Tractor Trails at Cook's

I grew up with Cook's Farm Dairy in my backyard, at least by Ortonville standards.

It was about 2 miles from my childhood home and my parents used to let us walk there on a hot summer day, or a mild spring/fall day, (a good way to get us out of their hair for a couple of hours, no doubt). In hindsight, 2 miles seems like a pretty long distance to let a couple of ten to thirteen year olds walk unaccompanied by an adult, but those were simpler times back then…even though the abduction and murder of Adam Walsh had demonstrated to most parents (including mine) that the world was not as safe as they hoped it would be. But I digress.

I remember when Cook's first started selling ice cream. The pungent smell of the cow manure. The hand dipped, creamy, hard ice cream. MMMmmm.

It was 75 cents for a single, and if you've ever been to Cook's, you know that their singles are hu-normous (a word coined by my 3 year old niece Bella).

I remember when they first increased their price form 75 cents to $1.25 and unlike other price hikes, when people tend to bemoan the atrocity of rising prices, this price hike was met with a resounding agreement that Cook's was finally charging what their hu-normous ice cream cones were really worth.

We now live about 8 miles from Cook's, it's about 15 minutes to drive there. And with a Frosty Boy around the corner and gas prices soaring, we don't go there as often as I did as a kid. (As I'm typing this, it makes me realize that we really should go more often.)

After a long day swimming in our lake and sunbathing at our beach this past Sunday, we went to Cook's while the dads were out golfing for Father's Day.

Me & my kids.

My sister & her kids.

And our psuedo-sister Lorrie & her kids.

Today, a single cone at Cook's costs $3.25, and that price is still worth it since they are just as yummy and almost as hu-normous as I remember them. I'd dare say that back in the early eighties, the singles were even hu-normouser than they are today. But, it was such a treat!

I had Tractor Trails (vanilla ice cream with fudge swirls and peanut butter truffles) - is your mouth watering? Jordyn had Mint Chocolate Chip. Liam had Blu Moo.

And Owen had White. No, not Vanilla. White. (OK, it really was Vanilla but he'll argue with you til he's blue in the face that it's WHITE ice cream.)

The farm has grown since I was a kid. In addition to cows they now have pigs and chickens. After finishing our ice cream, we walked around the farm.

Here is a pig defecating on another pig's snout.
And the pig getting dumped on didn't even mind! He didn't even flinch! Kinda makes me want to swear off pork like my sister's family has done. Too bad it tastes so freaking delicious. Bacon! Bacon! Bacon! Bacon! BACON! (to read the bacon sequence correctly, you must recall a certain Kibbles & Bits commercial.)

And, speaking of pigs, I couldn't resist taking a picture of Cook's marquee.

Would you like the one dumping or the one getting dumped upon? I certainly hope they let you specify that you would like a non crapped upon the snout pig.

Bailey saw a very tiny dead baby chicken, which looked like it had slipped out of an egg and was squashed by a tractor (she refused to let me take a picture of that). It was gross.

There were calves that the kids were able to pet. One even took a liking to Jordyn's rear end so the calf LICKED it! Jordyn thought it was me goosing her (I love pinching my kids' butts!) and she was even more embarrassed to learn that it was a calf LICKING her!

And in case you're a complete moron, there were signs like this one all over the place.

It was the perfect way to end a perfectly splendid Father's Day. Too bad the dads missed it.

If we go there more often this summer, which we should, we'll have to walk the 8 miles for a couple of reasons.

A. To save gas.

B. To save my thighs from further expansion.

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Here are some more shots from our trip to the farm:

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