Thursday, August 1, 2013

Indiana Dunes State Park and Campground

This is our second time visiting Indiana Dunes State Park (but first time for the twins).  We like it because there is a Nature Center, some gorgeous trails, access to Lake Michigan, and a commuter train into Chicago.  The boys liked it because there is dirt and sand, piles of it!  I picked up a bucket of pirates at Toys R Us with a gift card the boys had received from my aunt and uncle for Christmas.  That bucket of pirates was just perfect for some sandy play around our campsite.


So I'm pretty sure the motto of almost all little boys, everywhere, is "the more dirt the better".  Thankfully, the campground had a bath house with showers. 
 
We also had some very early morning visitors.  Seems they were the only other two critters around the campground that were still on eastern standard time zone and up at 5:00 am. 
Readers, have you seen any raccoons lately?

29 comments:

Sunnybrook Farm said...

Dirt can be such fun to play in, no batteries required!

andy said...

Oh yes just lastnight ! The critters are out ! Have a great day Lisa !!!

Nancy said...

The boys are growing! So cute.

No unusual critters around the house -- but I know they are down by the pond and on the lane daily/nightly.

Sandra said...

Looks like fun to me :)
Our last camping trip we heard a visitor, thought it was a raccoon, looked out the window at it was a skunk! We decided it was best to just leave him alone!
+++

Unknown said...

I know a boy who would love to play in the dirt with them.

Anonymous said...

The boys look like they are having a blast. We recently saw a deer and a bunny in our new yard.

Sally said...

Aww, look at those sweet boys having so much fun. LOVE the dirty feet. :)

xoxo

Tina Fariss Barbour said...

Your boys are so cute. It is so delightful how they don't let worry about getting dirty keep them from having fun.

No raccoons here that I have seen but they are probably out there. You got a good photo of them.

Chatty Crone said...

Those boys sure got dirty - that is wonderful! And the raccoon - not here that I have seen. sandie

Anonymous said...

We haven't seen any raccoons this year, but we did receive a notice from the county two weeks ago that a rabid one was caught very near our property. They sure are little cuties though!

TexWisGirl said...

your dirty twins and the sneaky twins at the end are too cute! :)

Our Neck of the Woods said...

Looks so fun! I see raccoons regularly at my house. They like to come up on the back porch and eat any food the cat leaves!

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Haven't seen any raccoon's lately. It must be over 40 years since I've been to the Indiana Dunes. We use to go there all the time with our friends in H.S. Looks like a fun time.

Monkeywrangler said...

Nope, no racoons seen here lately. But plenty of rats...and an assortment of flattened fauna.

Unknown said...

The pictures could be on the cover of a magazine telling about what little boys are and do! Loved all of them.

jp@A Green Ridge said...

That kind of dirt is good for the soul, Baby Girl!...:)JP

Ginny Hartzler said...

Oh my gosh, this is the cutest raccoon picture EVER!!! We don't have any raccoons. But we have bears, skunks, beavers, groundhogs, deer, and rabbits. You got them the perfect dirt toys! It is quite bad when you are camping without a bath house!

Angie said...

We actually started to do an Indiana Dunes and Chicago trip through vacation and ended up going a different direction. I had read about a sand dune..think it's called Mt. Baldy that sounded really cool!

We camp a lot and our local campground doesn't have many raccoons but we see LOTS of skunks!!!

Slamdunk said...

Ha, we judge park quality by dirt and sand as well. And, I hope those visitors did not get anything shiny of yours.

Michelle said...

Dirt is the best playmate. Much better than electronic stuff :)

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Lisa, OH YES---we have Raccoons. They visit our deck every night after dark looking for something left by the birds... I have to put all of the bird feeders UP at nights --or else the Raccoons would get in them...

I've been to the Indiana Dunes. My hubby grew up in Indiana --so he took me there about 10 yrs. ago... We visited the dunes.

Hugs,
Betsy

Marie said...

Your boys and the raccoons are adorable! During some of my wildlife volunteering I was up close to itty bitty baby raccoons and they love to wrap their little fingers around your finger. They are so sweet!

Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan Too said...

What a fun place!!!

GardenOfDaisies said...

I love these pics! I remember my own little boy playing with similar toys in the dirt when he was younger. :-)
We do have raccoons (and lots of other critters) around here, but I haven't see them recently. We were sitting in the family room one evening when we heard a big crashing sound coming from the garage. It turned out to be a big ol' raccoon, and he had knocked the garbage can over. What a mess. Naughty raccoon! But it serves us right for not making sure the door was closed properly.

Jill said...

Oh Lisa, these photos are priceless. So dang cute! Such great memories you've made for your dear boys.

Valerie Boersma said...

We didn't see any racoons at the beach this last time, but as I was reading indoors one evening a bat flew right by and landed in the dining room. We gently caught it in a plastic bag and put it back outside.

A bucket of pirates, and dirt-I bet your cutie pies were in seventh heaven!!

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

None around here...they are cute though!

Lin said...

Wish I knew you were in the 'hood--we could have met up!! We are in the south suburbs of Chicago.

Next time....okay?

Aodhnait said...

The raccoons are gorgeous! We don't have raccoons in Ireland