We discovered Lincoln State Park in the early pandemic days, utterly surprised that such a lovely area was so close to home but that we hadn’t know of it. Yet. It has become a favored destination in the years since, because of the year-round prolific number of red-headed woodpeckers, and the rich variety of spring migrant warblers, rose breasted grosbeak, tanagers and orioles. As well, the wildflowers with their staggered blooms from May – October provide a magical array of colors. I call this place the green dragon capital of the Midwest, the green dragon being my favorite of the native flowers–specifically for its unique horseshoe shaped leaf structure which requires a keen eye to see among the forest understory, and its very odd flower — a weird, curvy stem containing a bud that grows from the side of the plant stalk to bloom into a tiny, perfect, white flower with yellow seeds.
After our first successful and so-fun overnight last weekend, we were excited to go out again; we promptly discovered that many of the state campgrounds require a 2-night minimum stay over the weekend, but we only had Saturday day/night available. I had a good feeling about it however, and sure enough when we arrived to the park entrance at 9:30 AM, we were told we could have one of the three camping spots left, for just one night. Lincoln Luck!
What is not lucky is that I forgot to pack us a lunch for after our morning hike! I had gathered salad and calzone for our dinner, and eggs, cheese, and a bagel to share on Sunday morning. I remembered to bring coffee and milk and even the tomato sauce that John likes over his calzone (unnecessary per my taste buds!), but when John suggested lunch at the tail end of our hike, I realized my oversight. Sigh. We ended up having homemade cookies and a cup of hot tea which held us over until an early dinner…
John walked back to the lake for the sunset and was up in the morning for the sunrise; when he returned to Vanda (and me, snuggled up all cozy in bed!), he said, “This is just what I imagined retirement to be”, grateful for the close access to the water, and to being out at the end of one day and the beginning of the next. We are so grateful for having chosen this next-step adventure.
New Vanda learnings: The bed is the perfect firmness and size for me to run through my bedtime stretching program–a part of my life that is essential for the happiness of my back; we did not plug in this time to better understand the use of the battery power, which we barely put a dent in given our one night out; I can use both the toaster oven and induction cooktop at the same time without placing too much of a strain on the battery (amps or watts?); running the living area heater for just a few moments takes the edge off of cool morning temps; and, I will have to get used to SO many folks coming up to us at a campground to ask about the Glampervan!
The sunset was stunning, whereas the sunrise was murky. That is the way it goes with photography — you just never know what Mother Nature will provide. There was however, a pie-billed grebe out on the lake in the morning.
Sunday morning breakfast, Yum! That is my compost bucket for coffee grounds and egg shells, until I purchase a countertop composter.
