Flowing Well Park, A Return to Conner Prairie, and Some Fall Odds and Ends

This is a continuation of a fall travel series.  If you missed any of my previous posts you can find them here:  Bird Watching at the La Crosse Marsh, A Return to Galena Illinois, A Visit to the Lincoln Home, A Visit to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, and The Lincoln Tomb and Historic Springfield,Turkey Run State Park, and Fisher's AgriPark Fall Festival

Today wraps up my fall midwest travel series, and just in time for my Christmas blog break!  If you missed any previous travel posts of our fall vacation, just click on any of the links in the first paragraph.

In this post, I am covering just a few more fun activities we did while visiting the kids, along with our Thanksgiving break.

Conner Prairie Kiln

                           Flowing Well Park

One of the activities we did with the grandkids was to go to "Flowing Well Park".

"Flowing Well Park" is a sweet little park in Carmel Indiana that has an artesian well which visitors are free to bring their empty water jugs and "fill up".  My kids do this on a weekly basis because they believe the water is so much better to drink than city water.  But in addition to the free artesian water, the park also has a mile long nature trail through the woods and along "Cool Creek". The creek is a great spot for fishing and wading.

The grandchildren love wading in the creek and finding seashells and rocks.

The nature trail through the woods is pretty cool too!  It's the perfect size trail for little feet!

Conner Prairie

I already did a very extensive post on Conner Prairie HERE, so I will not elaborate much more except to say that this is a place that constantly has new programs and activities every weekend and throughout the different seasons.  We went back in the fall because they had a lot of fall activities, plus they have a huge fall festival.   One of the events on the day we were there was was their "Kiln Burn" which they only do ONE day out of the whole year, and we were lucky enough to be there on that day!

But first, we took some time to grab more family fall photos.

And now, onto the kiln burn.  This was fascinating, and scary to watch.  We couldn't believe the heat, and the fire and smoke that came out the top.  Be sure to watch the video below to really get the full picture,

After the potter forms the pottery, it is placed in the fire. Yes, right inside that very hot fire!  We could see the pottery live but it's hard to find in the photo and video.  The staff, dressed in period costumes, explain the process and fuel the fire...and they were hot and sweaty, let me tell you!  It's not a job for the faint of heart.

They also sell the finished pieces on site.  They are pricey, but the proceeds help support the Museum.  I purchased a small mixing bowl for $30 and a soup mug for $22.  I use them a lot too!  They are so strong!

This is the building where the kiln is located.

Of course Atticus' favorite part is always the carpentry shop.  Here he was learning how to make a rake.

Elisha enjoyed exploring the old town wagons and stores.

Thanksgiving

The kids came up to us for Thanksgiving.  Baby Lazarus isn't crawling yet, but somehow he manages to move around and found himself under my curtains, of which we proceeded to play a game of peek-a-boo.

The grandkids were up early and played hard everyday.  They often fell asleep wherever they were at.

I make the same "3 Cheese Ball" every holiday because it is a family favorite, but this was the first time I turned it into a turkey.  The grandkids and I had a lot of fun making this turkey.

The kids have been dying to see "Moana 2" so we decided to treat them to their very first movie theater experience.  Their reaction was priceless:

They really enjoyed having their own reclining seat, especially Elisha,  he would not stop playing with those buttons! 😆

We had the tradition meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, beans, corn, and stuffing, plus our special occasion beverage:  Sparkling Juice!  Everything tasted great.  The grandkids especially loved my "Make Ahead Potatoes" which are loaded with cream cheese, sour cream, and butter...what's not to love?  😆

 All in all it was a great Thanksgiving week and a great fall!  So much to be grateful for.

See you in 2025 with my newest travel series:  "Yellowstone and More!"

Have a Great Day!  Amy

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