Down a rural highway, nestled between expansive cornfields and sleepy little towns, is a park. It was Indiana's favorite 100th birthday present, and now the Hoosier State's oldest state park gets to celebrate her own 100th birthday. For my family, McCormick's Creek is so much more than a park: it's home.

My dear park:

As I sit here in your cozy Inn, I am reflecting on all of the life I have lived in this little piece of happiness. Of your one-hundred years, I have shared twenty-four of them. Stacks of pictures in my parent's house illustrate the memories and growing up that happened here. The tiny coats and little footed pajamas slowly gave way to wedding dresses and an extra "kid" as my husband was lovingly added to the mix, but there are several things that have never changed:

The peace of coming through the gate, and dropping the world at the door. The excitement of getting our room key.The giggling and shushing as we try not to be loud in the hallways. The giant wood chairs around the tables. The pinball machine in the "coffee room." The riddle of navigating the creek bed without ruining your shoes.Taking pictures of the Falls. Driving with the windows down. Staying up too late playing card games. The trees. The river. The family picture in front of the Inn.

On and on the memories go, stitched together into something as comforting and homey as my favorite quilt.

Everyone should have a place . A place that the world stops for a few days. A place that is home no matter how long you've been gone, or how much has changed. McCormick's Creek State Park is our place.

Thank you for all of the memories. Thank you for giving my family a place to hide away from the world, to come together over snacks, stars, and dominoes, and spend a few magical days talking, laughing, and exploring the best of Creation in your beautiful woods. Thank you for some of my favorite childhood moments. Thank you for my wedding day (even if the Indiana weather didn't cooperate) and the perfect backdrop to the beginning of our own story. Thank you for preserving some of Indiana's finest natural treasures, and giving us all a chance to cherish them.

Here's to the next one-hundred years, and all of the memories that we have yet to make. I can't wait to see all the pictures.