on Nov 12th, 2009Fort Harrison State Park in Indianapolis Provides the Perfect Setting for Family Fun!
The vision of Family Fun Planner, a perfect fall day in Indianapolis IN, Nostalgic Husband, Surly Teen, Eager Dog, and a $5 entry fee were all the ingredients necessary for a recent fun (for most of us anyway) family outing at Fort Harrison State Park.
The early afternoon outing started off a bit shaky, with Nostalgic Husband silently wondering what the odds were of him returning home in time for at least part of the Colts game, and Surly Teen loudly questioning her parents’ sanity—yet again. Eager Dog, it seemed, was the only willing participant.
Undeterred, I, Family Fun Planner, printed off a park map (no Blair Witch Project moments for this family), packed up some water bottles and off we went. To say the day was spectacular is an understatement. Not a cloud in the sky and a perfect 71 degrees. The trees had already shed most of their leaves, and a gorgeous orange and yellow carpet covered the forest floor. Apparently I wasn’t the only Family Fun Planner who thought a day in the woods was a good idea. Hikers, walkers, cyclists and runners were everywhere!
We started off on a paved path that wound through a pretty grove of black walnut trees, but ended after about a quarter mile at the park’s edge. After turning around, we discovered the entrance to the Lawrence Creek Trail, an unpaved 2-mile trail of moderate difficulty. This was more like it!
“Why are we sprinting?” griped Surly Teen from the back of the pack. “I just want to enjoy myself and look at nature.” Hmmm. Strolling through life. Maybe that explains the 7 tardies already accrued this school year… Her interest piqued momentarily a few minutes later when an apparently stray dog bounded by us. Visions of rescuing him danced through her head, and then were dashed when his owner came around the corner. Crisis averted!
“If there was a sniper firing from the woods on your right and I yelled out, ‘6 o’clock, 300 yards,’ what would you do?” quizzed Nostalgic Husband (who coincidentally also happens to be Recently-Retired Army Guy). Umm, run? Hit the dirt? Run, it turns out, was the correct answer since the intent was for us scatter, then meet up again in a “safe” spot. More specifically, we learned that we should run toward the 6, if you picture the forest as a huge clock. We’re still unclear on how to determine the 300 yards and fuzzier still about how we would actually remember any of that while under fire, but even Surly Teen seemed interested in the stories of her dad’s glory days as an Infantry leader.
“Oh, this tree trunk, it smells divine! The fragrance emanating from this patch of grass is amazing! How I love the scent created when approximately 5,000 dogs pee in the exact same spot! Would it kill them to let me roll in it just a little bit?” Eager Dog was in heaven!
As for me, Family Fun Planner, I was excited by our Wildlife Watch contest, which yielded the back end of a white-tailed deer, a huge red-tailed hawk and the biggest squirrel I’ve ever seen. Oh, and butterflies everywhere!
All in all, I’ll tally the adventure in the success column. We even made it home for the Colts kickoff. We’ll definitely do it again, and maybe next time we’ll get to drag Cool College Kid along!
For more information on Fort Harrison State Park, visit www.in.gov/dnr.
For information on Indianapolis real estate, visit www.HaddadTeam.com or contact your Indianapolis REALTOR:
Pat Haddad, ABR, CRS, e-Pro, GRI
Haddad Team, Keller Williams Realty
317-840-7555
Pat@HaddadTeam.com