More camping

We took some time away from hiking and the campgrounds to go to a couple of places nearby that we thought would be fun. The first place we stopped was The Museum of Minerals and Crystals. It's a small place but was definitely worth the stop. We had so much fun walking through and looking at the absolutely beautiful creations of our Earth. The owner was a very nice man, who was happy to share stories and information with us. It will take less than an hour, but if you're in the Dodgeville area, I would recommend it.

L and M had been there a few years ago on one of their adventures, and she loved it. She's been talking about it since and was so happy to get to go back and share it with me.

From there we went to The House on the Rock. M & L had never been there, and I haven't been there since I was in my early teens. It's a must-see, mostly because words can't begin to describe the place. Neither can pictures. It is very interesting and is an overhwelming visual and audio experience! Some of the collections housed there were absolutely gorgeous (stained glass, tiffany lamps, faberge eggs, carousel horses, etc.). Some were bizarre and wierd, and some were just downright WTF?!



I noticed this lovely lass looking at me from the doll collection and knew I had to have her picture. She's already been featured on two JibJab videos that we made (M, Dej & Luke, and I sometimes do strange things for entertainment late at night).

While the dolls were just...eeeew--neither myself nor my girls have ever been into dolls--the doll houses awakened another artistic outlet in L. She was absolutely enthralled with the gorgeous and elaborately decorated wooden doll houses. She has decided that it must be her new hobby. She has already selected the doll house she intends to build, gotten Hunter to agree to doing the electrical wiring in the house, and has been shopping for furniture and decorating ideas. Since this is perhaps the most ridiculously expensive hobby ever, she's either going to have to come up with a way to earn money and subsidize this hobby or her house will be furnished and decorated very slowly over the course of years.

L had three favorites (she couldn't chose just one): the food, the animals, and the beach.

My favorite part of this trip couldn't be captured with pictures. We spent hours, every night, sitting out by the campfire, enjoying the plethora of stars (it was very clear every night), and the full/fullish bright moon, which arose over the lake as a huge, bright orange sphere. There were also more owls than we have ever heard at a campsite before. It was so cool to listen to the different types of calls. We don't know which owl goes with which call yet though--that's a research project for us. The calm serenity I felt outside, in the dark bustling night was very restorative. I feel very "one with the universe" at times like that. I LOVE being outside at night and the sky is so much more beautiful and full of stars than it is here in our yard. M feels a little less comfortable outside in the dark with all of the sounds around. He kept his stick with a glowing tip of fire next to him, in case any monsters or rabid animals jumped out at him.

Our bedroom ceiling is full of these little glow-in-the-dark star stickers, which actually make me very happy at night. I can pretend I'm sleeping under the stars. I've been looking for a few years now for more of them, so I can add some constellations up there, but I can't find them anymore. :*-(