Finishing Fort Snelling

By staying extra long in the Commandant's Kitchen, we miss some of the school lesson and race to the Schoolhouse. Lucky for us, the teacher is also the fife player and has stayed to entertain us and answer questions.

By this time girls correctly figure that dessert pastries are done, and we return to the kitchen. Even though park visitors are not permitted to eat any of this prepared food, girls are curious to see the finished products. The cook opens the bake kettle (what she calls the Dutch oven), and removes the brown treats filled with raspberry jam. Girls admire them and remind me to shop for the ingredients.

Next on the agenda is the cannon firing. The fort has knowledgable and costumed staff everywhere, and daily events are scheduled every thirty minutes. Earlier we watched the infantry drill with muskets, explain them, and fire them three times. Now they explain the cannon and fire it once. We stand behind the marker and plug our years as directed.

Since the historic site offers only snacks and we brought no lunch, hunger becomes a concern. We head for the exit at the visitor center, stop briefly in the gift store to buy a tin whistle/fife, cookbooks, chips, and candy. Grateful that we saw most of the orientation film here earlier, we save the exhibits for another day.

Out the doors, ticket stickers remaining in place on our shirts, we hurry to the car and plan a serious pizza lunch.