This weekend we went camping with another couple who has a pair of girls almost exactly our kids ages. The kids get along great (as do the adults) so we thought we'd really put them to the test. Our friends picked out a camping area called Dismals Canyon which advertised being 14 degrees cooler than the areas nearby--it didn't mention that that was in the canyon and not at the campsites. Watching the paper and seeing 99 degrees highs was not encouraging, nor was the bathroom being an uphill walk no matter which way you were coming from! We parked "near" our campsite and hiked down and up with all our stuff. It wasn't exactly roadside service but it meant taht we were off the beathen path a bit and had a REALLY cool spot with a "waterfall" and an overhang (fortunately--read on). We set up camp and the kids helped carry stuff and explored the puddle and the waterfall. Once we had all the tents set up we had lunch and decided to explore the canyon.
Off we went on a 1.5 mile hike through the canyon, really pretty along a stream/creek, over bridges, and by caves, overhangs and a "fat man's misery" which was pretty fun--and almost made me stuck...the kids did a pretty good job taking turns "leading" although there was more than one outburst as someone tripped, pushed, or was too far ahead--what do you expect?! As we hiked we heard thunderclaps and began to get nervous. On the way back we decided to stop at the "pool"--a natural water hole at the top of the waterfall (no way to go over as it was blocked) which was FREEZING. The kids got in anyway with a lot of coaxing--as did most of the adults. They enjoyed swimming back and forth to the dock but it was really cold. Even Jeff thought so! After hearing some more thunder we decided to head back to camp for dinner.
We moved the tents under the overhang (yeah!!) and pulled everything out of the way in case of rain. I started a nice fire and everyone helped keep it going. We had hot dogs, silver turtles, and corn for a delicious dinner (at like 8!). It did rain but not too much. It was worth moving the tents though. We went on a night hike to see the dismalites--bugs that only live in 3 places in teh world de to weather conditions. They were kind of cool--but the kids liked hiking in the dark better. We got back and made s'mores and banna boats. Heather was so tired she asked to go to bed and Charlie fell asleep in one of the chairs. The adults played cards for a bit and we all crashed for the night.
We got up and had a breakfast of eggs, pancakes, bacon, hashbrowns, and juice--tastier than our usual breakfast. After cleaning up camp we headed to the longest natural bridge and did another hike. The kids had a great time and even got to wade in the creek a little to look for salamanders and crayfish. overall everyone had fun and the kids got along great for so much together time. I think we all wish we had done this earlier in being here so that we had more time to do it again. With a new baby coming soon and then leaving shortly after I think this will be the end of our camping for a while. The kids did have a GREAT time though!!
Now it's prep for school to start this week and the daunting task of cleaning up all the sleeping bags, blankets, towels, clothes, etc. from the one night of camping. I think camping for a week would have been a bit more clothing but not much more work overall!!
2 comments:
It's not a real camping trip unless there is rain!
Sounds like you all had a good time. I agree it seems like a lot of work for just one night. We only took Jeff and Jason 1 time that I can remember.
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