Family Camping & More!

Camping sure is a lot of work, thankfully it's also a lot of fun too! Lucky for us, Ben's parents are pro-campers so they take the lead (planning everything) and we try to help out as much as possible! We camped at Starved Rock State Park in Illinois and had a lovely shaded spot to call "home" for a couple of days. It was a complete bonus that the weather was almost fall-like even though it's nearly the end of July!

The first day, after setting up camp we hiked up Starved Rock. It was a nice hike, but there were lots of people and due to recent wind storms most of the other trails at Starved Rock were closed! :-(
The first night we roasted hot dogs, heated up baked beans, and had a delicious camp meal that we topped off with smores before bed.
In the morning, we got right to work on breakfast.

Noah was helpful with food prep all weekend long - especially if it involved fire!

We had coffee brewing, eggs cooking, sausage sizzling and cinnamon rolls waiting.

Yes! The sausage is done! We loaded our plates and chowed down. It was so good, especially in the crisp morning air.

Then we took off for a neighboring state park, Matthiessen State Park. There the trails were open and the crowds were very thin (at least first thing in the morning).

Both of these state parks are known for their canyons and waterfalls. The canyons were formed thousands of years ago when glaciers broke apart letting flooding waters carve them out.

We had a fantastic time exploring, finding out what was beyond the next bend, and climbing up and down the sandstone rocks.

The canyons were cool and damp.

The sandstone was easy for the boys to climb allowing them to feel like they were conquering great heights.

This was an extremely impressive waterfall - never mind the photo shoot that was taking place in front of it.

Plants were growing on and in each crevice they possibly could.

We also spent a lot of time at the Starved Rock Lock & Dam, built by the Army Corp of Engineers. We were all fascinated by the process! They had a small visitors center with a pretend tug boat in it that the boys played in a lot. They also had a viewing deck so we stood and watched barges come in and out of the lock.

Here the gates are opening to the let the barge into the lower part of the river.

We visited the lock at least three times while we were out camping. Saturday there were historic reenactors at the lock explaining how fur traders used to travel along the river, etc. One guy had several old games that we enjoyed playing. Wool rag balls and stick made for baseball, and large wooden rings with sticks made for a great ring toss game!  

In an effort to find new hiking trails we tried a different part of the Matthiessen Park but were sorely disappointed to find it was simply walking through the forest. The adults could appreciate the beauty but the boys were not impressed.

However, as we drove around the park to leave we came across a surprise! A model airplane runway, with guys flying planes. We were intrigued so we stopped and after Tim had one brief conversation the guy said that the boys could each take a turn flying!

And as a total vacation bonus, there was a field of sunflowers right next to the runway!

Such a cheerful flower.

Can you spot the airplane Levi's flying?

The guy said you can get a sore neck and back flying these planes - I think he's right!

Then it was Noah's turn.

After two successful flights and many thank you's we left the guy to fly his own airplane.

By this time Andy and Lia had joined us from Chicago so the boys were thrilled to have new people to play with and relentlessly pester. We put together pocket packet stew for supper. The guys were in charge of theories and methods for an even and steady fire.

And then, after a solid thirty minutes on the fire, dinner was served!

Sunday morning, we woke up and got right to making breakfast again! Although this time, Uncle Andy was there for entertainment. :-)

Then off we went to Matthiessen again!

The boys were even more adventurous than the day before and we were thrilled that once again the crowds were minimal.

They had the coolest concrete bridges

and stairways!

This place had a lot of stairs...we counted at least 280 steps going one way. We tried counting steps as a way of distracting the children but I think it was just as good a distraction for the adults too!
Back at camp it was time for a Fanta break while waiting for lunch.

This was one of the few times during the weekend that the boys actually kept themselves occupied without the help of an adult. Levi was snacking on chips and Noah was adding bits of wood to the fire.

Chicken, onions, peppers, tomatoes, black beans, corn, cheese and salsa over rice - yum! We ate a lot of food and it was all so very good!

We gathered to celebrate Sue's birthday and retirement. It was wonderful to get away and camp and while Andy and Lia's time with us was short it was wonderful to see them again. And thanks to Lia's amazing pie making skills, I now know I like blueberry pie!

Happy birthday Sue, happy retirement and thanks for working hard to take us all camping!