Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127:3-5


Monday, September 14, 2009

Frontenac...

We took another drive Sunday...to Frontenac State Park. It was lovely! Lake Pepin shimmered like a glass, since there was very little wind. The frowning bluffs rose up, rugged and beautiful, from the shore like grim and ancient sentries.
We hiked from the heights of one of these great edifices down to the lake shore. Unfortunately, it was getting too dark to take many good pictures, but I did manage a few.


Family hikes are always fun. This one did not look at all difficult or strenuous at first.And of course the views were breathtaking. When we took this picture, there was a train snaking across the valley and sending out its whistle to echo in the hills. The sound of a train whistle always fills me with a strange and wonderful excitement. :) Up there, combined with the landscape spread out like a map, it sent shivers down my spine. Unfortunately, it was only a whisper when Aubrey tried to record it on camera and you couldn't hear it. We were continually amazed at the steep and precipitous nature of the path. At this point, we had no idea we were heading for the lake, or we probably wouldn't have kept walking. :)Along the trail on the face of the bluff were remains of an old stone quarry. Reportedly, the iron ring Aubrey is pulling at was used to hoist and anchor heavy equipment, but I liked to imagine the rock in which it was embedded was the colossal stone door to a forgotten treasure chamber. :)We were amazed when we realized that we had marched all the way down that hill and were on a level with the lake.The water was so inviting that Aubrey and I had to put our feet in.The boys preferred throwing things in the water to going in themselves. They are very good at skipping stones! I took pictures of the skips, and I think this was one of the better shots I got, but you can't see that this stone skipped nearly seven times!The climb back up the bluff was of course daunting, and by the time we reached the top, the sun had nearly set. The last few steps to the top looked like the gateway to heaven in more ways than one. :)Sam spotted this empty June bug skin on our way back to the car. :)

All that walking gave us quite an appetite, so this time Daddy finished off the night by taking us to Lake City for Pizza!

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