A Tight Fit at Fat Man's Squeeze

Mmm! It is a beautiful September day. The nip in the air is pleasant, the leaves on the trees are beginning to hint at wearing their showiest gown, and the morning is fresh, free, and open for an adventure. This is indeed the perfect day for a hike. Perfect day for a hike, yes, and unbeknownst to us at the beginning of our trek, a tight squeeze.

Giant City- September 2020

Drive down south for about an hour and you will come to the Shawnee Hills, the foothills of the Ozarks. Giant City State Park consists of 4,000 acres of forest, fields, creeks, bluffs, and crevices all nestled into the hills. It is the crevice locally known as Fat Man's Squeeze that we had the gumption to venture through.

Should you happen to be a passerby, upon nearing the mouth of the crevice, you would see a family and could hear among the jumble of eight voices…

“Last time I went through there I was a foot and a half shorter and fifty pounds lighter! I was just a little kid,” I exclaimed.

“I will go if you go, Samuel,” someone plucked up the courage to say.

“There is NO WAY I am going through there,” said one who was soon to eat his words.

“Who is going first,” asked another.

“The one most likely to chicken out needs to go last,” said one who was thinking a few steps ahead.

These were a few of the many comments of the six of us before entering the cave. Even while entering the gaping mouth of darkness, the thought of the actuality of going the whole way through was not in the forefront of my mind.

The opening into Fat Man's Squeeze 

A few minutes later I could not see the speakers, but amidst all the grunting and groanings of six people, it could now be heard…

“What in the world was I thinking?”

“C’mon guys! We can do this!”

“Why did all six of us decide to go in at the same time?”

“Keep your head turned to your left shoulder up here, because there is no room to turn your head back around to see where you are going once you get past this point.”

“I am turning back!”

“You can’t do that! You are only the third in line!”

The first twenty feet into the fissure was a cinch! Yes, but cinches are made to tighten!

About halfway through, we came upon a ninety-degree turn, concurrent with a step-up. Though we were travelling uphill, this was the downhill of our courage. Each one in line, upon arriving at this difficulty, took the hand of the person in front of them to conquer this additional obstacle. As soon as we made the turn, we saw the sun’s effulgent rays at the end of the tunnel! Hurrah!

“Just think! When we get through, we will be six of the few people who have gone through Fat Man's Squeeze,” I said, attempting to build my own courage as much as everybody else’s. It takes considerable determination indeed to continue, when the person in front is smaller than me and he says it is getting tight for him. I was only second in line!

Our optimism grew at the thought of getting closer to freedom. At the same time though, fear of the crevice’s walls becoming too tight for us to achieve the goal, thus developed an equilibrium of the two. Silence ensued, with us speaking neither good nor bad until we were out. 

On their way out!

Finally, the first in line made it into the sunshine! Standing in a narrow space about waist high, he received a hand up and out by Dad and Mama who were standing by to congratulate our brave efforts as we emerged from the damp, smelly, darkness. 

Next I was out, and oh, the sunshine never looked so pretty, and the air never smelled so clean! Freedom!!! 

As each became a victor, they became an encourager for the next. 

We made it!

With hugs, high-fives, and cheers, some even shed joyful tears at their success!

We are proud to say that we conquered Fat Man's Squeeze. It was an adventure that these six trekkers will not forget any time soon. What started out as a simple hike turned into a victorious conquest! It was a tight fit at Fat Man's Squeeze!

~Jayla

As Slick as Can Be

The snow fell lightly in slow small flakes. It was not enough to sled ride in because it would melt as soon as it touched the driveway. “That is very disappointing,” I thought as I looked outside the window from where I was sitting on our couch.

The days just got colder and colder. The hoses began to freeze up and not work. That meant carrying water from the ponds we have. The boys would go and unhook the faucet every night. Everything was icy and slick.

When it was about four degrees and no snow was around, Samuel and I went to check the Frog Pond. It is a pond that is not very deep. It’s perfect for ice skating. We went and checked it, and it was not ready yet because the ice let out loud cracking noises, like it was groaning.

As we walked back down, I had a great idea. “The creek is smaller, and it is probably frozen by now. That might be a good spot,” I said. The house was now in plain sight.

I pulled on my rubber boots and took another long walk to the creek with Isaac, and we went scouting for a good spot to skate. We strolled along some of the thinner ice, and it cracked. We kept moving up the creek for a better spot.

We were near the top of the creek and there in front of us was a decent sized ice patch. It had a little snow on it, and we slid around to make it slick. Soon it was as slick as can be.

We ran a little way on top of the frozen water, then slid as far as we could, and it was slick. It was the iciest thing I have seen this year so far. We slid around for a while till it was time to go in and eat dinner.

Finally, the Frog Pond was frozen enough to be able to be skated on. We skated for a long time and played a lot of ice hockey. We only had two pairs of skates. Jayla and Halayah used them and the rest of us skated in our boots. I was glad I didn’t use the skates because Jayla fell a whole bunch and hurt her knee, bruising it up. She has been limping ever since.

The fun hours I had up on the ice is an unreplaceable memory I will always treasure. We had a bunch of fun with all games we played all over Providence Prairie. It was as slick as can be.

~Unique