50-State Challenge

Missouri … Loves Company

July 27, 2011

In college I was a Resident Assistant, and one year we were all assigned a different state for some reason I can’t remember. My friend Beth Lackey was Missouri, and as a joke we called her misery. Later in college, my friend Barbi and I took a summer trip and traveled across Missouri on our […]

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Iowa – A cave, a spring, and a cabin

July 25, 2011

Whenever I used to think about Iowa, I always thought of a flat land full of corn. When we crossed over the Mississippi which was the state line, we found something that was anything but flat. The land was full of rocky outcroppings and rolling hills. We made our way to Decorah, IA, to explore […]

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Ticked Off!

July 24, 2011

I had a moment! One of those if this happens again, I’m going to a hotel, kind of moments! Last night, during the storm, I finished eating, took down my hair, and laid down to try to sleep. As I rolled to one side I felt something crawling near the back of my left ear. […]

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Wisconsin – Deer, Horseflies, & Sleep

July 23, 2011

We got to Copper Falls State Park in time for naps. We put Tirzah and Elijah down and the rest of us had snack time. Tirzah took a short 1-hr nap and Elijah wouldn’t sleep; so, we hiked to Copper & Brownstone Falls. The hike was warm and muggy, but there wasn’t too much complaining […]

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Michigan – Water, Rocks, & Wildlife (Part 2)

July 22, 2011

This morning as the rains came and after it rained last night, I got the opportunity to use one of the tools created by Battlefield Ministries in their book on relationships that we are giving away on our trip. I was pretty short in my conversations with Jodi and the kids. I had a heavy […]

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Michigan – Water, Rocks, & Wildlife

July 18, 2011

As we rolled into our campsite in the Porcupine Mtn Wilderness State Park, I heard Jodi say, “What is that little varmint?” I looked and something was scurrying away, though not very fast. I parked and jumped out to follow it as it ran to an old hollow stump. I came back to bring the […]

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Minnesota – Blood, Sweat, & Tears

July 16, 2011

Minnesota truly is the land of lakes. It seems we see one every few miles. We heard about MN closing their state parks; so, we called the bike shop we were going to rent bikes from to see if we could still rent bikes and ride around the park. The lady we spoke to said […]

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North Dakota – Rain, Frogs & Funhogs (Part 2)

July 15, 2011

I had an adventure today that I would just as soon never have again. When we got to the park in Fargo, Brian took the kids to play at the playground while I put Tirzah down for a nap and take one myself. After about 30 minutes, Tirzah was still crying so I nursed her […]

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North Dakota – Rain, Frogs, & Funhogs (Part 1)

July 14, 2011

After getting some laundry done and loading back up, we had a short 2-hr drive to the Sheyenne National Grasslands. But as we drove into them we quickly realized our error in not getting better directions to the North Country National Scenic Trail, which we planned to hike a portion of. It seemed every road […]

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South Dakota – Great Faces Great Places (Part 3)

July 13, 2011

Our family is a huge fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie book series. As a family we have read through all the books, and Kendall has begun reading them on her own as well. In DeSmet, South Dakota we got the wonderful opportunity to tour the Ingalls’ home where Laura grew […]

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