• As they all pitched in to pack up the camping gear, everyone in the Maloney family agreed that they had enough of sand for the moment, even with finding the buried loot. After all, the money wasn’t theirs to keep and there was no assurance that any reward would be coming (at least any time soon).
• On the drive back home, the Mort and Mal exchanged stories with Agnes and Mel on what they did and found while they were separated. Mal was really excited about the unusual insect-eating plants he and Mort discovered in their walk. “We almost stepped on some man-eating plants. Or maybe they were just the girl-eating kind,” he teased.
• “How would you know?” Mel asked. “Did one of them try to bite your toe?”
• Enough Sand. How about Rock?
• Agnes made sure that Mike came over for dinner at least once a week, not counting sometimes on weekends. After the twins exhausted their memories of the trip to the dunes and ran outside to play, Mike questioned Mort on each detail of their find. Mike did not want the twins to place too much importance on money issues – his gift of these monthly outings was to broaden their appreciation of the world’s great diversity, something he neglected when his son was growing up. But he heard about the Great Depression from his own father, who was a young lad at the time, and so was curious about how the sack came to be hidden where it was, what events prevented its retrieval, who was responsible, questions like that. Mort told his dad everything he could remember, until Mike had no more questions.
• “So, have you given any thought to your July outing?” Mike then asked.
• “Agnes is definitely unenthusiastic about sand, at least for awhile. Even walking in sand is hard work, not to mention running in it or climbing a dune.”
• “Ah, so how do you think she feels about rock?” Even before they left for the sand dunes, Mike was quite certain that the soft sand would present quite a physical challenge for the whole family, include Agnes. A friend, who had grandchildren about the same age as the twins, suggested they visit Palisades State Park. Overlooks of the Mississippi River separating Illinois from Iowa are accessible from short, easy walks to a variety of rugged trails. Something for everyone.
• Mike really wanted his son’s family to have the active, healthier lifestyle than he provided his own family. He saw signs that Mort was settling into a comfortable, too-comfortable less-than-active existence; he saw Mort in the future as an image of his own less-than-robust health and wanted to help turn that around. The children, his grandchildren, were a wonderful excuse for him to fund these physically active, exploratory outings.
• Agnes was exactly the kind of wife and mother who would support these efforts. He was delighted when Mort introduced his fiancé. Long, lean muscles, not at all bulky. Graceful. Funny. Spirited. Strong-willed, but also flexible and adaptable according to the situation. Smart. Genuinely good. What more could one ask of a daughter-in-law?
• “Hmm. Sounds interesting,” said Mort. “Let’s see what she says.”
• “Great idea!” Agnes had heard of the area as being a miniature version of her beloved, mountainous Colorado, where she grew up. You can take the girl out of the mountains, but you can’t take the mountains out of the girl, she thought, a paraphrase of the well-known saying about country boys.
• “Did you say there were a whole range of paths and trails? That’s perfect! Mort and I can climb up the steep trails on our hands and knees while you and the twins explore the paths. We can even let Rufus choose which way he wants to go...but I’d bet on the trails. Then he can pull Mort up the really rough terrain. Right, Dear?”
• Mort wasn’t quite as amused as Agnes was at her gentle teasing but decided to take up the bait.
• “Sure, as long as he doesn’t mind getting choked when I’m dangling from his chain.”
• “Camping out would be a better all-around outdoor experience for Mal and Mel, Dad. You're coming too, aren't you? What if we pick up a really good air mattress that’s more like a bed?” Agnes was half-testing her father-in-law, but she really believed that camping out would be more in the spirit of the wilderness adventure that the Palisades promised than a lodge or cabin.
• Mike wasn’t so sure about the camping part. “What if I can find cabins where we can have cookouts? Would that work for you?”
• Agnes had the feeling that her father-in-law wouldn’t enjoy sleeping in the tent, no matter how comfortable the air mattress.
• “Works for me, Dad. Deal!”
• Future Plans
• Relieved, Mike brought up the topic of future outings. Planning on a month-to-month basis was less organized than he liked. Developing good software requires good project management, he knew from long experience, and this was no different. Agnes hadn’t had a chance to visit her family in Colorado since the twins were born, and with the “Ninja Women” competition in Japan coming up, Mike thought a “real” ski vacation would serve multiple purposes. The twins would have the chance to get to know their maternal grandparents in their own environment, Agnes would be back in the scenic place that was her original home, and the whole family would be able to ski on hills that were far higher than the ones they skied in central Wisconsin.
• “Dad, are you serious?” Agnes asked when she learned that Mike wanted to give them a week’s vacation in the Rockies, where they could celebrate Christmas and spend time with her folks, ski even higher than the tree line, where only the occasional small bush can grow, and being awed, surrounded by some of the most spectacular scenery on earth. For Agnes, it was nearly unimaginable that so many good things could be happening to her that was benefitting her family immensely as well.
• For Mike, it was nearly unimaginable as well that so many good things could be happening for his son’s family resulting from his sharing the abundance arising from the sale of his software firm. He had suspected for some time that the twins possessed unusual physiological characteristics, likely inherited mostly from their mother, and this gave him the opportunity to delve into that possibility further before talking about it with Mort and Agnes.
• "Shall we talk about the rest of the year before starting to plan the July explorer weekend at the Mississippi Palisades State Park?” Mike asked.
• “Sure, let’s do that,” said Mort, speaking for the rest of his family.
• • So they gathered around the kitchen table and wrote down some ideas. The adults agreed that they should include some community service activities.
  • Agnes spoke up first.
  • “One thing comes to mind. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, the Parent Teacher group at our school is planning on joining our ‘sharing community’ to help rehab an abandoned department store. It’s going to be turned into a health care and health education facility. It’ll be over the entire weekend, starting with helping out at their local soup kitchen on Thanksgiving Day. The next three days, the adults and older children will work on the building while the youngsters will get to know their counterparts in each other’s communities with plenty of games and contests. It’s planned that our families will stay with host families."
  • “Great idea, Aggie,” Mike responded in approval. “Hmm. How about a cool Door County fish boil during the heat of August? That leaves October for this year. Anyone for picking pumpkins, hayrides, square dancing?

