Hiking at Turkey Run...Continued

Remember our obliterated week last week? Made for some fantastic podcast fodder. We hope you enjoy! :)

Listen here!

And now, a continuation of photos from our hiking fun!

We planned to stop at a picnic table for lunch, but alas, I needed to eat before we found one. So we just found a little rocky ledge and set up our lunch. Ryan and I brought turkey, cheese, and bread for sandwiches, and I'd made banana bread cookies and protein balls for dessert/snacks. We had water bottles and Gatorade, so we were set! (And we got a lot of weird looks from people hiking past us!)

Right after lunch, we went down in this canyon area called the Punchbowl. You can hear more about this on the podcast, but basically when we got into the Punchbowl, we found every other person in the park that day. It was crazy crowded with people of all ages - and dogs. Some were intense, some were terrified, and many were impatient. It would have made a fascinating study for a sociologist.

Once we got out of there, we had to cross into the next section of the park. I'm not sure I can explain it well, but I'll try. There was a narrow part of the canyon that was kind of like a two lane road. Half the road was a creek and the other half was a rocky area you had to climb up and down. It was so narrow. It could almost fit one person. Several people tried to wade through the creek half, but once you got so far in, it was too deep and debris-laden to continue. (Plus it was just too cold!) So you had to wait your turn to go up and over the really narrow rocky "stairs." But there were people crossing in both directions. So a line would go from one way and then a line from the other. There were kids making the trek and dogs, and there were several in both camps that were terrified. The wait was long and filled with some impatient people, but we got through!

Ryan went first, then the camera and I went, then Amber, then Shawn. And then you can see the line of people (and a dog!) behind us waiting to go. See what I mean about narrow? Rock as high up as I can see to my right, and if I fell to the left, I fell in the creek.

 Top!!

 And back down. (Ryan actually took this one as he went down ahead of me.)

 Down....

At the bottom I had to jump across the creek and I only made it because a really nice (and not impatient) man was standing on the other side helping folks across. (Ryan stayed back to help Amber.) The other guy pulled me over safely.

The views at the bottom were totally worth all the anxiety.

We decided to head back toward the lodge so we could rest for a bit, get a snack, apply bandages to blisters, have bathroom breaks etc.

And that's where I had to conquer another fear. This bad boy:

Why yes! That is a suspension bridge.

Sweet mercy. Help me.

So you're probably exhausted. I'll save the last little bit for tomorrow.... :)

Turkey Run - Part One

So! I don't think I told you this, but amid all the madness that was our last week, I had to send my laptop in for repairs. One of the hinges broke, so I can't open and close it. (Sort of key for a laptop.) I only had a few days left on the warranty, so it had to go in, and as you can probably imagine, I can't breathe without it. Ryan is (as always) gracious and allows me to use his, but it's just weird doing work on a computer that isn't yours. So just give me grace this week if anything looks wonky!

MONTHS ago, Ryan decided he wanted to go hike at Turkey Run State Park, which is a pretty popular state park here in Indiana. (It's not terribly far from the Illinois line, actually.) He thought it would be really fun to invite his friend Shawn to go along, because they had such a great time skiing together at the beginning of the year. (It probably was a kind way of saying he'd like a brave buddy - HA!) We talked about this trip when we were out with my friend Amber earlier this year, and she said she thought it sounded fun. I thought if RYAN had a buddy, I needed a buddy, right? So we asked her if she'd like to come too, and we'd just make it a whole fun day with friends. Everyone agreed! (I'll just come right out and say it, because I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression: this was NOT a setup! Literally just a bunch of friends hanging out.)

I was pretty nervous in the days leading up to Saturday, because the forecast wasn't amazing. High winds and some rain in the forecast. We had no alternative date we could go that would work for all four of our schedules, so this was it. We were so excited when the day ended up being stunning. It was pretty cool outside, requiring lots of layers for all of us, but it was sunny and did not rain at all until after dark, when we were driving home. Then it snowed. Oh, Indiana. You slay me.

I would also like to point out that four layers that end in a puffy vest make me look like a puffalump. I'm not as fluffy in real life as you're about to see. LOL!

Here's our group before we got started for the day:

I can tell you right now that I won't be able to keep the whole day in order from all the various phones and cameras we used, so I'll just pick some of my favorites to share with you today and then I'll come back with a few more tomorrow.

We lost the boys right away. They had the best day catching up with each other. So this was pretty much the view Amber and I had most of the time. Ha!

(This kind of day was pretty perfect, actually. We both had the chance to hang out with friends without having to be apart from each other. Marriage/friendship WIN!)

I almost forgot this one. They requested this photo:

Indiana, for all of its weather ridiculousness, blows my mind, because it has such a wide variety of scenery all wrapped up in one state. How crazy is it that I live in flat cornfield land, and less than two hours from home, I can find views like this?

Unbelievable.

Yeah, I hiked with the good camera. A few times, I questioned my decision to do that. :)

 I tried not to demand TOO many group photos, but as trip historian, I had to honor my duty...

