Celebrating Christmas is merry. The decorating, the music, the sweets. A full month of diversion from the everyday filled with the excitement of the season. But in July? While camping?
To our surprise Christmas was uncovered at Ledges State Park in Iowa. From the park’s name we expected sandstone rock ledges, a flowing creek and lush trees nestled in the very flat Iowa corn filled landscape. That was all there and wonderful.
What made this park stand out was the campground. Campsite after campsite celebrating everything Christmas. We were treated to trees decorated with ornaments, Halloween skeletons repurposed with Santa suits, and blow-up and blow molded holiday lawn ornaments. Even the camp host was in on the game sporting a very athletic surfer Santa in a candy cane swimsuit. RV and pick-up truck speakers competed for attention blasting religious versus holiday pop music.
As the merrymaking flourished into the night, we were content to backpack into our site that was off the beaten path away from the festivities surrounded by trees and the sound of a few crickets. Although we surely appreciated the creative effort people put into making their sites “cool” and turning the heartland heat of July into one of the most wonderful times of the year.
