Flying High at Darden Towe

Last Tuesday night was rough. I didn't have to get Olin (he woke up 3 times but was able to put himself back to sleep). He woke up around 5:30 and just kind of moaned until 6:30 when I let Calais get him. Calais on the other hand, man oh man. She didn't want to fall asleep last night, and got up around 5:15. I went in and told her it was still dark out and she went back to sleep for about 30 min, or at least she was quiet! I let her play in her room until it was time to get Olin. Needless to say my head was pounding this morning. It was also raining off and on, so we didn't get out until after Olin's nap.

Around 10:30 we headed out to Darden Towe park. I think I went here many, many, many years ago to catch a soccer game of Jake's. Our goal was to find the water, the playground and one trail. We drove into the main gate and took a left and drove down to the softball fields (where there was a Masters Softball game going on). We parked at the playground and unloaded. Decent playground, not huge, no swings, but some great slides. Unfortunately we were the only ones there. Calais and Olin both had tons of fun. Calais loves jumping off things, so she set out to find the slide, the stairs on the rocks to jump off. Olin was happy just following big sister and laughing at her.

We played for about 20  minutes then took off to find the water and the trails. I noticed on the map before that there were paved trails around the perimeter of the park. We walked around (2x) a small green lake with a fountain and saw many butterflies and even more geese poop! We then made our way down to the boat launch. No boats, however we came across many items of clothing. I was a little sketched out, I saw shoes with socks, hats, shirts, pants, but no people. Pretty area of the river though, so maybe that's why people hang out there naked??

Next, we continued along the paved path. It was hot out! It had rained most of the morning which made it super steamy when the sun came out. Regardless of the heat it was really pretty and quiet outside. As we walked I noticed a private residence sign. Seems strange to have a home in the middle of a park. May need to learn more about that! We also saw a hull of a ship, which I also thought was strange. I did notice on our way out that there is a Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center, so maybe it had something to do with that.

We finally hoofed our way back to the playground and I let the kiddos play for another 20 minutes. Then we headed back home. (Just as two other kids arrived!)

We will definitely be back, it's a nice change of pace from the normal parks we hit up.