Indiana Dunes State Park.

We had our first two night camping trip with Zara! Camping is so much work- making a home away from home- but always worth it. We were going to go to Asheville but the hurricane made that impossible. We decided on Indiana Dunes National Lake shore instead. The only issue with a last minute change is that all the great camping spots were taken. We ended up finding a place & I swear I try to see the humor and adventure in things like that, but I'm me and I can't.

The area we visited is in Indiana, so there were lots of corn fields and Trump signs. The trails we found during our time there were surprising. The first was Brincka Cross Gardens. A passionate couple created the home and gardens with lots of trails on the property. We got lost as the sun was setting because we were playing with Zara- but that's okay. Jonas always finds the way!

Zara eating a strawberry & pickles from the jar::

 Brincka Cross::

 Breakfast after the first night camping::

 The visitor's center is great and full of information and education about the area. They also have the best restrooms because there is music. I will never understand why there is never music in restrooms where it is needed most, ha.

 We completed the 3 Dunes Challenge & we get extra points because Zara was tired. I loved it so much. You make your way to three dunes. It is steep and sandy! ::

 She can fall asleep like this and it amazes us::

 Zara decided to take her shoes and shirt off. She impressed us with her rugged dune hiking::

 There was an Apple Festival while we were there. It was neat to go to a local event. There were story tellers, a hay ride through a mint field, farm animals & apples! ::

 The best part about our trip was the beach! It was probably the most lovely beach day I have ever had. It was not too hot, the water was refreshing and Zara got to play with some sweet kiddos next to us. One of them dug a very deep hole while we were there, it was scary deep and we filled it in after they left. I felt bad, he was so proud::

She smiled the entire time we were there! It made us happy to see her so happy ::

Our camp::

 The last day we spent some time on Heron Rookery Trail. We chased each other through the forest and spent our last bit of outdoor time together before heading home. We all miss home when we are away. As much as we love to explore new places, we adore our comfortable, happy house :)