The campsite at Clifty Falls State Park was conveniently tucked next to a playground and well shaded just in case the sun would come out. However, the sun never did come out and the site was a bit slantly.  The kids slipped down their mats all night long.  Scott and I both took turns pulling the kids back up to the top of their mats after they had become a puddle mashed into the tent.  We headed to a pavilion to cook up some French Toast and avoid the impending rain.  Anyone notice a theme with the ritual of finding a pavilion?  We happened to be right where a machine shop of Amish workers was having their company picnic. We were able to watch their baseball game.  Even after the heavy rain had scattered most of the spectators and sent them running for cover, the game was pretty intense.  We had a chance to talk with Dwayne who was with the Amish group while Brooke sat in a tire swing watching the game in the rain.

We were one of two families we saw out hiking.  When the other family saw us they exclaimed, “Oh! Thank goodness we aren’t the only crazy ones!”

Trail number 7 was marked as moderately rugged and 1.25 miles.  With the rain it added a little extra fun.  Both the kids slipped on wet rocks and landed in mud.  Thankfully no one slipped on the hundreds of stairs we climbed up and down.

The waterfalls were flowing well with all the recent rain.  Brooke was on a mission to be the first to finish the trail, so she blew past a lot of the beautiful falls, but we did our best to help her slow down and capture the peacefulness and beauty before she breezed past.

Cody was a little bummed about being covered in mud, but he held Scott’s hand for a good part of the walk and quietly carried on.  We took a break after our hike back under the pavilion.  It was nice to shed our wet clothes and packs for a bit.  We then headed to the Nature Center which used to be a horse  stable. Scott cooked up some Mac and Cheese for the kids at the Nature Center.  The kids played hide and go seek while Scott cooked.  The nature center was built in 1938 and housed the horses that toured guests around the Clifty Falls area until April 1974 when a tornado damaged the area.  The horse stable was then turned into the Nature Center in 1975.

My favorite part about the Nature Center was the quote on the wall when you walk in, “Along the quiet trails through these reservations, it is to be expected that the average citizen will find release from the tension of his overcrowded daily existence, that the contact with nature will refocus with a clearer lens his perspective on life’s values and that he may here take counsel with himself to the end that his strength and confidence are renewed.” It has taken almost a week, but we are slowly settling into the traveling mode of being a family.

After the Nature Center lunch we headed to the pool.  The lifeguards were sharing that the unseasonal cold temps and rains have cost the state quite a bit money when usually the pool makes the state quite a bit of money.

The water was slightly warm, but the air was COLD! Scott didn’t partake in the water.  He worked on planning our next day’s activities.

Brooke was hesitant to even go off the diving board, let alone do a flip off of one.  She and I spent a lot of time doing laps and then going off the diving board and down the slide.  She eventually worked up enough courage to flip off the diving board and then kept on doing it over and over again. Cody went down the slide once, but he was afraid to swim to the side by himself and sort of froze in place like a deer in headlights. Swimming isn’t my strongest event in triathlons. In fact, it still scares me quite a bit, but momma mode kicked in and I managed to get him out without getting the lifeguard having to get wet. After a few hours of swimming Cody came to us quite blue and we called it a day from swimming.

A woman at the pool suggested to Scott that we walk across the newly completed sidewalk along the Milton – Madison Bridge.  The bridge connects Indiana to Kentucky.

The walk took about fifteen minutes each way. On the way back the kids were exhausted even though we stopped for ice cream at Dairy Queen before heading back. Despite being exhausted, we were able to travel a little bit faster on the way back because Cody saw a little boy about his size.  Cody looked at the other boy, looked left out towards the river, looked at the boy again, and then took off running. The other boy followed suit.

Scott also encouraged Cody to keep moving by raising his hand and saying, “The squirm is strong with you.”  A Star Wars inspired line that caused Cody to perk up, hold up his hand in an effort to stop Scott’s invisible squirm force, and run for it.  If Cody wasn’t so fast I would get it on camera.  Maybe sometime before the trip is over.  It really is quite priceless to see his smile and invisible squirm force block.

The buildings in Milton, Indiana were quite unique and beautiful.

We headed back to the campground to bike and relax.  The kids played a bit before Scott read and helped them calm down to sleep. It was another night where Scott’s voice reading helped us all drift off to a peaceful sleep.