Virostko Family Reunion

I know I've said it on numerous occasions, but I absolutely love my family. Yes, we're a quirky bunch, but I bring part of that craziness to the group, and we're all loved for it.

So, when I stepped on the plane back to Indiana, I was stoked at the weekend ahead. Now, you might be thinking, "Well, she's going to her family reunion, no adventures for her this weekend..." Yeah, you don't know my family. I knew what lay ahead of me, and I couldn't wait. My mom's side of the family, the Virostko clan - including all my relatives from my grandpa's siblings and several generations of their families, only has a reunion every three years, and I had missed the last one while training in Florida in '05. So, I was excited to see many of my extended family whom I hadn't seen in years, and also enjoy some new adventures in Turkey Run State Park.

I arrived in Indy shortly before 6 p.m. and my sister, her boyfriend Justin, and I began the drive out to Rock Run. I had never been there before, but is basically a 900 acre farm owned by my second cousin (I think...) Bill. And it is amazing! Nestled in the heart of Parke County's covered bridge country lay incredible limestone walls, a sandy creek, dozens of Virostkos, and a TON of good homecooked food. I visited for awhile, with the most common introduction being, "So, you're the rower...," dug into some food (and snowcones!), and then my cousins and I began exploring. We climbed the limestone faces, explored the mossy banks of the creek, and were even guided (as it got dark, unfortunately) to some absolutely incredible waterfalls on the property. The place had a very sacred, secret feeling to it, and there were even some Indian carvings on the rocks. Very cool stuff.

After dark, we made the long trek (long only because we got lost due to the highway being closed) to the Inn at Turkey Run. I have loved Turkey Run since I was little, and just being at the Inn brought back so many good memories. I instantly feel like a kid when I am there, and it was great to relive old memories and make new ones. We met up with our cousins in the big living room/lobby, took advantage of the free coffee and tea, and played cards until the wee hours of the morning. We got up early the next morning for the main part of the reunion, with any plans for a morning hike doused by a hard, steady rain. We had a great morning, with many of my relatives giving little speeches about the family. Mom brought a big cardboard cut-out of my grandpa -as this was the first reunion we had without him - and told some stories about him, and both Emi and I got up and talked about our own respective adventures in nursing school, PhD, and of course, the Atlantic. It was great to see everyone and learn about what is going on with the Virostko family. "Flea" Virostko is still surfing the big waves out in California with the Maverick's crew, and though he's only a distant relative, I still think its cool that he's part of our family. We had an incredible lunch, took lots of pictures, and then us "kids" were free to go.

So, in the tradition of Turkey Run and my awesome family, we changed and headed out to the infamous Trail #3. Em, Justin, Scott, Devin, Mitchell, John, and I tramped along the ridgeline, eating raspberries along the way, down the mossy stairs, and arrived at the banks of a very flooded Sugar Creek. I had never seen the little river so high, and all of our eyes got big at the sight of it. My cousins and I have very similar mind sets, and I'm pretty sure that we were all thinking the same thing: how fun it would be to play in the raging water. Alas, we had some hiking to do, so we traversed the suspension bridge and made our way to the Devil's Icebox and other limestone structures until we found ourselves in the canyon and making our way up the ladders and climbing up the waterfalls. Trail #3 has always been a favorite of mine, and no matter how many adventures I go on in the future, it will always have a very special place in my heart. And no matter how old all of my family gets (Mitchell is 16 already!), we'll always act like little kids out there (with better climbing skills). We had a blast trekking through the damp, green forest and down into the mossy walls of Falls Canyon, where we stopped at the Punchbowl (a pool carved in the limestone), climbed waterfalls, and just generally had a great time in each other's company in the beautiful surroundings. Before we knew it, we waded through the mouth of the stream and found ourselves back at Sugar Creek. We all stood there at the water's edge, watching massive logs get swept downriver as we stared longingly at its fast current. Mitchell and I stood waist deep in the backwater wondering if there were any rangers nearby, and how quickly we could get back to the lodge if we hopped on a log and rode it downstream. For better or worse, we didn't take advantage of the situation, and we started back across the bridge, where the prospect of jumping off of it seemed like another sweet adventure. But, the thought of getting arrested at a family reunion kept us from taking the leap, and we headed back up the other side. Before returning to the lodge, though, we decided to check out the river below Sunset Point. Debris was swirling around an eddy behind the rock ledge, but Mitch and I decided to at least get a better look at the river, so we swam out in the deep brown stew to where our jumping rock should have been. It was deep underwater, but we decided that if we got the nerve to later tackle the current, that it was totally doable. We went back to the lodge, showered, and spent a few hours in the pool before joining the rest of the family for a barbecue out at one of the shelterhouses. After a wonderful meal of hot dogs, hamburgers, more homecooked goodies, and watermelon, the thunderstorms returned and my mom and I had a nice walk back to the Inn in the rain. In Arizona, I forget how much I miss walking in the rain, and it was special.

All of us cousins spent the remainder of the evening playing Rock Band. Scott, Mitch, and Devin were all pretty good at the game, which only made the rest of us look that much worse. My favorite was Jack's drunken singing skills. It was classic.

On Sunday morning, several of us took a small hike on the flooded Trail #6 and visited some more before most of the family headed out. It was hard to say goodbye so soon, but it had been a great reunion. After everyone had headed home, Emi and I exchanged birthday presents (Happy 22nd Lil Sis!!) and spent some time catching up. Since my flight back to Phoenix wasn't until the evening, Emily, Justin, and I hiked back out to the suspension bridge and climbed up on a bluff overlooking the creek and just relaxed for a bit, taking advantage of the mulberry trees that were filled with fruit along the way. The water was still flowing fast and deep below us, and it was very tempting to just jump off the cliff into the water below, but somehow we resisted the urge and just enjoyed the serenity of the afternoon.

Soon enough though, it was time to head back. We drove back to Indy and I caught my flight back to the Valley of the Sun. All in all, it was an incredible weekend with my family in one of my favorite places. I can't wait to go back again in a few years!!