Chain o Lakes State Park...A Getaway!

Several weeks ago, when we knew we were going to have this past weekend off work, we reserved a camping spot at Chain o Lakes State Park, which is actually fairly close to us. It's part of Noble County, so when we get around to visiting the county in a proper county-tour fashion, we can add this adventure onto it! 

Neither of us had ever been to this park before, so we chose our campsite blindly and looked forward to our time away. It rained ALL DAY Friday, so we had to pack the RV in the rain. (Super fun!) We needed to take Ryan's truck with us this time, so we would have a way to transport our kayak to launching sites. I can't drive his truck, because it's manual, so the only choice was for me to drive the RV. Sure! Driving Abby for the first time in the rain?? Sounds like a blast!

We made it there in one piece!

The campground is easily the largest we've ever stayed in, and I was still solidly lost in it by the time we left on Sunday evening. Thankfully Ryan is not directionally challenged, so he led the way for all our walks and bike rides.

Remember our vacation, when we learned that not all campgrounds were made for rolling out awnings and lighting fires? THIS was actually very much that kind of campground. We were SO EXCITED to use our awning and rug and outdoor lights for the first time!

We arrived a little after 2 in the afternoon (check-in was at 2) and it took a little while to set up. We hadn't used all these things before, so there was a bit of a learning curve. But we got it all set up and then went out to explore the campgrounds a bit. We rode our bikes over to the General Store, where we were able to get a patch for our wall and an ornament for our tree! And a citronella candle, because: MOSQUITOS!!!!!

We also took a ride down to the beach, which was 100% deserted because of the sketchy weather. We enjoyed sitting there all by ourselves, taking in the beautiful view and spending some time in prayer. We'd just come away from the difficult work day, and we needed some time alone with God in the quiet!

We went back to our campsite and built a fire so we could roast hot dogs and smores for dinner. We barely got that finished before the rain let loose again!

I would have loved to sit under the awning and listen to the rain, but alas, the bugs were not deterred by rain, smoke, or citronella candles. (Or spray.) I was eaten alive while eating dinner. So we went back inside and rested in the air conditioning while listening to the rain hit the roof. (It reminded us of our sun porch days!) 

It was, perhaps, not the first day of a camping trip that we would have planned, weather-wise, but we did have a great time anyway. We enjoyed our space and privacy at the campgrounds. (We didn't have many neighbors that first night.) And we got to see pretty dogs walking by throughout the evening!!