey Run State Park to explore more;  I certainly hope so.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!