Into the Wild

Not sure how so much time passed since our last time in the great outdoors, as it had been a couple years, but we were back for another round of camping with our Gommel framily! 

This time around we headed to middle ground at Fort Parker State Park. The date was picked a couple months ago, with hopes that January weather would cooperate, and voila, it was an amazing 55-65 degrees! Yep, in January. Perfect for hanging out in nature with dear friends. We did not solve any of the world's problems, but we did fill our lungs with fresh air! And sure, camping is always the answer to the question.

Afternoon book time

Annabelle lead a game of Nertz

The Gommels brought along a nifty whittle kit, with different knives and blocks of wood. This provided quite a bit of entertainment throughout the weekend, with each kid approaching their project differently.

Danielle attempts a fish

Naomi created a cool mushroom and started a spoon

State parks are great at offering a variety of easy walking trails. We opted for the 2-ish mile Springfield Trail, over a floating bridge, past an historic cemetery, around a small pond (with otters?!) and near the dam. Trixie and Millie (and Annabelle, not pictured) set the pace and led the way most of the time!

Trixie was tired out from her time being a "real dog". She looked almost identical to her inaugural camping pose 10 years ago! 

Yes, I like control and power around the campfire, but enjoyed working with Gage to get a roaring fire started. Gage also introduced campfire nachos! (Look for his future nacho specialty restaurant: Kicked: In the horse by a face.) 

Life is better with a campfire, and that is the perfect place for good times and good conversations in the evenings! 

Campfire Nights

Gommels prepared tasty dutch oven chicken, bacon and potatoes.
Smiths keepin' it simple with traditional hot dogs.

Takin' it up a notch: Big Mac S'more!

While Friday and Saturday offered up perfect camping weather, at about midnight Sunday morning, the front for the incoming artic blast started rolling in. The winds stayed at about 20-25 mph for the remainder of our time. The gusts overnight tested our already weakened tent (mismatch poles!) and Tixie disappeared under the side of the tent as it blew over and covered her inside! I had to climb out of the tent twice in the wee hours to re-fasten and secure the rain fly on our tent that had blown off. We packed up at 8am and jumped in the cars at 9a just as a bit of rain began to fall. 

Another relaxing and rejuvenating weekend in nature to kick off the new year. 2025, here we come!