Field Trip with Lily

A couple of weeks before we left Illinois, we picked up our granddaughter, Lily, and took her on a little field trip. We had never done this before, and she was so excited to go out with Papa and Gwama!

We took a drive into the country to see "The Witness Tree", a beautiful 250-year old burr oak tree.

The branches of this towering tree spread out over 80 feet, and the trunk's circumference measures 14 feet!

This tree has served as a landmark and meeting place for over 200 years! In the 19th century, Chief Shabbona  of the Potawatomi  Indians held council here, along with the Fox and Sauk tribes.

Could you imagine all what these branches have heard?

 

The tree received its name because it was a witness, or reference point, for surveyors of the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad during the building of the railroad through Mineral Township.

After we left there, we stopped at the Hennepin Canal.

Lily threw rocks in the water with Papa.

I explained to Lily about her shadow and how she was stepping on it! She got a kick out of that!

And finally, when we were driving back to our daughter's house, I had glanced in the mirror and saw Lily doing this. I couldn't resist taking a photo while looking in the mirror.

This was taken before her eye surgery. You can see her one eye was wandering a little there. Now her eyes are perfectly straight and she is doing great after the surgery!