This vacation will surely be remembered forever! The ten of us (plus one in utero) went to Wild River Campgrounds for some quality time together. We arrived on a Tuesday, and it was the hottest week of the summer! We started setting up the sites, and as it started raining, we decided to meet the parents who were on their way still in North Branch for some dinner. Well it not only rained, but it stormed! We were driving about 30 mph to be safe and witnessed the most amazing lightning storm we have ever seen. We enjoyed our pizzas, celebrated Mary's farewell to college (a tradition we have) and were even able to see some of the Twin's game. Luke was totes excited! When we returned, our campsite was drenched, including one of the tents, and there were more storms to come. We decided to hang out at a hotel in WI instead....
That night we played cards and had a good ol' time! The next morning after taking advantage of their breakfast, we went swimming, then packed up and headed back for the campgrounds.
Lachlan had a great time and was such a trooper even though it was HOT AS! And he didn't mind getting too dirty.
Some of us were in great spirits in this incredibly muggy weather.
Some of us just needed to take a break every once and a while....I don't blame her--it was so hot.
Even BC II needed a breather...
Wednesday after setting up the rest of the 2 sites, we made lunch and went on a hike to find the 'beach'. First, they told us there was a beach, then the lady in the office said it was more of a sandbar. Well, we get there (after going down about 75 rugged outdoor steps) and find a tiny 'sand bar' that is covered with two huge logs. Totes mucky and definitely not swimmable, esp for a 6 yr old, a 16 month old, and an 8 month prego Mamma. So after we realized there is not place to swim, we hiked back up the 75 rugged out door steps, then Luke took me to town to take a break in the AC car.
That night was a wonderful night around the fire singing and catching up on life. This was only to be ruined by the sound of something behind us--raccoons! They were fearless. Even after shining the light on them, they wouldn't scamper away until we made some loud crazy noise. So we moved to the screen tent, only to have 2 come back...and come back again....and come back again! We ended up just inviting them into the screen tent and shared our snacks with them....
That night I heard them at our site and they were nasty creatures all growling and fighting over specks of food. I am glad we woke up the next morning without a third companion in our bed!
Thursday we decided to beat the heat and go to Wild Mountain which was just minutes from our campground, only to get there and realize, this is NOT worth the money all we would have to pay to be admitted. Plan B-a beach! It was so nice to be in the water and actually enjoy the sunshine instead of run from it. Though we all did get attacked by algae. Gross!
We beat the heat some more and went to Taylors Falls (more time in the AC car!) and enjoyed some delicious ice cream and the ending of The Sandlot which was playing in the restaurant.
Back at the campsite, we got dinner ready. Daddy and Lachlan enjoyed chillin with each other.
Then we broke out the glowsticks! Even though we only really got to use them in the dusk, we had a lot of fun with them! They make for a fun family picture, especially when BC II gets one too!
Family fun with glowsticks!
Our fun with the glowsticks came to an end when the ranger came around and said there was a thunderstorm warning and we need to go to the Visitor's Center to seek shelter. Wonderful! We haven't even eaten yet! We quickly water proof our site and my sister is feeding me green beans as we pack cuz this Mamma was hungry! So we pile in the car and head toward the center, and it starts POURING rain. We have to run--including prego Mamma--in the POURING rain to the center which is about 1/4 mile away from where we had to park. Serouslt, I thought I was going to have the baby that night. We get settled inside, wring out our clothes, and in comes the other car of Adams with our dinner! Mom had grabbed all the hobo dinners that were cooking in the fire right before we left. Oh how yummy it was! There was a family with 5 kids and one on the way who also had not eaten, so we shared some of our dinner with them. It felt good to feed the hungry!
After the heart of the storm was passed, we went back to the site, which was a LAKE. And the screen tent that was over the picnic table, was now in the woods. Since there was more rain on the way, we decided to take what we needed and head back to my parents house, 45 mins away. We slept SO well that night! Luke and Dad went back the next morning to find the 2 tents we left there with lakes inside, and everything else was just so wet and muddy--we were glad we glamped it! So it was surely an adventure and kind of crazy to sleep only one of the three nights at the camp site. And Luke--who wasn't too keen on camping in the first place--will not go again for about 5 years...we will see! : )
Whew! World's longest blog. But the adventure was so good, it had to be shared!
Love ya, mean it
Be here now.
What a crazy adventure! Sounds like a blast. I absolutely love the pictures, especially dirty Lachlan!
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