Finding Family Fun - And the Perfect Pumpkin

My 11-year-old niece says there is a formula to picking the perfect pumpkin at the pumpkin patch. First, it must be nice and round. Next, check the pumpkin segments. Are they evenly spaced? If not, that pumpkin is out of the running. Finally, the outside should be free of bumps and nodules, no side should be flatter than any other, and the key characteristic: it shouldn’t be dirty. 

Luckily, we found a plethora of such pumpkins on our fall visit to Skelly's Farm Market in Janesville. Skelly's has more than 20 acres of pumpkins, gourds and squash of all shapes and sizes - sitting at the entrance by the farm store and at the back of the property in an expansive U-pick pumpkin patch.  

My sister and I shared a smile as we watched my niece taking on the serious task of carefully picking out her pumpkin. She stood at the entrance, hands on her hips, and quietly surveyed the options. After a couple minutes, she found one she liked and went right for it to do the closer inspection. It was a stark con­trast to how my 10-year-old nephew picked his out: He saw the pumpkins and immediately ran in to look at them all, exploring various parts of the field before settling on his choice for a jack­-o'-lantern gourd. In the end, we all picked two pumpkins each, loaded them into one of the farm's convenient little red wagons, and hauled them to the registers to be weighed for payment.  

The pumpkins were the last stop during my family's action-packed day at Skelly's. We had started the morning plotting out our day as we sipped steaming cups of hot chocolate. Once our cups were empty and our itinerary was full, we began our adven­ture in one of the corn mazes. Skelly's has two corn mazes each year, and they're enormous. The six-acre version is carved out to look like an image and the nine-acre version - aptly named The Impossible Maze - is cut to chal­lenge even the most skilled wayfinders. Each maze has a dedi­cated phone app, which leads you through scavenger-hunt-like games within the maze. The app also has GPS and a map to give you the option for help in case, like us, you find yourself back where you started - again! We had hoped to do both mazes, but after an hour of doubling back on ourselves in Corn Kingdom Breakout, we decided to call it a loss and left through the "emer­gency" exit. We were all too proud to use the GPS. 

Following the maze, I helped my niece and nephew climb aboard a wagon to embark on an activity we'd never experi­enced: a choose-your-own-adventure hayride. During the hay­ride, the passengers are presented with choices about which direction to go based on a story about Farmer Jack. When you come to a fork in the path, the driver turns to the group and asks for a vote. Majority rules, and you head that direction, with the story changing accordingly. For our ride, Farmer Jack was attempting to escape some villains that chased him on their way to attack the castle. Farmer Jack fought them off and tricked them into losing their way, effectively saving the castle and all inhabitants of the realm. All the votes are expressed through exaggerated arm movements, like pretending to shovel or to shoot an arrow. The ride left everyone smiling and laughing, pleased with the silliness, the pleasant ride and the satisfaction of having saved the castle.  

The next stop on our Tour-de-Skelly's was the activity my nephew and I were most excited for. Apple cannons. For $6 each, we got 10 apples per person, loaded chem into a mas­sive gun-like cannon, and shot them as far across the field as we could. Skelly's puts out a gigantic sculpture made of tires and other targets to hone your aim. My nephew and I shared cheers and high-fives as we watched apples explode into little bits against the trash can lid. The two of us honestly could have stayed there all day shooting apples.  

Skelly's has a kitchen in the farm store where they make deli­cious baked goods for the pumpkin patch visitors. You won't find sandwiches or hot dogs here. Instead, expect tasty bak­ery items, such as doughnuts, turnovers, cookies and muffins. We opted for a four-pack of pistachio muffins, six apple cider doughnuts and a package of apple turnovers. You'd be surprised how much a corn maze, a hayride and firing an apple cannon works up an appetite. We devoured every last bit of food we purchased. The table favorite was the apple cider doughnuts, which were slightly crisp on the outside, tender inside and full of fresh apple flavor.  

We explored a few other activities before heading to the pumpkin patch; the kids and I wanted to try everything we could fit in. So we all took a trip down the bumpy but fun grain truck roller slide; wandered along the creekside trail looking for frogs and mushrooms; raced one another through the small obstacle course; sent some rubber ducks down a slide maze; and played on the handmade playground equipment.  

I'm sure this will be a day we'll all remember for a long time to come. Not only were all the activities a blast, but also our expertly picked pumpkins made amazing jack-o' -lanterns. We can't wait for the chance to make more fall memories next year!