We were forecast snow and actually got it!
My kids were super happy with the close to 6 inches we got!I love all the funny sledding faces.When did he stop making goofy faces at the camera and turn into a man?Nick went down the hill and I missed it!!!She dropped her giant snowball…Just here for the snow eating.My reluctant early morning model.The snow froze overnight and made the sledding spot super fast!You can see the kids waiting at the top in the top right of the pic!Even with the snow being hard Little Bit managed to make a snow angel.I love my yard covered in snow!
As much as I love snow I know that trying to get my three youngest to put on snow gear every day would get super old, really fast.
We really enjoyed Cove Lake Recreation Area campground in western Arkansas!
It was really close to Mount Magazine and had several trails at the campground also.
The sites do not have electric and there are vault toilets just fyi.It does have a small swing set at the campground!The only thing that caused more planning and work was the water was turned off at the campground for the winter which I thought might be the case so I did bring several gallons but ended up needing more.We enjoyed the hike around cove lake. It was around 4 miles and had beautiful views of the lake and lots of pine trees. So pretty.We hiked to top of Signal Hill the first night we were there because the sky was clear and I wanted to make sure we saw all the views right away just in case it was cloudy the rest of the time.Two out of the three previous trips here had been cloudy and we could not see anything.
I was totally blown away on this trip and fell in love with this beautiful park.
I love this Eastern Benefield Trail that we took on the last day. Beautiful views!Lots of steep cliffs though so you might not want to take really little ones on this one.Sunrise rockWe drove over an hour to visit two other state parks one day while in the area.
Pretty sure the kids favorite was the Bear Cave Trail at Petit Jean State Park.
It has lots of rocks and is short, all things they like.
Next up we hiked to the Rock House Cave from the waterfall overlook. This was a long and totally unneeded hike since you can park really close to it. My girls insisted they wanted to hike. ha
They were less enthusiastic when they found out they had to hike back also and could not take the “short way” back.After a lot of steps going up and down we did make it back though.
We also did a trail at Mount Nebo but it was a lot of steps after a long morning of up and down hiking and the spring was kind of anti- climatic for so much work.
I have loved the hiking on a previous trip so I know we just chose the wrong hike at the wrong time.
We started out on the Rim Trail which is one that was a favorite on a previous trip. The kids heard it was longer and said they wanted to do the hike down to the spring.
I convinced my husband to take the really long way to Minnesota!
We drove up through Michigan, including the whole upper peninsula!
I had never been up their before and it was beautiful!!!
It was also our first time tent camping with 5 kids!
So of course it rained! First stop was Ludington State Park and a very wet dinner.
Thankfully it stopped pouring before dark so we could get the tent set up.
Our site was a bit wet but thankfully we found a dry spot for the tent. This sight was breathtaking though!!!
Lake Michigan at sunset!
The next day was warm and sunny so the walk to the lighthouse before we left was actually nice. They have a nice walking path that goes back to it so it is a pretty easy walk. It was a bit of a stressful walk due to our dog not being well trained and lots of people and dogs on the trail.
But at least we have this smiling pic.
ha
Lake Michigan is so pretty!!!
We packed up and headed north to Paradise, MI and more rain!
I am thinking that the next tent camping trip will feel easy without worrying about setting up and tearing down in rain.
That being said, our campsite was beautiful!
We did not stay at Tahquamenon Falls because it seemed pretty full when I looked online.
So I found a forest campground nearby that was rustic but perfect!
This little stove worked great!
I brought my big pot to cook with though, that little pot would not fit all the food my family requires…
Thankfully we did have a few dry spells that felt pretty idyllic.
Tahquamenon Falls was beautiful!
And I loved all the boardwalks!Highly recommend! The trees were so beautiful also! We did the upper and lower falls and I really enjoyed both.
The next day was cold and rainy again so we drove around.
We drove out to whitefish point and the shipwreck museum but did not go in.
My kids spotted a sign for a cranberry farm and insisted we get some!
I had never been to a cranberry farm before so it was interesting to see, although a bit too wet to walk around.
We found a nice spot to check out Lake Superior from a different side(we have been to the Minnesota side before). We were planning on driving to Porcupine Wilderness and camping one more night but they were calling for another 10 degree drop in temp and snow!
So we headed to Minnesota a day early and got to enjoy what would have closed down the state in Oklahoma…
Mount Magazine at sunset!
First stop was Ludington State Park and a very wet dinner.
Our site was a bit wet but thankfully we found a dry spot for the tent.
This sight was breathtaking though!!!
The next day was warm and sunny so the walk to the lighthouse before we left was actually nice.
They have a nice walking path that goes back to it so it is a pretty easy walk.
Thankfully we did have a few dry spells that felt pretty idyllic. 
We did the upper and lower falls and I really enjoyed both.
My kids spotted a sign for a cranberry farm and insisted we get some!
We found a nice spot to check out Lake Superior from a different side(we have been to the Minnesota side before). 
We were planning on driving to Porcupine Wilderness and camping one more night but they were calling for another 10 degree drop in temp and snow!