happy 2017 + our best of 2016

with a full year ahead of us, we always like to take time to reflect on what we loved about the year before. while alex and i were with friends over new years eve, we went around and said what our favorite day was of 2016 - alex and i had the same answer.

in early august we spent a weekend watching my parents' house in madison, wisconsin while they were out of town. on our second day in town, alex brought home our favorite collectivo coffee and some breakfast sandwiches to take on the road with us. we drove out toward the wisconsin dells, not really having a distinct plan but figuring if our spontaneous plan failed we could always head to devil's lake, our favorite state park to visit. At first, we were hunting for a place on the wisconsin river that had a rock in the shape of a boat - we figured it would be a fun place to spend the afternoon. after a little investigating, we found out it was basically impossible to get to, except by boat. we changed plans and started driving down a narrow, secluded road and found a camping ground with 1970s-era red cabins, a pool, and a club house. we asked at the front desk if there was river access anywhere nearby, and the receptionist kindly told us that if we wanted to use their parking lot and path to the river we could. it was about a mile to the river, and a very small beach that resort-goers were using as a boat launch. we followed some kids climbing up a hill to a place where people were cliff-jumping. we decided that we wanted somewhere more secluded, so we kept hiking. we finally found a small cavern with a perfect place to cliff jump.

i had never swam in the wisconsin river before, or jumped off a cliff. after a couple good jumps, some paddling around, and waving to boats passing by, we hiked back around to where we had come from. it was a beautiful day and we weren't done enjoying it, so we drove into the downtown dells to a grocery store to buy a picnic lunch. we bought hard salami, cheese, crackers, and sangria and drove to devil's lake. we pitched our hammock and ate our picnic, and waded in the lake. minnows swam all around our feet and we giggled at the tickling sensation.

somehow we got lost on the way home, but we watched the sun set over the endless farm silos and rolling hills, and we didn't mind.

my hope for this year is that we can find a few more days like this to add to our 2017 adventures. i can't wait.