Starved Rock with Rhodes Family

The Dale and Charlene Rhodes family met last weekend for our every-other-year vacation getaway. We met in the middle between Goshen and Kalona, at a resort right outside of Starved Rock State Park.

The house was a nice size for us, with room to roam and lots of stairs for the little ones to climb.

Nice reading times on the couch.


And games for all ages!

On Saturday morning we headed on a hike with the whole family.

"Stay in the MIDDLE of the path" was a common parental exclamation. Poison ivy was everywhere. I didn't hear of anyone who got itchy, though.

Adam and his sharp eye.

Quite the toes!

The little ones were real troopers.


This was our first glimpse of the lovely canyons.


Adam and Morgan were interested in all the letters carved in the rocks.

A bridgeful of family!

The cousins.

In the afternoons after a bit of a rest we hit the water park. The wave pool was great...

...though crowded.

Theo emerging from the super-fast slide.

Lazy river.

Loving the baby slide.


Sunday morning singing and story time.

On Sunday the older kids led the way on a longer hike.

The youngest one also got to come along.


On Beehive Rock lookout.

Another amazing waterfall canyon.


Same canyon from the top, after climbing a "major stairway" (as the map had it labeled--and we agreed).

Another amphibian buddy.

It was a long hike, but--with a few breaks--we were up for it.

Before Chris and Sandy and Co. headed home Sunday evening, we indulged in some dessert on the town.

All's well that ends with ice cream. Ira had his first taste of the stuff, and approved.

A few highlights not pictured here: more games, awesome food, especially the fresh fried fish that Dale caught (on his fishing trip this spring) and Dave fried, the "amusement park" (a bit too scary for some, but others had fun), and the train that drove us around in the resort. Thanks, Dale and Charlene, for a wonderful vacation! Looking forward to 2013!