My Heart Goes to....Decorah

Keep close to nature’s heart – and break clear away once in a while, climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods.  Wash your spirit clean. (John Muir)

Today is the first official day of fall and the sixty degree temperatures in the forecast have me giddy for a Friday night of soup, sweatshirts, and cozy.  But before I close the door on another good good summer, I've got one more memory to document that may just stand out among the rest.  We packed up the truck one Friday morning and headed up to one of Iowa's best treasures for a weekend of camping with the Guess family.  It was my birthday weekend, as well as the last weekend before I headed back to work, so a few days to get away from it all and sleep under the stars sounded like a pretty good plan.  We decided on two nights in our tents instead of the one we did last year, so the crazy amount of packing that goes into a camping weekend was more justified this time around.  And this year, we were fully ready with a bigger tent, an air mattress (game changer), bikes, and kayaks.  Pretty much camping professionals at this point...   

I've never really considered myself much of a dreamer, and would probably put myself in more of the category of a realist if asked.  I’ve always thought of myself as content in my present, maybe even a little risk averse.  Okay, quite risk averse.  But after spending a weekend with the Guess family, in one of the prettiest places in our treasure of a state, I sipped coffee out of my mug by the river before we packed up that Sunday with a head full of dreams and complete contentment in my heart.  Good things happen when the phone dies at 4 pm and you're left with red wine out of camp mugs, guitar music by the fire, and some of the best friends you could ask for.
     
And Decorah.  I love this little town perhaps more than any place I've traveled, and it's less than two hours away.  It's got the vibe of a little mountain town, with art, charm, and the friendliest folk, yet it's got all the simple small town qualities I love, too.  It's more rugged and hipster than uppity and well-to-do, more remote than busy, and it seems we find something new to ooh and awe over every time we're there.  I do love where we live, but I might just move my heart to Decorah if given the chance. ;) 

I'm so glad I sat down to write a few favorite memories from our weekend that seems so far ago.  Taken straight from the journal, unedited and unfiltered. :)

|| Setting up our campsite – from our new Core tent, to the kitchen island of yetis, baskets of bread, and jars of JoJo's strawberry jam, we were well equipped for 48 hours of "roughing it."  The kids wasted no time getting reacquainted with their Pella friends in that familiar ankle deep water on the banks of the river.  Nate made stair steps out of big stones, but not before Drew was head to toe mud in five minutes' time.  
  

    

|| An afternoon bike ride into town for Whippy Dip tornadoes and Pulpit Rock pilsners.  And tacos, because Beau never refuses a good taco truck.  Climbing up to the very top of Dunning Springs, where the cave felt cool and the kids' eyes were wide with excitement.  

|| All the back and forths to the playground, the bath house, the kids riding their bikes around and around the loop.  Cruz and Harper being big kids, helping with Mila and Drew just like a big family does.  

|| The long-anticipated dance party the kids had been talking about all year.  Cruz banging a bucket on his head as his drum, Will working an impressive collection of flashlight spotlights,  Drew stealing food from the "snack stand", all while the girls turned over some dance moves that can only come from equal parts affection for the ballet and kids' bop.  Family dance parties to The Greatest Showman, a sandbar that becomes center stage, and kids living out memories that will stand the test of time.

|| And Mabe's Pizza for dinner

|| Waking up on a chilly morning in a tent with my people.  An air mattress makes sleeping in a tent almost feel like glamping.  Mila all cuddled up in the crook of my arm.  Hearing Cruz's voice out at the picnic table with Harper, telling her his favorite sound was all the crickets he heard last night.  

|| Beau’s dutch oven cooking, and trips into town for Java John’s Dunning Springs Soul and Driftless Smooth.  

|| The Cut!  Watching Cruz climb with Will and "surf" into the creek with Harper, following Nate’s lead to the very top, completely being a kid as a kid is supposed to be outside.

|| Good for the soul small town talk with Kayak rental owners who love rocks and inspired the kids to find (and Mila to lose) several unique rocks on our four hour float.  

|| The most fun kayak ride down the Upper Iowa River.  Unforgettable stops at Manahaly Falls, where we sat in cool waterfalls and climbed to the very top of the highest point.  It felt like St. Lucia.  Then later, perfect sandbar/swim hole finds where the kids jumped and let the river take them safely into the arms of a parent, over and over and over again.  Their smiles were a mile wide and told me this will definitely be a memory that sticks.  

|| Mila all weekend.  With her dirty feet and blond beachy curls, she fit the Decorah camp life like a glove.  She’s going to cause us all kinds of trouble someday with that wild spirit and those sparkly blue eyes.

|| And Cruz in that kayak, swinging his short arms around, parking on sandbars, weaving around the rapids, and looking like a pro.  His easy going, laid back mannerisms, and quiet and sweet soul make my heart beat big for him.
  

|| The best swim hole!

|| My kayak, Annabelle, taking me through the water.  Dodging rapids and seeing eagles and just taking it all in.  Days on the river with people I love so much – it just doesn’t get much better. ...Until Mila lays back on my chest and takes a nap for an hour of our float.  I went ahead of the group for awhile to take in the only sounds of my paddle against the water and her quiet little snores.
  

|| Sharing a birthdays, kayaks, and shampoo with this girl, as well as a heart for good books, gel pens, and a loving God who created one beautiful world.  

|| Single file shower lines, so many boys peeing (off kayaks, off sandbars, or pretty much wherever Drew’s gotta go), Pinterest-inspired camp snacks, and a Saturday night at the campground.

|| Strawberry frosted angel food cake and candles at sunset.  Fireside talks about big and simple things that made up my year, and dreams that could make up the next.  The Happy Birthday song sang not once - but twice, echoing through the campground as we closed out our night and welcomed our morning.  And Drew Drew, aka, the sweets swiper.   

|| A blanket of stars, late night walks to the bath house, that 75-person camp family that took up center court with their bean bag tournaments and outdoor movie screens.  The Saturday night energy of a campground, the lineup of orange fires that dot the river bank, soft sounds of laughter, silouettes of people and strings of solar globe lights strung across tents.  Camp life is a good life. 

|| The crisp mornings, that fresh layer of dew on everything and the first flickers of a morning fire I even learned to start myself.

|| All gathering around a red and white checkered picnic table, eating a dutch oven skillet breakfast on pieces of tin foil because we ran out of plates, after Harper just blew out a candle on a platter of donut holes and dutch letters. Cruz and Mila asked her questions like what’s your favorite princess and what’s your favorite tree and what’s your favorite cereal, before Kate got to the good stuff. The big three - What’s something you have this year that you didn’t have a year ago?  What’s something you hope to have a year from now?  What’s your favorite memory of this past year?  And we agree that this, this right here is a definitely a favorite.  

Until next year, Pulpit Rock.