• 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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  • Lincoln’s Birthplace National Park

    June 29, 2020

    We couldn’t be so close to Lincoln’s Birthplace in Hodgenville, KY and not stop. I have loved Abraham Lincoln since I was a little girl. Plus, we are a homeschool family and will pounce and any opportunity for these educational experiences. Seeing history come alive is one of the best ways to learn it.

    This memorial building is what houses the log cabin. There are 56 steps, each one representing a year of Abraham Lincoln’s life. It really is moving to take each step. He was such an incredible president, and his life was cut so short.

    There is a small museum that you can walk through. The family Bible is housed inside, which I really enjoyed getting to see. There is also a short video that you can watch about Abraham Lincoln’s parents and their life in Kentucky.

    They had the interior door propped open so visitors could see part of the cabin.

    There is a path that leads down to Sinking Spring, which they say is probably where he got his first drink of water from. It was so pretty and cool down here. The sounds of the water were so peaceful.

    The park itself was really beautiful. There are trails that you can hike, but we were pressed for time and didn’t do any. This park also has the junior ranger program. The ranger at the outdoor information table gave the kids their workbooks and a pencil. She then gave me the badges and said that I could give them to the kids when I felt like they had completed enough. During our visit, quite a bit was still closed and the answers wouldn’t be found in the park. Be sure you ask about the program so that you can get the workbooks! It’s so educational for the kids!

    I would really like to go back once everything is reopened. Even with so much closed, I am really glad that we made the time to stop and see this beautiful place.

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  • Mammoth Cave National Park

    June 24, 2020

    It is a unique experience to go somewhere during a pandemic. I have been very concerned about my child getting sick and ending up hospitalized– because we were there a year ago. You can’t get much more distant than tent camping and visiting a massive national park, so we went, and I am so glad that we did.

    Let me just start by sharing the precautions that they are currently taking. The information desk is outside. The rangers are under a small canopy to answer questions, hand out maps, and give junior ranger workbooks and badges. Should you need to go inside, traffic is one way. Everything is incredibly clean. They even moved a gift shop outdoors. There is plenty of open air. They only have one cave tour open, and they altered the route because the usual route didn’t have enough air flow to be safe during this time. So, rest assured.

    Scott and I have been talking for some time about wanting to visit all of the National Parks. We want to visit as many as we can while the kids are still with us, and after they are grown I hope we continue to explore. It’s something we have always loved. He suggested that we go camp and visit the closest park to us, which is Mammoth Cave National Park. We left on Saturday and came home on Monday.

    The entire park was so beautiful. Yes, there are MILES of beautiful cave to explore. But, they have also preserved thousands of acres of forest. There are places to camp and trails to hike. It rained on us the whole weekend. In the forest, there are so many trees that you don’t get as wet as you would expect.

    tank top

    We signed up to to the Extended Cave Tour. Like I said, everything was different for us. It is usually a guided tour. For safety reasons, that was not the case this time. They did have rangers all throughout the cave off of the path that would explain things to you and answer questions. They also limited it to groups of fifty for each tour. We didn’t get to see everything that I was looking forward to, but that is just incentive to go back!

    The entrance and exit were so beautiful. You could immediately feel the cool cave air as soon as you hit the top of the steps. The cave is consistently in the 50s, which was such a nice relief from the heat and humidity. Pack a jacket! Your eyes adjust to the darkness and you can see every detail of the cave. I had to laugh when I looked through my pictures. So many of them were just black photos, and I wasn’t sure what I could see at the moment. I do know that I said “wow” a lot. I’m so glad that we did it!

    rucksack— on sale!

    There were so many trails to hike. Since we were only there for one full day, we didn’t get to do very much at all. There are lots of hills. I think my fitbit said I ended up doing 36 floors that day between the cave and the short trail. I had over 16,000 steps. The kids did great!

    Most of the parks do a Junior Ranger program. Once we set up camp on Saturday, we went to the park and picked up the workbooks for the kids to do. For this program, the kids had to earn “bat points” based upon their age. Each page was worth a certain amount of bat points. Once they had earned enough, they could go back and get their junior ranger badges. We all learned so much from these books!

    Patagonia jacket (similar)

    I am so passionate about our National Parks. I was fortunate enough to visit several of them when I was younger. Their efforts to conserve nature and history are so good. They offer so many resources for educators. They are passionate about getting kids outdoors. There is so much to learn! We were looking at where to go next while traveling home. This book has been so good for planning. (I didn’t get my passport stamp and am so sad.)

    I’ll share about where we camped tomorrow!

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