 MAJOR props to Ryan and Shawn for carrying the lunch/drink/snack pack the first half of the day.

 My favorite adventurer:

Every trip has its memorable moments. Map-reading was one from ours. So of course I had to sneak this picture:

Because I tried not to overly force the photos of others, I just grabbed a few selfies with some of my favorite views.

(Hopefully anyone who saw these being taken understood  I was appreciating the scenery. I saw one pretty seasoned adult posing on the trail with her phone straight above her head, her lips all puckered, completely flirting with her Snapchat filter, I'm guessing. It was a very odd sight in the middle of all the rugged.)

Speaking of rugged, most of the trails were just that. SO many rocks to climb over.

 I climbed through all these without breaking myself or my camera!

 Amber was sweet to take this. I love it.

 Panoramic view of that area we climbed through.

Just a little more for you today and then I'll wait until tomorrow to make you read more! :)

We thought we were going to be too late for peak leaf season. Turns out we were too early! (Have I mentioned Indiana is unpredictable?)

 Weird head on tree:

 THEY HAVE A COVERED BRIDGE! (This county actually has like 31 covered bridges or something like that. We did not have time to tour the county AND do the park, so we'll have to go back for the official county tour. I do want to see, well, all the bridges.)

 I adore covered bridges.

 This family was cleaning up to leave, or so I thought. But they just kept cleaning and up and cleaning up, so I gave up and took my picture.

 Amber took this. She said it looked like the cover for an album. So I guess we're a band now. We named ourselves Punchbowl Chuck. I'll have to tell you more about that later.)

This is Punchbowl Chuck, signing out for today.

Come back tomorrow.

The Shafferland Shuffle

Well, people, this. has. been. a. week. It's been the kind of week I'm not even sure how to explain, because it has been about 100 kinds of ridiculous. Ryan actually used the word "obliterated" to describe our schedule this week. I've decided it would actually better describe our entire MONTH. So I'm not sure what this shuffle is about to look like, so hang onto your hats.

* Last Sunday morning, our Sunday School class started a brand new study on the book of Ruth. I'm excited about it! I love that book. We made a quick appearance at our nephew's birthday party that afternoon. It was at a trampoline park, and the likelihood that I will return to a trampoline park is slim (because let's be real: I'd break my head) so we took a picture. That evening, we got our first extended-stay houseguest! Our church was hosting a missionary coming home from the field and needed a place for him to stay, so Shafferland became the place. We were excited to welcome him! (By the way - he was the best house guest ever. So polite, so easy-going, so easy to talk to! We were spoiled.) 

* I made chicken fajitas on Monday, and they were so tasty! I spent the whole day preparing for my annual personal work retreat, which I had (long ago) slated for this week. I had lots of documents to pull together and settling in my mind to accomplish, so I spent most of the day doing that. Ryan ended up having to run an emergency errand that night, so I was a couch widow. :( It's so weird when he's not home!

* We had some freeze advisories this week, so there were a few nights Ryan pulled all our plants into the garage. I walked out Tuesday morning and wondered if we had turned into a greenhouse! It made me giggle. Tuesday was the first day of my work retreat, and I just so enjoyed being alone with the Lord, reflecting, worshiping, and of course, drinking coffee. :) This was also week two of my current workout plan, and I had to up my running game. Ryan had a class for work that night (continuing education credits) and even though he hated being gone again, he really learned a lot and loved it.

* Wednesday I was back in the office working on my personal retreat again. Another great day of dreaming, planning, and taking stock of the work I do. That was also the night we told Ryan's sister we could watch her baby, so he came over for a little bit, and he was a good baby. I needed to make some cookies that night for a carry-in on Thursday. In a rare turn of events, I had a total kitchen fail (on a double batch, no less). Not one single cookie was worth serving to anyone. It was awful. I had to start completely over at 9:45 at night.

* Thursday morning I had an appointment to get our tires rotated. (It was supposed to be on Friday, but we had to reschedule it after Friday took on a life of its own.) The tire staff was having an obliterated sort of day of its own. They did their best, but they were running crazy behind and I ended up being late to my next adventure! The Bible study I'm part of had a brunch that day, so I scooted in just before they served food! It was at the most beautiful home. I was ready to pack up and move in! When I came home, I went for a run (and actually did well for my non-running self) while Ryan mowed the yard.

* Friday morning we got up at 3 a.m. to go to Dan's donuts. One of Ryan's co-workers had a birthday that day, and he wanted to surprise her with donuts, and I'm never one to turn that down! I watched a couple of girls all day. They were so good. One of them had a birthday and the other wanted to be my helper all day, so we had a great time together! Our house guest left that morning to go back home, but he ended up coming back to stay two more days. (Guess we are just that much fun!)

* Yesterday we had the most fun day that I can't wait to tell you about! We joined up with a couple of our friends to go hiking at a state park. It was beautiful, and we (the girls) conquered several fears! The weather was stunning, even though it was supposed to be more on the nasty side, and we ended up having a really enjoyable day!

So there you have it! Our plot twist sorta week! :)