Hello and welcome to an October Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is October 1st and the first day of thirty to consider doing the Nanowrimo challenge.
We had a grand adventure last weekend that was only three miles down the road at the Country Corn Maze in Warroad. Our kids have been going to the maze with friends since the maze first opened which, if I think it's been 5 years ago, probably means it was 10 years ago. (Please tell me you can relate.) The Past Mazes page of their website shows 2022 to actually be the 14th season of the maze venture.
Even my husband, one not particularly prone to get too excited about corn mazes, has taken a toddler or two out over the years for ECFE nights. But I haven't, not because I don't think it's a grand and wonderful adventure, but because I have just enough claustrophobia to let my fears run wild down the wrong paths of a corn maze.
But the Krahn family is amazing - full of generosity and fun. And I admire their creativity. This year's theme is "Gone Fishin on Lake of the Woods." When our church organized a parish-wide outing to the corn maze, I decided facing my fears to have a family adventure was worth it. And, gosh, I was not disappointed.
The first thing I have to say about the Country Corn Maze is that it is so much more than a maze. There are lots and lots of activities! I appreciated this because, for me, all the fun side stuff was like a warm-up for the big 8-acre maze. We said hello to cute goats and a pony. Climbed a hill of hay bales, dug hands into huge sand pits and a corn pits, admired pumpkins of all shapes, sizes, and colors (Note: The yearly "PUMPKIN SMASH" will be TODAY at 3:30pm), took a hayride, fed a cow cornstalks, climbed on a green tractor-tire dinosaur, stepped through "Candyland," played ring toss and music on cow bells, rode tricycles, and, so many more things. It was a CORN-ucopia of adventures.
My husband made "corny" jokes like, "This is a-MAZE-ing" which rewarded him with more than one appreciative guffaw from other maze revelers.
After the warm-up, I felt ready to go into the actual maze with my family. Why not? I thought to myself. It was a crisp, sunny day. The sky was cheerful blue. We had hours of sunlight left in the day. (You know, in case we got lost.) And we were together. I eyed the kiddie maze - a much smaller (safer) adventure, but the warm-up had, well, warmed me up to the "fun" promised in all the advertising.
With our little maps in hand, we entered. I appreciated the width and breadth of the paths. That is to say, they were wide enough for me to feel like I could breathe. The maze wasn't lined with the dense, claustrophobic cornstalk clusters I imagine from just hearing the title of the horror film Children of the Corn. Instead, this was a bright adventure of following loops and lines to little posts where questions about Lake of the Woods were posted. We decided our mission would be to make our way through the maze, one question-stop at a time from the first fish fin, up through the waters and around the boat holding two anglers, then back into the water for a few more fishy stops.
The 5th Grader dropped dry kernels of yolk-colored corn, one by one, along the way, Hansel and Gretel style, while the 2nd Grader, enjoyed swerving into the field and back to the path, pulling corn ears off the stalks as the spirit moved him. (Sorry, Krahn family!) The WAKWIR* took the lead, certain of his navigational prowess. while hubby positioned himself in the rear to rein in any stragglers - namely that wandering 2nd grader.
I stayed in the middle of our pack, feeling comforted and cushioned by my loved ones. I'm happy to say that this place of love kept my throat relaxed and my arms trusting. Along with the theme of "gone fishin'," when I felt myself getting nervous, I imagined my family as the boat and me, a bobber, floating atop the waters. We were together and we would get through this. There was no rush. There was sunshine. My teen son's confidence buoyed my heart. I relaxed into the spirit of being present; letting myself accept the confusion, knowing I didn't have to lead us out of the maze but follow.
We took some loop-de-loops and indeed got lost a few times. My favorite moments were when my engineer husband would wade into the "take charge" waters, only to be stumped, the WAKWIR pulling us out of the reeds and getting us back on track. After several of these instances, my husband settled into his original position as rudder, and, finally, as rider, like me.
We found all the stopping points in the maze and answered all the questions. An hour or so later, we emerged from the maze feeling triumphant and jubilant. I answered 8 out of 12 questions correctly and felt proud of all of the Lake of the Woods trivia I had amassed during the last sixteen years of living in Wannaskanland. We collected our complimentary Dum Dum suckers and bought popcorn balls sprinkled with candy corn, a large soft molasses cookie, an orange Butterfinger fudge square, and - my favorite - a cookie dough/bar/fudgy square of goodness.
If YOU would like to get in on all this goodness, there's still time! The Country Corn Maze is open through October 15th, a Saturday. That's two weeks of opportunity!
*WAKWIR, aka, Wannaskan Almanac Kid Writer-in-Residence
On This Day
Historic Highlights (credits)
Happy Birthday to You!🎶
Remembering You
Kim
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