Camping in Okoboji

Annual Camping Trip 4.0!  This time with a pup in tow, which felt like a huge wildcard.  

But we were ready to give it a try!  This year we headed three hours north to Lake Okoboji and the "great lakes of Iowa".  

First things first, set up the hammock and unwind. 

Add in the traditional camping chocolate milk, 

get the tent up before the sun goes down, 

wander through some woods, 

and swing a little more before dinner. 

Home sweet smokey home. 

The braid triplets return!

Laney... so far, so good, and so snuggly!

She was too confused by this massive change of scenery to bark at much of anyone or anything the first day. 

She was happy to unwind and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine!  And dig and dig in the dirt.

Daddy was eager to try out his new Dutch oven, and the peach cobbler was a hit!  Just needed some ice cream... maybe next time!

Night one was fairly painless- few bugs, little noise, even the pup slept better than we expected she would.  Noah curled up in his corner of the tent and slept off the first week of kindergarten while the rest of us played Boom-O by flashlight.  It would have been an unremarkable night if it weren't for the allergies that are plaguing half of us this fall.  

After a tasty breakfast in the Dutch oven, it was time for exploring the lake shore 

and then a hike!

Or a "hike" we might say.  There were't even hills to climb up, just a long flat trail, and there was just a little bit of carrying the littlest ones when they needed it. 

I didn't take many pictures of the unicorn chasing, stick gathering, hand-holding, rock skipping contest adventure that was our hike.  But it was a good one!

And then back to our campsite we went to rest our weary feet by the fire. 

And swing a whole lot more.

And this campsite had a playground, which was a definite highlight for the kids. 

We even went into town for a bit (something we don't usually do on camping trips) and discovered an old school park complete with teeter-totters, a merry-go-round 

and, much to Jason's delight, tether ball!  He schooled Adam and then Adam schooled me.

 Night Two was a lot of the same as the first night, except that we now had neighbors on either side of us, and some of them were completely disinterested in what hour it was as they partied the night away.  Eventually Jason had to go out and ask them to quiet down, and I think we got a few hours of sleep before the morning sun and the kids were up again. 

Day three started with fishing on the dock

and Emma was lucky fish catcher number one!

She was proud of it but she wasn't about to touch it!

Leah was lucky fish catcher number two!

Laney was so curious about these floppy fish!

Adam tried and tried, but with no luck. 

But that was okay- it was time to head off on our final camping adventure- boating and tubing on the lake!

But before I get there, let's recap the high and low points of camping.  Not just on this trip, but in general our kids do great camping.  They happily collect sticks and play in the woods and gather acorn caps, which were exceptionally hazardous on this trip as we were surrounded by soaring oak trees that were releasing their seeds with gusto!  I think Noah and I were the only unlucky recipients of a swift acorn to the noggin.  

On the upside, camping is always a great chance to reconnect as a family and with nature.  Back to the basics always fills our souls.

On the downside, camping in a state park means we might or might not have considerate neighbors, and this time around we did not particularly enjoy those that we shared our weekend with.  Too many cars, campers, kids and cans of beer everywhere to really feel like we were alone in nature.  Last year our tent site and our neighbors were exceptional, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that we didn't have such good luck this year.  

On the upside, Lane did really well with camping overall.  She figured out where our boundaries were pretty quickly, used the bathroom outside of our immediate camping area, and didn't freak out at every noise and smell she encountered.  It's good to know that even though she's tiny, she's a good camping dog!  She even made friends with this slimy little salamander.

Overall, we dream about the day that we can backpack into a truly secluded camping site with the sights of real national parks that Iowa just can't provide.  We call these our "practice camping trips" so that we're ready for the good stuff when we're all a bit older..... assuming that Mom and Dad don't get so old that we stop enjoying the cooking around the campfire and sleeping on the ground like we "do" right now!