I think that everyone would agree that it was "a different kind of outing..."
For me, it started out differently because we had a power cut about 2 hours before we planned to leave home. Without power, the garage door doesn't work and the garbage disposal won't run. I don't know how many lights I forgot to turn off or how many things I forgot to take because I couldn't see them! But we managed to get to the park on Thursday afternoon.
The weather was pleasant (given that the forecast had been RAIN) and we considered ourselves lucky that the rangers had covered most of the muddy patches at the campsites with straw.
We decided that the path between our two campsites would be a good place for a "Just-In-Case" tarp, and we managed to get ours erected - but why don't trees ever grow in the right place?
After setting up camp, Eric, Ruth, and the Richers went into Ravenna for dinner at the Famous Guido's Pizza, one of the few pizza parlors that still offer anchovies, for a delightful alfresco evening.
Friday dawned with the threat of rain - which didn't arrive until after we had breakfast. We decided that a little rain couldn't stop us! And we went down to the boat launch for some paddling. The four of us did our own exploring. In the past, Jilinda has wandered off and caused a kerfuffle, so Eric and Ruth watched in shock as Ron approached, paddling by himself, on his way to the docks! But, all was well: Jilinda had seen a sandy beach and decided that it would be an easier place to disembark than at the launch and Ron drove back to pick her up. We shared a good laugh!
By the time we returned to our campsites it had become a sunny and hot afternoon. Wil and Gloria then Harold and Lorie arrived. Unfortunately, we also learned that Laura and Liz wouldn't be camping, but would join us for the day on Saturday. Mary wasn't allowed to paddle yet, and had a conflicting obligation on Saturday, so she would visit us on Friday and Laura's friend Cindy wasn't coming after all. Harold was unhappy with his campsite and negotiated a move, and a Guest Host was unhappy with the number of cars at our site and asked us to move... It was beginning to feel like the comedy routine "Who's on first". Mary did manage to find us at dinner-time and we had a good time catching up with her.
Saturday was another hot and humid day. Everyone trooped to Ravenna where we were warmly welcomed by the Portage County Historical Society staff. Bob Kunst, Archeologist, showed us their large collection of spear-points and then gave us a tour of the recreated prehistoric village - a stockade and three large "homes" which were created by Bob and his volunteers using native materials and building methods from the pre-Columbian era. We were all very impressed by the work that had gone into creating and maintaining the village! Bob Kunst is certainly the dynamo that keeps it all running - leading our tour and supervising a group of 140 young volunteers. Following the tour, our group found its way back to camp and lunch and then prepared for the community dinner.
As usual, there was food, food! and more FOOD!! Harold brought a corn-hole game, Jilinda brought a giant Frisbee, and Ron brought the bobber game, but most people seemed more interested in sitting around the fire and talking. Bob Kunst joined us for dinner and shared some stories of a time before the park was created - until a Guest Host, who was unaware of the status of our visitor, insisted that he remove his car. Not long after that Liz and Laura packed and left and some people went in search of ice-cream (how could they find room for it?) and the party broke up.
Sunday came with the threat of more rain. Apparently so threatening that Ruth was up and had her camp packed before breakfast! Many hands made lite the work and we were safely on our way before any significant rain came down. Good food, good friends, good God when can we do it again?
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