Ha Ha Tonka

                                                                (Beginning of Colosseum Trail) 

The amount of hiking messages I get on social media is so heart warming. When I see those messages it shows me just how many of my friends have a love of nature and exploring. We try to see and do as much as we can and, it is my hope, we will set new goals for ourselves this year with our amount of time outdoors. For now, I thought I would share a bit about each hike we've done, so all of those questions can be answered for those looking to adventure out on these beautiful trails we find. 

Ha Ha Tonka has many trails on the all trails app but in truth you can discover most of them within the same general area. We started at the Colosseum Trail. It was my hope that we would see some beautiful rock formations, the aquifer, and leave the "Castle" for last to keep the kids motivated. 

The Colosseum trail is about .6 miles and is rated moderate mainly due to the up hill terrain once you travel to the other side of this glorious rock. Once at the top of the hill, there is a long stair case with 316 stairs that leads down to the aquifer and a beautiful bridge along the stream as pictured below. 

                                                                                     (Stairs to the Aquifer) 

                                                                                (Bridge Along The Stream)

Once you've ventured back up the stairs, you can continue along the path and take the first right taking you back down to your vehicle or travel along the bridge to see the historic buildings on the other side. I won't share too many details about this "castle's" history and leave that for you to discover for yourself, but it was amazing to see it sitting up on top of the hill right above this beautiful environmental phenomenon. 

For those traveling with kids:

We had the option to drive to the other side, but we started to notice it was becoming quite busy. We decided it would be best to keep our vehicle where it was already parked and take the walk over instead. I'm so glad we did because we would've missed these beautiful views and been without a parking spot. 

This hike is not stroller friendly, so if needed, I would bring either a hiking carrier or baby carrier for little ones when they become tired. 

                                    

                                                     (Path from Colosseum Trail to the Castle) 

Continuing along the path will lead to you the water tower, carriage house, and then the "castle" but it is actually a mansion. 

There are more trails on the island and past the "castle" but for us it was time to head back with the kids. If  you decided to take the path we took it is approximately 3 miles in total. 

I hope you found this entry helpful and informative for your trip to Ha Ha Tonka State Park. 

Here are some more photos of our day there. 

                                                                                        ( Ha Ha Tonka Castle)

                                                                (Collapsed Cave Along the Aquifer)

                                                                        (Along the Trail of Colosseum)

Introduction

Hi, my name is Jessica. Welcome to my blog Growing Grahams. I decided to create this blog out of love for my passions; writing, crafting, homeschooling, sustainability, and love for the great outdoors. Initially, the name "Growing Grahams" was in reference to my children. As their mother, I aim to be and do the best for them always. When I thought about creating this blog, it occurred to me that since I am also a Graham this title applies to me as well. 

My hope with this blog is to inspire others. I am still finding there is so much yet to discover, and I most certainly have a lot to learn myself; however, there are some who are on the same journey as me longing for inspiration and guidance. I am hopeful we can share it together. 

Most of my life is spent catering to my children. This encompasses a wide variety of adventures and activities such as exploring nature, healthy living, sustainability, the simple pleasures in life, and education at home. 

After graduating with my masters degree in social work and starting my career, my husband found he wanted to make a change in his life. While he was grateful to have a job, he felt a desire to pursue a higher purpose of helping others and make a difference, so he joined the Army. As you can imagine, I was taken back by this decision, and it took me a minute to grasp this concept. What would our life be like? How would this impact our kids in the future? Before we knew it, we found ourselves at Fort Hood, TX where we first began our journey with the military. 

Turthfully, I was extremely grateful to travel to be apart of something new. I always saw myself living somewhere else and exploring all I could, but I had abandoned the idea out of love for my husband and his hopes of staying in our hometown. Since then, we have been extremely happy with our choice to join. He might be the one who enjoys moving more now. Either way, we both have lots of gratitude for the life we live and where we are at today. Personally, I had to decide what my life was going to look like. Would I go back to my job as a social worker or would I stay at home with my son and prepare for our second child's arrival. While it was a difficult decision after all of my schooling I had completed, staying home with my children is ultimately where I wanted to be. 

Since then, we have completed our family tree with a totally of three beautiful kids. Shortly after the pandemic hit we decided that homeschooling would be the best option for our family and after spending sometime in the Pacific Northwest, we've been making it a priority to be outside as much as we can. For the past few months, we've found ourselves in Missouri while my husband pursues his career with the Army. 

I don't think we are ever done learning and growing, but I am so glad you've stopped by this blog and I hope you find love and inspiration here that will help you on your journey. 

Never stop growing friends.