Kendall's First Camping Trip

I finally decided to get away this weekend. Our trip for last weekend was rescheduled and I really needed some time to get into the fresh, mountain air to clear my head. It was time to introduce Kendall to camping! We also took Kya, and this was her first camping experience as well. The entire experience was not exactly what I had in mind.....first, we had heard there was some sort of burn ban, but didn't realize that it included all forms of fire. No campfires whatsoever. This makes for a lame camping trip once the sun goes down. Second, our main spot was turned into the headquarter camp for all of the fire crews battling the forest fires. So we had to scout around for a different spot. Fortunately, since we got up there Thursday, this wasn't an issue. We camped closer to the cabin, up Ten Mile. Kendall had been battling some sort of stomach bug the entire week, we were changing diapers pretty much hourly. Then, Friday night, she was up throwing up a few times. It was not exactly the best camping trip, but we still managed to have a good time.

 

Here is Kendall, chilling out while we set up camp.

 

 

My cuties

 

Making dinner....the first night, we needed something simple and easy. The kids voted on chili dogs.

 

We noticed Kya was chasing something around so Eric went to investigate - a toad!  Carter named him Jimmy. We put him in the river so Kya would leave him alone.

 

 

 

 

I fully expected to come home without a dog. Kya is a runner and is notorious for running off at home the second she gets out front. So I honestly figured she would run off into the mountains and never return. I was wrong! She stayed closed to camp the entire time, venturing away to explore from time to time. But she always came right back when we called her. I think the unknown of the mountains kind of humbled her and she stayed close to us.

 

Making breakfast Friday morning.

 

 

It was definitely chilly overnight and first thing in the mornings!

 

 

Shooting his BB gun.

 

 

Eric and Carter went to Stanley all day Friday, so Kendall and I had a girls day around camp. We set up the shade "tent" because the main tent was so hot in the sun. We had a good lunch, and then I took her and Kya down to the swimming hole.

 

 

 

We took a nap in the shade tent as well - it was nice and cool in there, with the breeze coming in from time to time.

 

 Since Eric had his truck, Kya had to run along behind the 4 wheeler to get to the swimming hole - maybe about 3/4 of a mile total. When we got there, she jumped right into the river and stayed there for quite some time.

 

Kendall must have felt a calling in her blood because the first thing she did was pick up rocks to throw into the water. The water at the swimming hole was actually really low.

 

 

 We stayed at the swimming hole for about an hour (the only reason we left was because Kendall had yet another dirty diaper).

 Once the guys got back from fishing, Carter and I played some baseball. He actually broke his bat!

 

 

We also went up to the cabin to get the dirt bike. My cousins, Matt and Brian, were also up to the mountains this weekend, with their own group of campers. We ran into Brian at the cabin and Matt came down to see us a little bit later.

 

 

 

Of course Carter had to take a ride on his 4 wheeler as well.

 

 

Since there was a burn ban, our only light after dark was the lantern. We didn't want to risk a campfire at this spot because the highway is across the river and you can actually see our camp. Didn't want to risk a ticket from Forest Service.

 

 

Packing it up Saturday morning.

 

 Hey, they do get along!

 

 

All in all, despite Kendall's stomach issues, it was an okay trip. She was very concerned about the amount of dirt in her shoes, but I kept telling her over and over that DIRT is a major component of camping and she needed to get used to it. I don't think she ever did, but she will get there someday.