Pioneer Town

   Today the wind blew and we stayed inside all day.
   But that is not an exciting post. So instead, I will write about what the children and I did yesterday while Hubby was at work on his birthday. I am discovering all kinds of things about our small town. Which is, I suppose, the most thrilling thing about moving somewhere new. Our small town really comes alive from Memorial Day through October. Phew, because I was really beginning to have my doubts about this place. By "our small town", what I really mean is the four small towns that make up this area. They all merge with each other, but because of water rights, they are all individual towns. To make it easy, I just call the whole area our small town. There is is wonderful little place that is open seasonally and yesterday was the grand opening for the season. This is their website: http://www.pioneertown.org/. I have seen it from the road and figured my family would be spending some time there, but after yesterday, I know we will be spending A LOT of time there. It looked small from the road, but it turns out that it goes further back than you can see from there. Which ultimately left me unprepared as I thought that we would be there an hour and leave. I can't comfortably carry T in a sling or frontpack right now. I dislike pushing a stroller unless I know for sure that we will have a long day, such as when we are at a museum or the zoo. I thought T could walk for the time I believed we would be there. Turns out we were there three hours and T needed a nap so I carried him for two hours. Can you say exhausting?! We had fun, though, as we explored "main street" from the late 1800's-early 1900's. The children took turns churning cream until it turned into butter.

T taking his turn at making butter.

M sharing her turn with T.

We visited all of the many outbuildings, including a working Blacksmith's shop, a house filled with antique dolls and toys, a mock train station, a building full of western and Native American relics, an old schoolhouse (the childrens' favorite due to the working belltower) and a few others that escape my memory. We also were able to view fiber arts in action. As much action as fiber arts can manage, that is. The children tested out beautiful old handcrank sewing machines. S and M took turns using a spinning wheel to turn raw wool into yarn, while I chatted with a lady about making rugs. I love making connections and I am anxious to keep in touch with this woman and possibly become a part of the weavers guild she belongs to. We finished our day by taking a wagon ride pulled by two Belgian draft horses, who were a wonderfully matched set, but were both named Daisy. All of us are excited to go back and take Hubby along to explore some more.

The Blacksmith making a pair of tongs.

Trying the handcrank sewing machines.

So pretty and old

Waiting for our wagon ride.