  “Yay,” Mal and Mel squealed with delight.

Please click HERE to continue reading.

• LINKS: BOOK 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION TO THE BIOFABLES SERIES

BioFables 1 Teaching Brief

BioFables 1 & 2: Word Counts, Reading Levels

• Chapter 1
  EXPLORING EXTREMOPHILES
  
• Episode 1
  Grandpa’s Gift
  First Stop: Yellowstone National Park
  "Old Faceful" Lives up to Its Name!
  The Twins' Mysterious Secret
• Episode 2
  Extremophile Questions among the Paintpots
  Some Questions Answered
  Colors of Octopus Springs
• INTERADVENTURE - Yellowstone
  
• Chapter 2
  DOWN ON THE (FAMILY) FARM
  
  Episode 1
  A Chance to Watch and Learn
  A Long Test Drive
  Meeting the Farm Family
  That After-Rain Freshness
  Chicken Feed and Fresh Eggs
  
• Episode 2
  At the Meat Locker
  IN the Meat Locker
  A Butcher’s Surprise
  Mom’s Surprise
• Episode 3
  Ninja Mom
  First, You Catch a Chicken
  AFTER You Catch a Chicken
• Episode 4
  Early to Bed, Early to Rise.......
  .......Milk the Cows, but Close Your Eyes
  Sunday Breakfast on the Farm
  Spilled Milk across the Sky
• INTERADVENTURE - UP from the Family Farm
  A Car of the Future?
  Picnicking among the Airplanes
  Ninja Mom a Reality?
• INTERADVENTURE - Next March and Next Adventure
  
• Chapter 3
  SECRETS OF THE DUNES
  
  Episode 1
  A Weighty Subject
  Camping in the Sand
  Spongy Ground and Bug-eating Plants
  Climbing a Living Dune...or Not
  
• Episode 2
  A Generations-Old Secret Uncovered
  First Impressions
  A Forensics Interpretation
  
  Episode 3
  A Surprise Treat
  Aches and Pains
  Taking it Easy
• INTERADVENTURE: Between Sand and Rock
  
• Chapter 4
  MISSISSIPPI PALISADES
  
• Episode 1
  Firefly Games
  A Symphony of Cicadas
  
• Episode 2
  Starting out on Sentinel Trail
  A Cave, a Dog and some Bats
  A Dog, a Boy and a Woods
  Oops
  The Rest of the Trail
• Episode 3
  The Best Laid Plans
  Maloneys in the Mist

POST ADVENTURE, Sneak Preview: Books 2 and 3