Our friends the Madells, who live outside Chicago, love to visit Mineral Point.  They’ve been here at various times of the year, but they love the winter.

They bring their dog LMNOP (they call him OP for short). They say this is OP’s favorite vacation destination.

Yesterday, they went sledding at the Elementary School.

They cross-country skied in the Oak Savanna.

Their son Nate decorated a tree with snowballs.

But, the highlight of the trip happened at Soldiers Memorial Park.  Yesterday, they went sledding there and noticed that a previous sledder had inserted a large stick into the snow at the bottom of the sled hill, presumably to indicate the record distance.

Pete Madell was determined to break the record. He came very close yesterday, but didn’t “beat the stick.”

On their way out of town today, the Maddells stopped by the park to try one last time to “beat the stick.” Sawyer captured the moment.

As the Madells demonstrate, Mineral Point is a fun, family vacation destination – especially in the winter.

The stick still stands in the park where Pete left it.  Why not head down there and see if you can beat the stick.

– Contributed by the Hays