Last week during fall break, our family was able to go camping overnight for the first time ever in the fall! Sweet Husband had an earlier harvest and, though he is still doing tillage work, waiting for a rain to soften the ground made it possible for us to take off about 40 miles away from us to Fox Ridge State Park. Here is a little snippet of our trip.

We decided to stay in a cabin versus tents for several reasons. Sweet Husband called and booked for us. We are rarely ‘last minute’ planners, but this campout was an exception. Let’s check it out!

The cabin: one thing my two youngest loved the most…. A top bunk! The cabin was equipped with two rooms; one double bed and bar/chairs room at the entrance and one bunk bed room. There was electricity but no water or bathroom. Basic, simple, and clean!

Trails: we enjoyed several trails. Although this park was only 40 minutes from our house, there were ravines and hills and even rock slides. A far cry from our flat farm land. We had a good time exploring and the kids even waded in the Embarrass River. We enjoyed collecting acorns, hickory nuts, rocks, and shells!

The Food: Since we don’t camp often, I wanted to stretch myself and (though there was an outlet and electricity for a crock pot) make our food over the open fire. I have work to do to learn skills with dutch ovens etc. But, we made hot dogs and baked beans (I brought a jar I had home canned) with S’Mores for supper. And we had turkey sausage links, ‘smashed’ eggs, and homemade pumpkin cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Everyone wanted to take a turn with stirring the eggs! For lunch, we did simple lunch meat wraps. I brought our own (not from our cow but purchased on our own) raw milk along with a dozen eggs in a jar, scrambled and ready to cook; bacon grease for cooking; condiments for dipping; and homemade buns (still working on a soft and pliable bun). It was yummy! As I have heard many times: Food tastes better cooked outside. Ha! And, I love the extra sweetness of the gingham tablecloth and pitcher of flowers we picked!

Fun: Sweet Husband brought a wiggle ball and bay. There were many sport courts including basketball, volleyball, baseball, and several playgrounds. Picnic areas were plentiful as well. At the river, my oldest (14 years old now!), built a rock tower. And all of the kids waded, finding shells, bones, and unfortunately glass- thankful no one stepped on any! We took our bikes and enjoyed the paved access roads. And we took a night time walk around a small pond near our camp sight.

Our camping trip was a joy! My daughter even said ‘Well, now we can check saving a turtle off our list!’ when we found this guy and Sweet Husband stopped and let me rescue Mr Turtle. We saw squirrels and birds (even a great blue heron). And the fall leaves were lovely! I took a photo of the kids for a possible Christmas card collage.

What do you and your family enjoy doing in the fall?