Visiting a park in Belvidere

We are near Belvidere, Illinois, so we headed into the town on Wednesday to check out the city park.

It was a big park with a walking path that went around a lot of it and along the river, interspersed with playgrounds along the way.

Kim enjoying the swings!

There were sliding toys like a zipline...

Carl pushing one of his granddaughters...

Carl?

Are you *sure* you should go on that?

Well, I guess it worked.. but I don't know whether the pipe was bent like that before you went on it!

The girls enjoyed these slides a lot!

Wind whirligig structures

A display along the river honoring park board members

A bridge across either the stream or the river

Ducks "fishing"?

The ducks were putting their heads down in the water and having the water flow over the top of them.

The flowing area of water where the ducks were "fishing".

Ducks on a sandbar in the river

Lots to see and do around Belvidere!

Views around the campground

We continue to enjoy our stay at Pine Country RV and Camping Resort...

Sunset one evening...

... very orange skies.

Kim and the girls enjoying s'mores (this was a few nights ago).

Our campsite at Pine Country

We are parked in the very front of the campground, in sites that are relatively new (from reviews, it appears that they were opened in July, 2019). These have 50A full hookups (other campsites in the park are 30A full hookups), some pullthrus, some back-in sites. Most of the park is occupied by seasonal / annual folks, maybe 5-10% are "transients" like us. The transients are concentrated in this front area - which is nice, because most of the seasonal renters are not occupying their campers (at least, they are not during the week), so it is like a ghost town in the majority of the campground. Overall, we're pleased with this Thousand Trails - we liked that they assigned a site so when we arrived, we didn't have to go looking for one. We like having full hookups, especially since we have spent a few weeks at water/electric sites -- I'm able to get a few loads of laundry done! It is a large campground, so there's a lot of walking that we can do. Definitely a campground we will plan to return to visit again in the future!

Pine Country Thousand Trails

We are enjoying our stay at Pine Country RV and Camping Resort, a Thousand Trails campground, in Belvidere, Illinois.

Having Kim and girls here has added to our enjoyment.

Cabin / tiny house where Kim and the girls are staying

The cabin has one bedroom downstairs and a loft area...

... small kitchen and dining area...

... and small living room with fold out couch.

There are two "rooms" in the loft area upstairs -- the back one has a full size mattress...

... the front one has a twin size mattress...

... and overlooks the dining and living room downstairs.

The heat is not working in the cabin, but with a couple of space heaters, it is staying warm and cozy. The girls are able to get school done each morning and then play games or walk or visit with their "Papa" in the afternoon/evenings!

S'mores

We have moved to a Thousand Trails campground near Belvidere, Illinois -- we have to stay a week out of the Paul Wolff campground (max of 14 days camping there within 21 days). In the past we have bounced between Paul Wolff and Big Rock Campgrounds - both part of the Kane County Forest Preserve. This year, since we upgraded our Thousand Trails membership in May, we are eligible to stay at this Thousand Trails campground, Pine Country RV and Camping Resort, for no additional charges, so we've elected to stay our "week out" at Belvidere, instead of Big Rock. The distance between Paul Wolff and each of the other campgrounds is about the same, though Belvidere is further from doctors and friends in the Chicago western suburbs. But... to stay a week in the Kane County parks is $245 ($35/night), so we appreciate the savings!

Kim was also able to get a cabin rental for herself and her girls, so they are staying at the campground also.

On Monday evening, we decided to have a campfire and make s'mores...

Carl finished roasting his marshmallow and made his s'more.

The girls enjoying theirs...

Looks yummy!

Almost brown enough

Still needs a little cooking!

We have a nice wide site with enough space for sitting at the fire pit.

This is a big campground with really large sites, mostly occupied by annual folks. It is well kept, and we are enjoying it!

Saturday

On Saturday, we went to Fox Valley Aero Club in St Charles. A camping friend, Ken, that we've met at the Kane County Forest Preserve Campgrounds (Big Rock and Paul Wolff), had told us about the club and had shared with Carl that models with turbine engines would be flying on Saturday. We invited whoever would be interested to join us - and Joel and 3 grands came to see it too.

I created a video with a mix of pictures and videos:  https://youtu.be/tzF5EF6nIko

After viewing the model airplanes, we headed to Portillos for lunch:

Cousins enjoying a chocolate shake

Portillos was pretty busy!

 

Later in the evening, the cousins got to enjoy a "dance party" with some of the colored lights from Steve and Shay's wedding reception, 

... and then they got to enjoy ice cream sodas on the back deck!

Sunday would see folks returning home and us traveling to a campground for a week out of the Kane County system. It has been nice to be with family!

Thursday - Wedding!!!

Thursday, September 22, 2022 was Steven and Shaylyn's wedding day!

There are to be official photos from the wedding - these are just a few pictures we took during the day.

Carl had to arrive by noon for pictures "helping" Steve get dressed.

Steve had a custom made suit made by one of his former co-workers who now is in the apparel business...

... initials on his shirt cuffs.

Looks like Carl successfully helped Steve dress!

The wedding venue with chairs all set up.

The groomsmen killing time after getting ready.

A beautiful remembrance of Sue

"Forever in our Hearts 

Those we love don't go away, 

they walk beside us everyday 

unseen, unheard, but always near

still loved, still missed, & very dear"

Carl with his kids (minus Steve)

Steve and Shay's dog Indy (Indiana Jones) was also to be part of the celebration.

The officiant led them through their vows...

Exchanging of rings

The first kiss as husband and wife!

Married!

Why is everyone staring at the fire pole?

There comes the newly married groom!

Who are you waiting for, Steve?

Here she comes!

Safely on the floor

Video of the entrance of the newly married couple: https://youtu.be/H-ZS04rbVeY

Taco truck pulled up out front of the firehouse for eats!

Waiting for their tacos...

First bite - yum, good!

The party went on well into the night.

The "teaser" video from the professional videographer was provided within 24 hours: https://vimeo.com/753032732   You can see Carl working on Steve's tie.

The videographer also posted a video of their dog, Indy, on Instagram (I think you can see it without having an Instagram account): https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci2oTetgdvr/  In case you can't understand the audio (we couldn't!) it is saying, "I mean look at this thing. I can't imagine a more beautiful thing."