Ha Ha Tonka

This past weekend we enjoyed a perfect fall weekend at the lake with just the four of us (counting Callie of course). We had a nice fire on Saturday evening and Todd made veal saltimbocca for dinner which was delectable. Sunday we drove down to Ha Ha Tonka state park at the southern end of the lake and went for a hike. The park features the ruins of a burned down, turn of the century castle up top a bluff overlooking the lake and trees in every direction. There are several trails and the one we chose took us down several hundred feet to the lake and past a natural spring. Fortunately for me, I got to carry Ryan down the trail and Todd carried him up, which included as part of the trail 316 steep steps. The trees were starting to change and it was sunny and almost 60; we couldn't have asked for a better day. Ryan was absolutely enthralled by his surroundings. Every time we looked at him he was wide eyed and - while he obviously must have when we weren't looking - we never saw him even blink. As we strolled through the parking lot just 10 feet from the car, Ryan fell asleep in the carrier. Apparently riding and staring can be quite tiring:)