Growing Up Wenzler: September 2010

So, there is a new Ds family here in Spring Hill. The little one, Callie, was born in June and I became Facebook friends with her mom, Amanda soon after. It took until this week to meet them! Finally we were able to work out a time/date for them to come over. It was short notice, but I also invited the other local Spring Hill families and Erin was able to make it with Liam and Karis. Erin invited a friend of hers and her little boy, Isaac.

It was a really great little afternoon. I loved meeting Amanda and that little Callie was so squishable that she got passed around the whole time. Amanda also nannies a little 3-year-old girl, Sydney, who was a sweetie. Etta was really cute playing with the kids/babies. As each new child entered the room, she would go over and sit next to them to see what they were playing with. We're going to need to work on sharing (not taking toys away from another child).

A couple of cute pics:

I should really just get this out there...

I don't love camping.

There. I said it.

I mean, I LIKE camping. I like making memories with my family and exploring new places. I like the way dinner always tastes amazing. I like poking at the campfire with my poking stick. I'm all for going once or twice a year, but going every couple of weeks is burning me out. In fact, I think I'm burnt out. You reading this, hon? I don't like bugs. I don't like feeling dirty. I don't like smelling like a campfire. I don't like sweating all day and being cold all night, and I especially don't like not getting any sleep.

Keith signed us up for a trip to the Meriwether Lewis Site on the Natchez Trace. "It's free to camp there" he says. I also heard, "My book says it's a great place to camp" and "they say that when the wind blows sometimes you hear the leaves rustling and whispers of 'so hard to die'". Great honey! Sounds fun!

So, Saturday I was feeling better and Etta was feeling better and we packed up and loaded up and headed out to The Natchez Trace.

We went down through Columbia, took 412 and hopped on The Trace around Hohenwald. The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444 mile road that runs from Natchez Mississippi to Nashville,Tennessee. Nobody really knows how old this thing is. In fact, one of the official historic markers called it "a very old trail". We got a kick out of that. It was once an old Indian trail and by 1785 it was used by farmers to make their way back home after floating their crops and products down rivers to Natchez or New Orleans. By 1810, the Trace was the most heavily traveled wilderness road in the Old Southwest. People built small inns along the trace providing basic food and shelter. Started in the late 1930's, the modern Natchez Trace Parkway parallels the old trace.

It only took us about 45-50 minutes to get to the site. We drove around a bit and found a campsite. The place was deserted! There were two loops in the campground and we only saw two campsites set up. Also, BONUS, the bathrooms are closed for remodeling- we get port-a-potties. DOUBLE BONUS, no running water (has been cut off due to the construction project). We find a large site and start setting up camp. We were able to leave Ferris off her leash because NO ONE was around. We set up camp and then loaded back into the car and drove over to the Meriwether Lewis death and burial site.

she sometimes poses for pictures now...

Warning: another history lesson is coming (mostly plagiarized from the maps/brochures of the park)... Meriwether Lewis was sent on an expedition by president Jefferson to explore the land west of the Mississippi River. Lewis chose a co-captain to lead the expedition- William Clark. The primary purpose of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was to find and map an all-water route to the Pacific Ocean. After completing nearly 8,000 miles by boat, horseback, and on foot, the members of the expedition returned without ever finding an all-water route to the Pacific. However, they documented and described 122 animal species and 178 plant species. They came in contact with about 50 American Indian tribes. A map was created and journals were published. Lewis became Governor of the Upper Louisiana Territory and in 1809, he began a journey to Washington DC to document and defend his spending of government funds. Some of that journey took place on the Natchez Trace. He stopped one night at an inn for a meal and a room. Late that evening gunshots we heard and Lewis was found with one shot to the head and one to the chest. Lewis died the following morning at the age of 35. Who inflicted these wounds remains a mystery to this day... dum dum duuum!

We checked out the ruins of the inn and the gravesite. Etta liked running in the open field.

Then we drove over to a little creek to put our feet in and cool off before we went back to camp. The water was COLD, but after a minute it felt great on such a hot day.

When we got back to camp, we played in the little screened in area of our tent. The "porch", if you will. This is really the point where I thought, "well, we saw it all, can we go home now?". But that was just in my head.

Etta had a hotdog and fruit for dinner and then it was time for her to go to bed. It was difficult getting her to sleep because this trip she learned how to climb in AND out of her pack-n-play. We ended up holding her down and patting her back until she fell asleep. Finally, a little down-time! I read my kindle for a little bit and Keith cooked dinner. We ate with the bugs, but it was delicious. The pork chops had been marinating ALL day in the cooler. MMmmm! I need to get the word out about this marinade we use. We started using it about a year ago and stopped the search for the world's best marinade! It's Allegro brand "Soy & Lime with Horseradish Marinade". It is great on everything!

I pretty much brushed my teeth, baby-wiped my feet, and went to bed right after dinner. So did Keith. Not five minutes after he kissed me goodnight and started his snoring did I feel a rumble in my tummy. I tried to ignore it, but ended up hiking in the dark (with my Mighty Bright book light) to the port-a-potty. After hiking back, I cleaned my feet again with a baby wipe and put my head on the pillow. 15 minutes later, I was trying to avoid poision ivy while balancing in a squat position in the woods. I did this two more times in the night. Squatting in the woods in the middle of the dark, cold night is NO FUN. Between my tummy ailing, Keith's snoring, and that bright moon bathing the tent in light, I got close to no sleep last night. Etta was up by about 5:20 this morning. We didn't lay around long. We got up and started packing up. Mostly, Keith packed up while I fed Etta breakfast. Then we were on the road headed home!