On our way home from Indiana, we stopped at the Trail of Tears State Park.
The big plus of the campground at the park is that it was right next to the Missippi River!
The downside was the train track that ran right next to it.
And the train that runs 24/7, it honks it’s horn as it’s going past also…
In the MIDDLE of the night.
Ouch.
They did have nice bathrooms and a playground but they were not in the campground but a little ways away from it.
I believe there was a vault type toilet in the campground though.
The Missippi was incredable to see this close up.
It was like a living breathing thing.
So intense.
Another bonus of this park was the Museum at the visitors center.
I have become fascinated with learning all I can about early Native American culture and sharing it with the kids.
A deadly crossing happened near the park on the Missippi.
A trail goes behind the nature center and I was excited to go on it but it ended up being a really narrow trail with a lot of bugs and poison ivy.
This was the trail I was using to test out if we wanted to go on a longer hike while at the park and I decided not to.
It is hard to deal with narrow trails that have poison ivy with kids.
They are constantly brushing up against it!
We were pretty excited to be back at the start.
This park does have some pretty views of the Missippi though.
This overlook was amazing also.
I saw pictures like this when I was looking for places to stay and it convinced me to stop there.
So I was pretty determined to find this deck.
I would like to check out this park again when it is a bit colder so less bugs and maybe the trails are not as close.
I did not remember it though and was not sure what to expect.
This beautiful pioneer village was a pleasant surprise! 
Grinding the corn was Little Bit’s favorite.
Checking out the wheel from up above.
The wolf cave hike seemed like an easy hike and like a crowd pleaser.
Unfortunitly we got there around nap time and my 4yr old had some difficulty on this one.
Next we checked out the waterfall trail.
