Black Powder

The morning of the 4th we went to a local museum called Four Mile Historic Park. It is in Denver and is, oddly, four miles from downtown. It used to be a farm and stage stop, back when people still traveled by stage. Now it is a farm and museum.

On the fourth of July every year they have a full day of events. The local Civil War reenactors have a camp there and show their stuff. The boy's grandparents are part of that unit.

When we got there the unit was about to fire off the 12 pound mountain howitzer. This is a very small canon that makes a satisfyingly big bang. Both boys were surprised and pleased by that.
Following the canon the infantry fired off several shots each, again perking the boys right up.

After the firing demonstrations we wandered through the park. We bought some home made kettle corn and root beer, which were both a big hit. We wandered through the stilts and hoops. Owyn loved the hoops. He picked them up and put them over his head. Rhys found a stick to play with. The simple toys are still the best.

Once we had seen everything we went around and got some food. From this point on the boys were pretty much turds. I spent some time talking to some of my friends in the unit there but we had to head home sooner than we would have liked.

We managed a good two hours, no rain, some food and drink and lots of boom. Oh yeah, and Rhys found a stick.