Labor Day Camping Trip

Mark had his final day of classes for his first term at Kellogg on Saturday and we celebrated by getting out of town and going camping with our church. The hour-long drive to the campsite was beautiful with miles of open fields and farmland to look at. In no time at all, we turned into the Cedar Creek Retreat Center, found our cabin and settled in before the evening activities started.

Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking: “Why are they sleeping in a cabin, aren’t they like outdoorsy people who love to tent camp?” Well, people, remember that I am only a little over a month away from giving birth. Plus, the cabin was air-conditioned and it had its own shower and toilet—a major plus when you have to go two to three times in the middle of the night. A little comfort at this stage doesn’t hurt anything.

That evening we had a huge potluck dinner and then a worship service around a bonfire. Mark got to play his Djembe for the first time since we moved to Illinois. This photo shows him gearing up for the campfire worship time.

The next day we decided to find the Fox River. It was a bit treacherous in that we had to climb through barbed wire and go over an electric fence enclosing a cow pasture to get to the water. We found the river no problem; it was the return trip that frightened me a tad.

On our way back we encountered three massive black cows. They obviously didn’t like the sight of us, because they made a lot of noise while staring us down. I grabbed onto Mark and stood behind him until we figured out how to get past these gigantic creatures without upsetting them and getting charged and trampled. If any of you know my track record with supposedly docile creatures, you will understand why I was being extra cautious. (It has to do with not one, but two manatee episodes in Florida.) Needless to say, we forged our own path out of there and made it safely back to camp. It’s little adventures like these that make life interesting.

I spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the pool before we headed back home. It was a short but very worthwhile trip.