Cassville Catch UP: Tuesday July 22nd - It's 95 degrees.

Tuesday in Cassville brought record temps (for us at least). It felt like the inside of a dryer vent outside. So we stayed in.

Here's Rory with his AM IPAD time (Auntie Jenny's), coupled with the boob tube - Tour de France. Rory LOVES vacation.  

So many commercials with the Tour. Troubling.

Since we'd added a state yesterday, I thought I'd share our pencil shaded map of where we've been:

 With the heat curtailing our planned visits to the Platteville Land's End final second's store and Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point we set about to do house things. Despite appearances, we can't do everything. We'll save those for the next time. 

So we stayed at home and worked on projects (see tomato trimming and Rory's special bracelet in future post), plus laundry and packing organization. 

Before it got too hot, we headed back up to Nelson Dewey State Park to walk the dog. What a treat. 

On the way we passed the City Pool (which we'd be visiting later that day)

Adjacent to the pool is a playground with the sweetest old swing. You can just see it here hidden behind the tree. See the face with hat? The Charlie, as I call it, takes two to work really well. From what we figured, each person faces a different direction and runs as hard as they can. Then, with speed, comes liftoff. The city kids flock here after swimming. 




Jon's Coal Plant. 

Roscoe can hardly wait. He's trying to spy animals from the car.

There's nothing holding Roscoe back if he sees a rabbit. We'll see.

Nothing like the wind in your face.

Here we are on the walk. It's about 10 AM. 

Roscoe has the longest lead in the world. He can roam very far, and it gives you advanced warning when he goes to chase something. Otherwise, you might rip your arm off. I never walked Roscoe on this trip. 

Here's our full group at the park.

Rory's been hurting for exercise, ever since school ended. Normally he rides 14 miles a day commuting. Now, with the power of the gas engine, he does nearly nothing. We had to twist his arm to go on this walk. Now, he's acting wiley, trying to get into every shot I take. 

Here, Rory does jumping jacks as I take a panorama of the Mississippi below. 

The photos don't do justice to the grandeur of this valley and bluffs. I still take them, but you can't see what I've seen. 

Jon's coal plant and barges. The low output of this plant, as compared to other newer ones, puts it on the list for closure, likely in 2015.

Original selfie turns out like this:

Here we are! Wait, no Rory's head. Whoops. You get the sense, right?

The forest up here is so nice. Everything is cool, despite the sun coming in hot. 

Lead plant.

Wildflowers of Wisconsin.

Rory jumps into the shot. 

I love these oaks. Three Grandmothers I think Jenny calls them, although only two make this picture. 

Run him hard. 

While we were here, it became very windy. It seemed to be raining in the distance. I was hoping for a real Midwest storm, but it fizzled before arriving in Cassville. 

Here's what the stone looks like up here. Some are weathered so much they look like pumice. 

Roscoe poses on his favorite look-out rock. He's too quick for me.

The park shelter has interesting details.

Now back home. Roscoe rests his head on the window glass.

On the way back we stopped at Cassville's hardware store. The owner has a 7 week old black lab named June. Rory says it's the first puppy he's ever seen. June's ears are very soft, but her teeth are sharp. 

Recreated rural village called Stonefield. Lots of festivals happen here, including a scary Halloween trick-or-treat event. Spooky.

We just visit the gift shop however. Rory and I are becoming masters of the gift shop. We are unbelievably discerning. I buy a family tree template poster for $3 and Aunt Jenny buys Rory a Wisconsin Butter t-shirt and some old fashioned American candy sticks. You know the kind. 

Old Cassville Main Street Photo. 

Oh, and Cowtown Cookies. Regional food, but made in Texas.

Finally we decided to move on to the City Pool, our second visit. What a welcome cool to all of this 95 degree heat. No pictures, as the ONLY thing to do was swim and cool down. The whole town was there. Even Jon found us here after work and dove in for a quick swim. What a great end to another day in Cassville. 

-Gretchan