Saturday afternoon the kids and I headed to Red Wing to a Fregien Family BBQ. It was nice to see almost all of Jason’s siblings and a few other members of the family that I haven’t seen in awhile. It was a pretty short visit as everyone has lots of activities to fit into the summer weekends that never seem long enough!
From Red Wing I drove up to St. Croix State Park. I took the scenic route up the WI side of the river. It was a relaxing drive with lots of thinking time to sort out all my feels. I love getting together with Jason’s family…but it’s not without its pain points. As most things in life these days, the joy and the pain…the happy and the sad…the tears and the smiles…go hand in hand.
Camping was an adventure…like usual. St. Croix State Park is beautiful. It was an easy walk down to the river from my campsite…which I really appreciated. Nothing better than brewing a cup of coffee in the morning and then heading down to the water to sip it. I was not a huge fan of the camping there though. The sites were very open and very close together. Not ideal for this solo camper. It was also really stormy Saturday night…which freaked me out! I’m not a fan of storms when I’m in my house…let alone solo in my Bronco.
I was tired on Sunday from the lack of sleep overnight so I didn’t hike like I usually like to. Instead I explored more of the park by Bronco…got some mud on her tires on a long, windy dirt road. I found a nice little overlook that I hung out at for a little while watching a pair of swans and their babies. They were too far away to get a great picture of them. You can just spot them in this picture.
This morning I got up and decided to head home right away. I stopped at Tobie’s to get my kiddos some cinnamon and caramel rolls…and me some coffee. When I got home the dogs decided it was time for them to get a walk, so Anna and I took them to Whitetail Woods. There we saw a pair of swans with five babies! I was able to get a better picture of those! Anna was also excited because the berries along the trail were starting to get ripe 🙂
And now back to work tomorrow…before another camping trip Thursday. On Wednesday, I have my last therapy session with Tara before she moves to Eureka, Montana. It will be good to have some time to sort that out in the woods.
Love, Tennis, and Cancer 