Blackhawk Days

The annual event, Black Hawk Days, in Lakeview, IA, is always a blast.  This year was no exception.  I never got an actual head count on how many people were all staying in the yard of Steve's Mom, Mickie.  But I'm sure the number was somewhere in the upper 20's.  Plus there were some staying in her house as well.  So roughly 30-40 people were all camping/partying/eating all in her yard!  Along with the human population that took over her house, there were 6 dogs and 2 cats staying inside as well!  Crazy!!!

Mickie has a gorgeous, spacious yard that she and her sons continue to work on each summer.  There is a dock all set up for the paddle boat, an area for dogs to walk down into the water with ease from the otherwise steep banks, a ladder for swimmers to use to climb out of the water, an enclosed hot tub, a huge all-season porch, an area with the fire pit and benches and beautiful landscape work all around the yard. 

All of my friends were there with me:  Steve, Tammy and two of their kids, Dee, Chris and baby Ian, Trisa, Jamie and Gavin, Tina, Teresa, Lisa, Scott and their 3 kids, Tracey and Garry, Jenine, Mike and their two boys, and other people that I didn't know well but had met before.  

 It was actually a pretty smooth event.  The sharing of the two bathrooms wasn't usually an issue either!  We all had a great time just playing games, swimming, grilling, drinking adult beverages and overall enjoying each other's company.  The weather was very hot and humid.  It cooled down at night with a nice breeze that made sleeping in our tents comfortable.  The first night we were there, a thunderstorm rolled through.  Typical...it wouldn't be our normal "Blackhawk Days weekend" if this didn't happen!  We woke in the middle of the night and went into the garage to wait it out.  Everything survived the wind and rain and back to bed we went. 

In the back corner of Mickie's yard is a nice quaint area with a fire pit and benches to sit on to enjoy the fire itself.  The adults stayed up quite late each night laughing and drinking.  The second night we actually played a game.  I believe it was about 3 AM when we all retired to our tents! 

Prior to the big weekend, we organized what our meals would be.  Each family brought his/her own meat for grilling, a large side dish to share for each meal, their own beverages, snacks, buns/plates/toilet paper, lawn chairs, shower supplies, etc., to use.  It was perfect.  All the coolers that everyone brought were lined up in the garage to keep the hot sun from aiding in the melt down of the ice inside them. 

 The main event for our group was the Mud Volleyball tournament that was held on Sunday morning.  Teams consisting of a minimum of 10 players were entered in the single elimination contest.  Matches of 3 games were played.  We only played our first 3 (losing 2 out of 3) games and were done but it's always fun to get down and dirty.  The way we rinsed off was to walk over to the nearby Black Hawk Lake and get in the water.  It was the best way of getting the mud off of our clothes and out of our shoes.  Showers were taken later on back at Mickie's house.  The massive amount of people in attendance was unbelievable.  It grows more each year. 



Enjoying the shade.

Cooling down.

Tent City...my tent is on the left with the green bottom.  I believe there were 9 tents in all once everyone had arrived. 



Enjoying the paddle boat and a blow up floaty.



A nice shady place to hang out in the back yard.



Mike, Tracey, Chris, Steve and Scott....just trying to stay cool in the heat of the day.



The girls favorite place to hang out.  The bottom of each seat has mesh and allows for the water to keep you cool.



Ian and Mom Dee.  He's so cute!!!



Madison, Me and Sadie, the Chocolate Lab.



Our mud volleyball team enjoying a beer after the mud volleyball games were done.



Doesn't it look fun?  It was a blast!  I'm in the front row, middle spot.

I don't go to BlackHawk days every year but when I do it's always a blast!  Thanks to Mickie for allowing all of us to invade your space!  You're the best!