Camping With The Presbyterians

We wrapped up Year 4 of Camping With The Presbyterians last weekend and called it a success!  This has turned into a really fun weekend for the kids and I to spend some quality time with Gran and Beep Beep at Turkey Run State Park.

The elder Kecklers arrived mid afternoon on Friday to set up the campsite, which had been carefully chosen right next to the playground and far enough away from the bath house to not get extra traffic and noise.  Ben and Cheryl upgraded to a pop-up camper this summer, so camping had an even greater appeal this year for the kids and me.  We arrived close to dinner time, which Cheryl had prepared an old favorite casserole recipe of Kevin's and heated it up on the campfire grates.  It was a simple yet delicious chicken and macaroni dish.  The kids gobbled it up too!  We anticipated a decent rainstorm coming in Friday night, although nothing compared to two years ago when the storm got so bad that we ended up staying a night in the lodge.  Regardless, this one was windy enough and noisy enough to rattle the kids; fortunately we were off the ground and safely stowed in the camper for the evening.

Dinner before the big storm rolled in

The rest of the weekend was perfect camping weather and allowed us to relax by the fire, visit with church friends, play on the playground and take a short hike.  Bryce's favorite part of the weekend, for sure, was riding his bike through all the mud puddles.  I brought four changes of clothes for him (2/day) and wouldn't you know he went through all four before the end of the weekend and we still had to "recycle" an outfit.  Here's why:

Ben would take Bryce over to the water spigot and literally hose off the mud, and clearly Bryce was not a huge fan of this process.

We took a short hike on Trail #7 before getting ready for dinner.  Saturday dinner is a potluck meal over at the tennis shelter.  The camping group as well as some additional church folks will drive in just for the meal.  Cheryl served one of my favorite dishes- Amish pickle salad.  Everyone really enjoyed it. simply because it's so unique.  Gran headed back to Indy for church the next morning.  Biscuits, gravy and a casual church service rounded out the weekend on Sunday morning.

We did a bit more exploring of the campsites again this year and are already eyeing site #36 for future camping.  Exceptionally shady and a bit more private, but I really think Gran and Beep Beep like its proximity to the bathrooms :)  Looking forward to camping again soon!