Road Trip, Part 3: Malanaphy Springs (& Vesterheim)

As with any adventure, a person needs some sustenance, especially if you would happen to be one of the critters who seems to grow a little bit every time you turn around.

So we've heard of a pizza place called Mabe's Pizza and decided to have our lunch there.  We ordered, the kids played Tic Tac Toe, which is customary for us in restaurants, and we waited.  The pizza finally comes out and as the waitress is about to set it on the table, she realizes that the chef has made it wrong.  She said this one is free and asked if we'd like another pizza, but the correct one this time.  So we got a small of the correct pizza and they made things right.

The good news is that we had enough leftovers for a few snacks that night and another few pieces left over for the next days lunch as well.  Very good pizza!!

On our way to Mabe's, we drove by the Vesterheim Museum and Caleb got excited, so we figured we were less than a mile away, lets hit it up before we move on to other stuff.

It's a cool little place to visit and to see how people lived in the not-so-distant-past.

We took virtually no pictures except in the "boat room" where they had the real boat that two brothers came to the U.S. in from Norway and they had sample bunks to see how tight the quarters were on the boat.  Those pictures are our only proof that we were there.

Robby crawling into the bunk to give it a try.

Families had to share these things!!!  Rob got stuck trying to crawl back out of it, which was humorous...

After the Vesterheim, we drove out to the outskirts of Decorah to visit Toppling Goliath Brewery.  I wanted to see the place and had hoped that they would have taproom only beers that we couldn't get in Des Moines.  They had only one, Dragon Fandango, which was a sour beer.  It was decent and we just had a little sample that Mama and I split.  They didn't have them canned or even bombers of it, so you would have had to get a Growler...   So a bit of a bust.

Then we drove to Pulpit Rock Brewing Co. and there was no parking to be had.  I work for money to buy beer and I do not want to have to work for the beer once I get there, so we didn't even stop.  Big bust as I was really looking forward to bringing some of their stuff home.

So on we went to our final destination; Malanaphy Springs. We drove by Luther College so the kids could see it and eventually made it to the springs after a google maps error.

Caleb on the rocks.

Not one to be outdone, Robby staking his claim to the Springs.

Caleb is generally a pretty happy boy, but put him out hiking and the kid is in heaven!  His only problem is that he gets going a bit too fast occasionally.

They must have had recent storms come thru the area because the ground was still wet and there were many trees that had fallen, with a good number of them blocking the trails.  Between muddy ground and makeshift trails, it got really dicey at times.  It's hard to see, but Mom is crawling over a tree trunk directly behind Rob.

Exhibit B.

But we made it and it was worth it, even if we had seen waterfalls just a few hours earlier.

A non-confirmed Sasquatch sighting!

Can you spot the critters?  They're on the right side of the pic crawling out into the falls.

And they made it successfully!

That's momma down where a false step can send you on the fast track down to the river!  Don't believe me?  See the next pic...

Told ya...

I hiked up a bit further to see the origin of the falls.  There wasn't much of a path left due to recent rains, so I didn't go any further even tho there was evidence that other folks had.

Proof of the dicey-ness we found ourselves in.  Mom's hind-quarters after a nasty spill.  Notice the mud on her jeans and on her right arm.  Dang fallen trees and corresponding paths were tricky...

I left this pic small because it's disgusting.  The day before we left home, I was out playing with the hound-dog, Juno and mis-stepped on a landscaping stone and peeled skin back (and off!) of the bottom of my foot.  I had dressed it with a band-aid and wrapped it so it couldn't come off, but that sucker was SORE by the time we were finished!!

So back on the road we were, heading back to Crystal Lake and driving into the sun.  It was a great day and I think we all enjoyed ourselves!