“The sun is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.”  

 As we entered Kettle Moraine, we saw the return of the herons and sand-hill cranes, and enjoyed the fusion of blue and yellow flowers bending their faces to the sun as it disappeared in the pink and purple horizon.   We have been camping in Kettle Moraine now for over 45 years

 Being in nature is like taking a shower and ridding oneself of the dust of daily living. It refreshes the soul and brings one closer to God and one another.  On a beautiful day, we often returned to Kettle Moraine Wisconsin staying at Ottawa Lake or Pine Creek campground. It was less than two hours away from home.   I can close my eyes and still see our three children.  Deborah, our oldest, we nicknamed, Bear. Her beautiful hair would capture the sun rays as she searched the trees for ripened apples. Julie, our curly red-headed daughter, would be giggling nonstop while spinning around on the merry-go-round shirtless. Then, there was Aaron, our youngest, who we gave an Indian nickname name, Little Silver-top whose crotch runs close to the ground. Dad and Aaron have similar body types, both have long torsos and shorter legs. While hiking, we would stuff our backpacks with undomesticated apples savoring the thought of the delicious applesauce we would make at home.

On one occasion, the campground was full. We thought we’d make the best of the day and then return home. But Julie, being her gregarious self, shared our lack of a campsite to a local girl who was her swimming pal.  They invited us to set our tent up on their property nearby.  We all made friends with the family and later Larry even went fishing with the girl’s father.

Whenever our adult children came back to visit, we would once again go up to Kettle. Geoff and Julie and family would hike the trails with us, and introduce Elliot and Nata to the beauty of nature. For a couple years, Nata invited her friends to celebrate her September birthday. We would bring up our trailer for a place to gather in case of inclement weather.  Sometimes we would visit Oconomowoc and feast on a delicious Mexican dinner and enjoy the Wizard of Oz statues and a beautiful beach.

Throughout our careers, we would head up to Kettle with our Willow on Wheel friends and take long bike rides. After we retired from our jobs as teachers, we purchased a motorcycle and continued to visit Kettle. Instead of riding our bikes from Ottawa Lake Campground to Delevan, we rode up and down the hills on our Goldwing with much less exhaustion. There’s a lovely coffee house in town where we had lunch.

Kettle Moraine has continued to be the place we visit often. We love the harmony and tunes of nature at its best. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the work of His hand’s. Day unto day utters speech.” Psalm 19: 1-2

The language of nature has always spoken to me. I hope it speaks to you as well.