Ouabache State Park, 2016

Today's post is in a state of imbalance: long on pictures, short on text.

 The annual gathering of our friends of a certain age at Ouabache State Park.

 Wiener enjoyed the outing, too.

 Interesting fungus.  Obviously I did not eat it.

 JoLynn and Kent joined us on Monday.  The younger set to perk us up.

 Was it the pecs, or what?  Posing with a CCC worker.

Reflections on the lake.

 

Unfortunately, we had to pack it in a day early due to

medical appointment.  St. Mary's Church as seen from 

St. Vincent Mercy hospital, second floor and through 

the rain.

We are home safe and sound but bad weather including

tornadoes all around us.

Ouabache in August

 Among the fungus.  

Firebugs at it, as usual.

For this month's campout, we arrived late and left early.  BBBH is going on three weeks of severe pain in the right leg, chiropractor, doctor, and doppler notwithstanding.  Solution to date: painkillers.  Not a good thing.  Thus it was that it was Monday past noon before we decided to go, and by Wednesday at noon, we decided to come home.*

We did get in one short walk, which yielded the fungus find.  And rain Monday night helped us find that we have sprung a leak around the skylight.  Always something.  The good news?  The drip dropped directly into the bathtub.

The girl finally got an X-ray which revealed two crushed vertebrae in the lower back, hence a pinched nerve causing the leg pain.  "Have you fallen recently?' asks the Sawbones.  "Well, yes, I did land on my behind in the driveway a month or so ago, but I didn't think anything of it."   MRI scheduled for Monday.

Ouabache Outing

 Party poopers prohibit poppers; water balloons banned.  This notice was posted at the site of the fire tower.  I immediately understood the ban on fireworks, but I had to try to cast myself in the role of a juvenile in order to understand the water balloon thing.  Not so hard to figure, though.  Kids are strong enough, nimble enough to climb the fire tower, and altitude + water balloon = ?  You can see the potential, so prohibition = good.

The tower was open.  Anyone who wants to may climb the thing.  There was a mild admonition to be careful at the  entry.  I, of course, had no inclination to ascend, although a decade ago, I might have done.  (I climbed to the top of the lighthouse at Port Isabel, Texas as recently as six years ago.)

BBBH at the base of the tower.  It took a few stents in her heart to gain the result, but she is good on the trail now!  Praises be to God.  She didn't want to go up the tower, however.

Raising our voices in song.  A like number of people to my left, but I include the picture to draw attention to the trees.  I mentioned in a comment that the setting was in a hardwood forest, the trees largely hickory and oak.  Note the beautiful tall, straight trees!  Very impressive.

This great park, twenty miles south of Ft. Wayne, is about sixty-five miles from our home.  The setting, the activities, and the fellowship all worked together to make the experience well worth the drive  Normally, we leave the party on Thursday, but circumstances conspired to motivate us to leave Wednesday afternoon, a decision which turned out to be most beneficial.  The early Thursday morning storms that rolled through Indiana stayed mostly to the north of us.  The park was dead center in their path.

Today is Flag Day!  Honor Old Glory.

Bison

A part of our adventure at Oubache (say "Wabash") State Park.  More later.