I grew up playing on the family farms in Michigan. I got to build forts with hay bales in the barn with my friends, and we'd make tunnels, too. One of my friends got beaned with a bale of straw that dropped from the conveyor when we were helping the farmers load it into the barn. He was fine, but it was funny. I used to test my courage by climbing the ladders to the topmost windows of the barn, and sit on the flower-box like benches to stare out the windows.
There was the giant rock that had been dug up from one of the fields (about 8 feet long, five feet wide and four feet tall - it was fun to climb on and laze in the sun). There was the old storage building that was falling apart - fun to climb through and imagine myself exploring an ancient ruin. Later, I got to help tear it down.
Schilter Farm, in Olympia, takes me back. They dressed the place up for the Halloween season.
They also have
a Facebook page.
