Do you have a favorite park? City, state, provincial, national, or otherwise? Describe it. Tell us one your memories of the park. Why is it special to you?
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I have many childhood memories of weekends in
Wyalusing State Park. The park sits on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. We car-camped there in the Spring and Summer. In the mornings, my sister and I could choose what little box of sugar cereal we wanted from the variety pack. We only got the variety pack when we camped. At home we were stuck with grape nuts or shredded wheat. Choosing a cereal was serious business. Some mornings, my father would make hopple popple for breakfast. During the day, we would bike around the surrounding roads. I remember careening down a hill and slamming right into a telephone pole. We always brought our canoe with us. I remember the semis passing us on the state highways, the canoe catching gusts of air and blowing us all over the road. If the weather was good, we would lazily canoe down a tributary of the river. We stopped on sand bars and sat in the sun for hours reading. At night after dinner, my father would cook Jiffy Pop. Jiffy Pop on the propane stove was special camping event. I always found the expanding aluminum exciting. I slept in a tent with my sister, and my parents slept in a nearby tent my mother sewed herself.
I value my childhood memories camping in parks and I regret that I haven't found similar parks to take my kids to.