My Calves Are Killing Me

The Start of Our Journey - Walking Back from the Dam

It's not so much the speed of the hike (we were walking at preschooler speed), nor was it the length (not really all that far) , rather it was the grade of the hike and the heat that was a killer. We decided to take the girls to Willow River State Park (that link has a fantastic view of the falls) last weekend. This is the park that Adam was a Park Ranger at while we were first dating. He showed me around the park a little and told a few stories. We checked out the dam and walked on top of it (big hit with the girls).

Then we decided to make the trek down to the falls and to a scenic overlook above the falls. I knew when we were headed down the very steep hill that we would be in trouble on the way back. However, Adam assured me it wasn't very far. The girls did great, they both walked the entire way down. Lily and I even saw a doe hiding in the woods. I was really impressed that Lily could see it and by how quiet she was while watching the deer.

We crossed the bridge overlooking the falls and came to a very very large staircase. Someone told Adam that there could be as many as 250 steps to the top. Addie climbed them all by herself and Lily climbed most of them (I carried her for the last 3 landings).


The view from the top was amazing! You could see the falls in one direction and the river in the other. Beautiful!! The girls had a little snack at the deck at the top and Adam and I took a minute to catch our breath.

Then we headed back down the stairs (each carrying one child) and across the bridge. Addie decided she wanted to walk all the way back, however she kept stopping to scratch A's in the dirt or wander off the path. It was pretty clear that she was exhausted and just couldn't keep going at any pace. So Adam picked her up and I picked up Lily. We were off up the hill.


This picture really doesn't do justice to the grade of the hill since it was at the very end. However, by the time we made it back to the car, we were both dragging. We drove the girls back to Stillwater and put them to bed. 3 hours later we opened the bedroom door to encourage them to wake up! I think we wiped them out! It was a fantastic way to spend the day and we really should do this more often.