Yurt!

We went camping this weekend in a long overdue & belated father's day weekend celebration. After our camping weekend fell through over father's day when all the kids had strep throat, we vowed to make it up at some point. Then it got HOT....forever....and we didn't. Now our tent is temporarily disabled since Gavin climbed on it over Jack's bday weekend and broke a fiberglass pole. So we rented a yurt in a state park outside of Winterset, and it was so much fun. It had a kitchen but no bathroom. That was the trickiest part-- getting the kids up to the bath house when they had to go. Luckily we have boys who, most of the time, could pee in the weeds outside the cabin :)

Can you see three heads peeking out of their beds?

There are only 2 yurts, and they are right next door to one another. Luckily we were the only renters this weekend, so our kids' EARLY morning squeals didn't bother quite as many campers. ;)

We had a fun "backyard" that was more private and larger than most campers get. The fire ring was a hit, and the boys had fun collecting sticks to make the fires.

The boys bought special flashlights for our nighttime walks to the potty. Light sabers make it easy to spot your kids at a campground, too :)

We spent a lot of time at the park playground. The boys made a good friend, Max, who made the whole trip super fun for them. Max shared his silly string the morning we all checked out.

The park we stayed at was smallish and fun. Good hiking trails, and not super busy. We didn't find the time for the boys to plan in the ford at the park, but next time that's on the to-do list. We were amazed to hear that two families have their campers permanently stationed in the first two spots at the campgrounds the entire camping season, and they switch off who "chaperones" each night (even weeknights). Since we were there on a weekend, they had an afternoon ice cream treat for kids who were there camping and an evening movie for all families. The showed the Lorax on a big screen they pulled from the side of their camper, and had a real popcorn machine that stays at the park. Our boys made so many friends. It was such a great campground!

The morning before we left I saw what I assumed was someone's malamute dog running off from the grounds in the early morning, but no one noticed it or claimed it. It could have easily been a wolf I suppose. It was too large to be a coyote, which is what we *thought* we heard howling through the nights we were there. Maybe it was a wolf! Kind of freaky that it was out in the morning and that close to the campground. But it didn't bother anyone so I guess that's what nature is all about. We saw a fair amount of deer and had some good bird sightings, too.

We went into Winterset on Saturday to hit one of the covered bridges and Clark Tower, a place I remember visiting several times as a kid with my parents. It was strange running up that old tower's steps, in tow of my own children, and remembering all the times Adam and I played there on our family trips.

This park had some awesome trees, which made for interesting hide and seek spots.

Clark Tower

We had such a nice weekend and hope to go back again before winter hits!