• Indiana Dunes National Park

    June 29, 2022

    The national parks are places that we, as a family, love to explore. We’ve set a goal to see as many as we possibly can with our daughters. We got started on that goal in 2020, and have checked six major ones off of the list of sixty-three. Last week, we spent four days camping in Indiana Dunes National Park. It was beautiful, and completely different than the other parks we’ve done.

    Where We Stayed–
    We stayed at Dunewood Campground, which is within the park. You need a national park pass to stay here. We used the free pass that our fourth grader has. You can get one here if your child is going into the fourth grade. There were several places around the campground where a 7 day pass could be purchased for $25. The campground fills up FAST. We made a reservation several months ago, and we snagged the second to last campsite available. Please do not head there and expect to find a spot.

    We were thankful for the zero percent chance of rain that allowed us to leave our rain cover off. We’ve collected a lot of our gear over the years from gifts and our own purchases and have a really nice setup going.

    Our specific campsite was on the Mather loop; site 29. It was perfect. Our spot was directly across from the restrooms and showers, which also had a big camper’s sink where you could do your dishes or bring hot water back to your site to do them. There was also a water fountain with a bottle filler. We had a TON of space in between our site and our neighbors. It was so shaded and secluded. The girls had a lot of room to explore without disturbing anyone around us. The only downside to it all was the mosquitos. I know, they are just part of camping. But, this was something else. We are all COVERED in bites. We were using OFF! and it didn’t deter them, so we went and got lawn fogger to spray. This only kept them away long enough to eat a quick meal, and then they returned. That is your fair warning. I’ve never experienced being bit like that before. We still loved it.

    What We Did–
    Our first day (Monday), we set up the campsite and ate lunch. We always head straight for the visitor center to get the junior ranger books for the kids to work on. We also participated in the BARK ranger program with Ranger (our 4 month old Australian shepherd; guess where he got his name) because I am 100% that person. We headed for the beach and waded in the water. The water was so cold despite the 90 degree temperatures.

    After dinner, we walked to a gas station outside of the campground and got some soft serve ice cream. I was told that we MUST not miss that. I’m not sure why because it was just regular chocolate/vanilla/twist. It was really good on a hot day though, so I won’t totally knock it. It also was really cheap.

    The next day (Tuesday), the heat index was supposed to be almost 100. We packed up early and headed to the beach to swim until lunch time. I love Lake Michigan. It is so blue and vast. You feel like you’re at the ocean without the sharks and salt. We went to Kemil beach, which was perfect for families. It was much less rocky, and it stayed where the kids could touch for quite a long ways. It also wasn’t too crowded. That evening we went to the Bailly Homestead/Chellberg farm and hiked the trail. It was so beautiful to see the old homestead. The farm has chickens, cows, turkeys, etc. Of course we would find a farm to visit. We went back to the beach that night to watch the sun set. It had clouded up, so we couldn’t see much, but it was still beautiful to see the summer solstice sunset.

    Day 3 (Wednesday) was a much cooler day. We decided that we wanted to take on the three dunes challenge, which is actually contained in Indiana Dunes State Park. We paid $12 four our carload to enter the park. The three dunes challenge is a 1.5 mile trail with 552 vertical feet of SAND. I thought I was prepared. Scott and I did a 9 mile hike last year with 879 feet of elevation change. I knew it was going to be hard. Hiking on dry, sugary sand is a whole different ballgame. The tallest dune actually has stairs to climb to get up and down, but the others are all straight sand. The girls did such a good job, and we finished in under an hour. The views were beautiful. If you finish, you can go back to the main visitor center and you get to choose from a lot of cool stickers for your water bottle or bumper. We decided to take it easier that afternoon since everyone was pretty worn out. We went back to the beach to watch the sunset again. I’m so glad we did. It was absolutely beautiful. The girls got to go swimming again and were thrilled.

    We were leaving on day 4 (Thursday). Once we packed up our campsite and cleaned up all around us, we headed down to Gabis Arboretum. It was a 40 minute drive from the campground, but completely worth it. It costs $10 per carload to enter. There are so many gardens to explore. One of them is a railroad garden where they have a massive train setup. It only runs on the weekends, so we missed it. While we were there, one of the trails was turned into a woodland trail. There were fairy houses all along the path, which we loved. I highly recommend taking the drive down to see it.

    I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect at Indiana Dunes. I thought it would be all sand. But, Indiana Dunes is the most biodiverse park in the US. There is something for everyone to see and enjoy! It is also incredibly dog friendly. The lifeguarded beaches are dog-free zones. But, dogs are allowed just about anywhere. People were even walking into the buildings with their pooches. Definitely take the time to visit if you get the chance!

    Some Resources–
    Our tent— I love our tent so much. It’s a 10 person blackout tent. It is a breeze to put up by yourself and does come with a rain cover. The prices has gone up so much that I’m afraid to even link it! Scott worked a lot of overtime for us to buy this tent, and we use it all the time, but we sure didn’t pay this much for it.
    Canopy (similar)– This takes a couple of people to set up, but it’s worth it!
    Pocket wall— this was a gift from my mom and came in so handy!
    Camp Stove— I love this little powerhouse.

