You’ve heard the stories, you’ve seen the pictures, you’re still drooling...our Gourmet Camp Cooking weekends are back! Discover all the delicacies you can create around a campsite with Chef Katie Porter to cook up a weekend full of delicious food, good hiking and cozy cabin vibes.
And Wanderers, just know that this menu is going to be to DIE for. Chef Katie specializes in locally-grown, farm-to-table style food, many ingredients coming from her own garden. This weekend will be full of camping luxury and mouthwatering meals. Chef Katie will also be preparing specialty campfire cocktails & mocktails each night—could it get any better?
Oh wait, it could. New this year, Chef Katie will also be giving two camp cooking demonstrations, so you can replicate her recipes on your own trips. She’ll be teaching an early morning biscuit making demonstration, and then an afternoon dutch oven dessert demo, where she’ll show you the ins and outs of dutch oven cooking over a fire—heat, techniques and timing! AND, you’ll get a collection of Chef Katie’s recipes to take home with you. This one is a can’t-miss for any foodie!
About Chef Katie Porter
Katie Porter has been in the culinary industry for 25 years. Originally from Mt. Ayr, Iowa she got her start at the American Culinary Federation of Colorado Mountain College and has held culinary positions across the country and internationally before returning to Iowa. Katie focuses on highlighting local foods in her cooking and values the relationships she has built with Iowa producers. In addition to sharing her culinary talents on Wander Women trips, she also provides cooking classes, farm dinners, and private events around town. Katie enjoys spending time with her husband and two boys canoeing, camping and hiking, tending to her garden, and seeing live music.
*Because of the nature of this trip, we are unable to accommodate specific dietary restrictions.
ACTIVITIES
Food and food appreciation is the name of this game, Wanderer. You’ll enjoy 5 chef-cooked meals made fresh in front of your eyes, plus snacks and cocktails/mocktails. Chef Katie loves demonstrating for folks, and you’ll get to see the magic happen for every meal.
After breakfast Saturday, we’ll head out for a nice digestive hike around Lacey Keosaqua State Park, a beautiful park in southeast Iowa. Guide Jaime lives just 5 minutes away and knows all the best trails to wander.
But don’t worry, this weekend is all about relaxation, too. We invite you to unwind and rest as much as you need. This trip is full of hammocking, mini solo yoga sessions, reading breaks, journaling and anything else you can think of to unwind and live in the moment. A slower pace is encouraged for this trip, and we hope you take the push!
ACCOMMODATIONS & LOCATION
We’ll be calling 6 private cabins at Lacey Keosaqua State Park home for the weekend. The cabins are modern, with adjoining showers and flush toilets in each cabin. The cabins come equipped with heat and A/C. Two Wanderers will sleep in each cabin.
About Lacey Keosaqua State Park
Dedicated in 1920 as Iowa’s second state park, Lacey-Keosauqua State Park spans 1,653 acres and offers ample opportunity for fishing, hiking, camping and swimming. Oak-hickory bluffs and valleys characterize the park, including a three mile trail along the bluffs of the Des Moines River. Lacey-Keosauqua is a historic river crossing site along the Mormon western trek in the mid-19th century. Many of the park’s structures were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s and are available for day-use. Source: Iowa DNR
“Amazing trip. The food was delish, the women were amazing, the hiking was fun, and the location worked very well. Would do it again in a heartbeat!”
WHAT’S INCLUDED
Your registration provides you:
Professional Wander Women guide to help make the trip as seamless and fun as possible
Cabin accommodations & parking
All meals, cooked by Chef Katie
Guided interpretive nature hike
Recipes from Chef Katie herself
A Wanderer swag bag full of goodies
A detailed pre-trip online guide with everything you need to know for your trip
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED
Participants will be responsible for providing/paying for:
Transportation to/from trip (we always encourage carpooling and can connect you with other participants to ride with!) and trip activity locations
INVESTMENT
$625
PAYMENT PLAN
We offer payment plans for all our trips, so you can pay a deposit now and the rest over time! WeTravel (our booking platform) easily lets you make a downpayment (this is also your non-refundable trip deposit!) and set up automatic payments for the remainder. For the payment plan schedule, just check the WeTravel page for details. There is NO fee for choosing the payment plan option!
Deposit for this trip: $315