The Undiscovered Calamus Reservoir of Nebraska

If you live within driving distance to the tiny town of Burwell, NE, consider adding the Calamus Reservoir to your bucket list of places to see. 

fullsizeoutput_254c

As our time in Nebraska is now far passed the halfway mark, we are starting to consciously accomplish our midwest bucket list vacations. Being a big family, these adventures can take a toll on our bank account, so we have to be creative when we can. John likes to keep a running list of off-the-beaten-path locations we can drive to whenever an opportunity presents itself. And after a chat with a friend, he had an itch to make something happen ASAP. 

It was the Fourth of July, and a long weekend for John. We decided against throwing our traditional (LARGE) BBQ this year to save a bit of money, but we were not ready to sit around twiddling our thumbs. We spent the holiday at the pool with friends but came home with adventure on our minds. With every hotel in the midwest booked for the holiday weekend, we felt like our options were limited. That’s when John suggested tent camping.

I almost laughed. FIVE KIDS. FIVE. We haven’t been tent camping since before Ollie Jack was born (when we had 1, 3, and 5 year olds only). Could we even do this? Could we even fit all the shit needed to camp in my van with these five small humans? Who would watch our dog because there wouldn’t be room for her in the van? I had so many questions. 

John then pulled up pictures from the Calamus Reservoir. He basically lured me in – and I took the bait. I couldn’t believe that this place existed within a few hours of us. It was a clean lake – meaning no farms surround it, no pesticide runoff, no homes built on it – NOTHING. Just spectacular views and campsites. I decided to start packing. 

c12

We called in our babysitter to come pet-sit for the weekend. (Thank you Madison!)

After loading up more stuff than we could have possibly needed (including the entire pantry, all rafts, and any flashlight we could find), we jumped in the van and headed out. The 3 hours passed slowly (we need a bigger vehicle) with the kids, but they did great.

cc

They helped unload and set up tents, each kid having a specific job. We built two tents (one family-sized, the other a double person tent). They played games and got filthy while we decided to head into the tiny town for dinner. 

fullsizeoutput_2586

The small town of Burwell is maybe a stop sign wide by a cattle farm long. There is one grocery store and a handful of really tiny restaurants. That’s about it! We enjoyed a meal that we didn’t cook – at the sweetest diner-style restaurant. It included a scrapbook of the original layout and the renovations completed years ago. If ever in Burwell, stop in the Sandstone Grill. Make sure, though, to grab anything you may need from their grocery store before 6pm because they close early every day! 

The kids managed to stay awake until midnight, even though we tried our damnedest to get them down by 10pm. The night was long and full of wind and rain. It’s the one downfall of camping – the weather. We stayed dry, thanks to our amazing tents and rain tarps. Our chairs and coolers managed well, too. I’m super grateful John sprung for the deluxe air mattresses, though. The one I shared with the littlest kids was just as comfortable as my bed at home! 

fullsizeoutput_251a

Morning came fast and the sounds of camping woke Emmett up with the sun. Breakfast was prepared while I ran a few miles that took my breathe away.

fullsizeoutput_255e.jpeg

We threw on our swimsuits and headed to Calamus Outfitters for our first tanking experience.  My Florida friends – think: tubing the rivers but instead of a tube, you sit in a giant plastic baby pool (cattle feed). There are seats built in, but it’s not luxurious! However, it is something so simple that will create a mark in your memory bank forever. The kids thought we had taken them to the greatest place on earth. We floated and swam and played for hours as we flowed with the river current with not another soul. Seriously, not one other human was on the river with us. The clouds looked painted against at least three different blues in the sky. The sun kissed us and we smiled bigger than we have in awhile. 

fullsizeoutput_2554

Back at the campsite, we munched on food before blowing rafts up and walking a few campsites down to the ‘beach.’ I will never get used to calling a lakeside a beach, but the sand was perfect and the water – breathtaking. We planned on renting a boat the following morning, but after checking the weather, we realized that an incoming storm was going to send us packing before we had expected to leave. We spent the afternoon and evening playing in the lake before starting a campfire and cooking dinner. 

fullsizeoutput_2519

It was at this time that our tick paranoia really kicked in, and (combined with the incoming weather)we decided to start packing up. After last summer’s lyme craziness, we do not mess around with our chances. It’s ok though. We soaked in the glory that God had created out here and will forever remember the trip.

fullsizeoutput_254b

We arrived home in the early hours of the morning and left the unpacking for true daylight. I had my van deep cleaned to ensure no ticks made the journey home with us – and I completed 4 loads of laundry. The trip was worth every load. 

fullsizeoutput_2542

As our time in the midwest is now on the decline, it’s time we truly seek out these truly amazing trips. We have trips planned to different parts of Colorado, Arizona, Mt. Rushmore, the Black Hills, and possibly the Grand Canyon before we move again, but are looking for more ‘weekend escapes’ like this one that we can do on a budget – on any given long weekend. 

fullsizeoutput_24e9

Turn That Frown Upside Down

A friend called me today. An actual friend – on the phone, and because there are SO MANY hours in the day out there in the Midwest, I was actually able to answer. Dear Lord I needed to talk to someone who knew me. I don’t even know why she called, but I feel horribly guilty because I basically poured out all of my feelings within 10 minutes and gave her about 2 minutes before we both had to go…. But I am so thankful for those 12 minutes.

I bitched and complained and wined about the last 3 months. I was pretty much a toddler who wasn’t getting her way. I can now relate to my children.

As a true friend does, she talked me back to reality, made me feel normal, and helped me come up with some major distractions until I acclimate myself to this new environment.  I feel okay now; although a bit ashamed of my excessive focus on the negatives lately.

I was reminded just how blessed I am – we are, this family of mine. We are happy, healthy, truly in love, expecting baby #5, financially stable, live in a great house, and have a solid life. This transition has been rough, but it has brought us closer together. I am done focusing on leaving and moving elsewhere, and will now focus on positives! We have at least two years here, so I need to pass the time with happy moments!

As you know, we are an adventure family. We have never had the opportunity to adventure throughout the Midwest. So here I sit, planning our first road trip from Nebraska – no worries, I’ll blog all about it!  It’ll be an easy 6 hour drive to Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, and our final trip before this baby arrives.

We are splitting the trip between two extremes – camping and a resort. It’ll be the best of both worlds at 31 weeks pregnant with 4 little ones in tow. We’ll disconnect for a week and explore all the area has to offer! I’ll keep you updated as I figure out the specifics, just in case any of you decide to take a trip out this way.

I’m looking for adventure suggestions for the Midwest! We will soon have  8, 6, 3.5, 1.5 year olds and a newborn on our hands, so we won’t be white water rafting quite yet.  We plan on doing this trip in July, another in December, and the 22+ (no stops counted) trip to Florida next February-ish.  I’m going to spend my time counting down to our adventures, enjoying quality time, and soaking up every single ounce of sunshine that we get this summer!

On another note…. call a friend. Someone is need of your conversation today. Trust me.