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  • A Weekend of Adventure

    August 24, 2020

    I LOVE the weekends that Scott has off. We always try to make the most of having two full days in a row together.

    Addi had written a letter to Scott asking if we could go camping this weekend. (She likes to write letters to us and put them in various places through the house.) We checked the weather forecast, and it was going to be hot days with really cool nights. Since it cools off fairly quickly in the evenings, we decided to go for it.

    I set the tent up by myself while Scott was at work– not bragging, just a testament to how wonderful this tent is. Since we didn’t have rain in the forecast, we left the cover off. It was so nice to look up and see the stars above us.

    We like to play games in the tent before bed. Spot It, UNO, and go fish have been our go-to’s so far. I’m a huge fan of waterproof games. It is much less frustrating when a drink spills on them or a mother accidentally sprays a garden hose on them. You know, the normal stuff.

    We went for a hike, but mostly got distracted with playing in the river. We tracked down the big sunflower field that everyone locally has been talking about. We roasted s’mores and ate burgers and hot dogs. We read stories and snuggled in for the cool nights.

    Adventures don’t require a lot of planning, or even any extra money. Just decide that it’s going to be done and do it. These kids are growing at a lightening fast rate, and I don’t want to miss it. I’m exhausted and my back aches from two nights on an air mattress. But, my heart is so very full.

    **I also should note that our kids aren’t always cheery and excited for hikes and things like that. One of the days, I could tell everyone was grumpy. I shouted “TODAY IS GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY!!!” and one of my sweet children mumbled under her breath “no, it’s not”. But, guess who had fun anyway. Drag them along and bring a snack.

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  • Horse Cave KOA– Tent Camping

    June 25, 2020

    We looked at several campgrounds for our trip to Mammoth Cave. The struggle was finding a tent spot that also had electric. It was a necessity, not a want. Many of the camp grounds didn’t offer it, and the ones that did cost an arm and a leg. We started considering renting a cabin with no air conditioning, because it was cheaper than the camp grounds. Then, we found Horse Cave KOA.

    KOA campgrounds are so family friendly. They always have playgrounds, mini golf, and a pool. Horse Cave KOA had this huge jumping bag, a pond that you could fish in, and tons of farm animals. My only complaint is that this campground is right off the highway, and the traffic is so loud at night.

    This campground is under renovation. The bathrooms had been redone, and were the prettiest camp bathrooms I’ve ever used! Two of the bathrooms had bath tubs while the rest had step in showers. If tent camping isn’t your thing, they have cabins that you can rent. They have new covered wagon “cabins” that are so pretty.

    toiletry bag

    We had quite the camping experience. We made reservations because we needed the spot with electric. When we got there, they told us we were placed in an RV spot because the usual places were gone. Most of the spots were empty, so they told us we could pick from the empty ones. We found one with a good amount of grass, and set up the tent.

    10 person darkroom tent

    The weather forecast kept getting worse for Sunday, our full day in town, but we were committed. Little did we know that we would get downpours while starting to cook or getting ready to eat. We ended up going out and buying a canopy. There is a Walmart 20 minutes from the campground. There is also a Love’s gas station nearby if you should need any food, drinks, ice, etc.

    The campground was clean and had everything any family could want. It wasn’t crowded, and people stuck to the quiet time rules. We all really enjoyed our stay at Horse Cave KOA, but we may stay elsewhere if we go back solely because of the road noise. If interstate noise doesn’t bother you, then definitely go! I think if you stayed in a cabin or have an RV, you wouldn’t hear it.

    tent // canopy (it is REALLY nice, but that price tag made us sick)

    The tent was new– other than being used in the yard once. It rained on us some that time, so we knew we shouldn’t get wet. It POURED, and everything stayed dry. That is, until I opened the windows after checking the (clear) radar and somehow it still rained. Thankfully, it dried out quickly after that. We LOVE this tent.

    Some people like to eat out while they camp. We did not want to go that route since we try to stick to a budget. That budget obviously went out the window having to buy a canopy, but it was still better to invest in that than spending the money on eating out. Dining rooms weren’t open in Kentucky anyway. We used our camp stove and made all of our meals. That’s why we ended up buying a canopy.

    Coleman camp stove // toaster // cast iron

    I thought I’d share our meal plan in case anyone needs ideas. We ate two meals on the road Saturday and Monday, and the rest we cooked at the camp site.

    Saturday:
    dinner– hamburgers and hot dogs

    Sunday:
    breakfast– scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast
    lunch– nachos (with pre-cooked taco meat)
    dinner– foil pack dinner with smoked sausage, potatoes, and corn on the cob

    Monday:
    breakfast– cereal/pop tarts

    I made pasta salad before our trip, and we ate that with some of the meals. We packed chips, cheese crackers, carrot sticks, milk, and sandwich stuff also.

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