Beachy Fun.

While I understand why our state parks are packed with people from out of state all summer, I must also say we LOVE it when school starts again and we can get out without the big crowds and enjoy the parks, beaches and trails. One of our favorite places is Devil's Lake State Park. It is less than an hour drive from home, and has a nice big lake with amazing views of woods and rocky cliffs.

The boys love splashing and swimming in the spring fed lake, hanging out on the beach, and eating way too many popsicles from the concessions. This trip we spent a few hours at the north shore in the water, and then after cleaning up and changing into dry clothes, we headed to the south shore for some more fun.


The boys played at the playground, had lunch, ate more popsicles (!), and went back into the water...finding rocks to pile and skip and toss is just too much fun. Having pretty much the entire beach to ourselves was pretty cool too.


After yet another change of clothing, we wandered the boardwalk - looking at funky fungus, driftwood, dense green forests and enjoying a beautiful pastel hued evening sky.


The trip home was quick, and even though we cleaned ourselves up several times we still had sand stuck in every corner. We can't wait to go back up again as the leaves begin to change - definitely a great spot for fall hikes and leaf watching!