A camping we will go.

We just got home from a short three day camping trip to Silver Lake Michigan. This is the Kuiper familys first real foray into camping as a family. I have taken Josh before, but never all of us. I think it went pretty well considering the first nights soaking downpour and thunderstorm. It would not be a camping trip without rain.

We actually stayed dry in our 1975 Steury Pop-up camper. We bought it last year for about 500 bucks, so there was some concern that it would actually keep out the rain, but in the end, it kept us warm and dry. The camper is not much to look at actually, especially when you are comparing it to some of the nice 30 foot campers and motor homes parked around.

The kids however loved the trip, they are already asking when we can go again, so that's a good sign. Julie on the other hand is a little less excited about going again, but she will do it for the kids and for me cause we loved it.

Silver Lake is a truly unique place, it's a small, warm, fairly clean lake that lies inland from Lake Michigan. There is a small stream connecting Silver Lake with Lake Michigan, but it's not navigable with any type of boats. On the west part of Silver Lake in between the Lake Michigan and Silver Lake are the world famous Silver Lake Sand Dunes. I can't really find words to describe how cool these dunes are, so look at the photos. It's like a mini-desert actually. Part of the dunes are open to ORV's or "Off Road Vehicles". People from all over the mid-west come to ride their dune-buggies, jeeps, ATV's and motorcycles. It's quite a site on a busy day. The other half of the dunes is closed to vehicles and people can hike and enjoy some of the coolest landscapes around.

I took my Honda TRX250 ex ATV up and we also took the Explorer up with the family and had a little picnic. The kids had so much fun climbing and playing with their cousins. It also wore them out so they went to bed great that night. We stayed at Jellystone campground so the kids also could go swimming in the pool, play on the playground and walk with Boo-Boo and Yogi bear.

All in all, we had a great time. Maybe next year we will stay a week.