Sitting with my 'grandcats'...

So, today my kids are on a mini-vaca, and I'm taking care of things. I had dinner at 'The Diner' in Waverly this evening with my long-time friend, Janet Barnes. We had a lot of laughs, as usual, and a good visit.

Now, back to my life as a 'mom.'

We spent so many good times in northern Minnesota. Here are a few shots of our visits to Deer Town in Park Rapids over the years...

Watching all the fish swarming at the top of the pond to get the fish food we threw in...

Here I am, in my interesting little 'kerchief!,' giving a young buck an ice cream cone full of feed (can't remember, but it might have been corn, but I think they just sold some kind of pellet feed in those cones...)

Walking the path in Deer Town. Diane had platinum blonde hair when she was a little girl...hard to think that now, when her hair is very dark brunette, but I had sort of reddish hints in my hair as a child, so it sure can change as we age...

Here we are, looking at the Deer Town Stage Coach. I don't recall riding in it, but perhaps we did...

At first, the sight of these big animals was a bit intimidating, but we eventually learned they didn't mean us any harm. In this photo, Diane, Doug, me and my mom, Wilma, were enjoying this experience and learning that 'big' does not always mean 'scary!'

Of course, sometimes the deer got greedy and closed in on you!

Diane even tried sitting on a donkey...

A nearly annual trip to Deer Town was an important part of summer vacation. Here, the kids are a little older, and Diane, Doug and I are feeding the fish in the pond again...

Another ritual was to feed the deer at Deer Town.

Pretty exciting when those big deer come right up to you to eat from your hand! It looks like Doug's deer has gobbled the entire cone!



 Doug gets right up there, and Diane waits her turn to feed the deer.

We also liked to visit Val Chatel, which was a ski resort near Park Rapids. After several years, they closed. I imagine it would be hard to get that kind of venture going in a 'fishing' resort area, but it was nicely done...too bad it didn't last.

This was the sign near the entrance to Val Chatel.

This was the Val Chatel main building with a restaurant and lodging for skiers in the winter. They sure had a lot of pretty flowers. (Notice Dave and Diane at the left...we visited there several times when the kids were young.)

This photo of Val Chatel was taken when Dave was with us...and there's my mother just going around the corner of the building.

Checking out the ducks at Val Chatel. Left to right, Dave, Diane, Doug, me, and my mother. I suppose Dave was about 3, Diane about 7, and Doug about 9...

But, if you were in Iowa, and it was hot, Doug and Diane thought that taking a dip  in the wading pool wasn't all that bad either... (funny, now that the only wading pool we have at the acreage now is used for ducks and geese!)

More family fun to come...stay tuned!