Labor Day Sprint Camping

About mid-August we decided that the Labor Day weekend camping trip we had planned to do with Lisa, John, and their girls in Washington was not a good idea. I had remembered that it was a 5 hour drive, but upon mapquesting it, realized it was almost 7 and a half hours of driving. We couldn't leave until after the kids finished school on Friday, meaning we'd have to spend the night somewhere along the way, meaning that we'd only actually be camping for two nights and less than 2 full days. As much as we hated to do it... we cancelled. The kids were bummed. We were bummed. 

So I got on the computer and found a place to camp 1.5 miles from our house. We booked it for Fri and Sat night and figured we'd have Sunday and Monday to recuperate. Well... Thursday came around and all the kids were EXHAUSTED from their first week of school and 1.5 hour football/cheerleading practice EVERY night that week. So, we downgraded our camping trip to one night. Saturday.  

The funny thing about camping, though, is that whether it is a 1 day trip or a 6 day trip the camping and prepping is about the same. Since we hadn't camped yet this year we had to go through all the gear and because we have a new mouse problem, that meant going through lots of mouse poop and dog food that various mice had dragged into various camping boxes hoping to make a home.  Oh, well. It had to be done.  

So, I grocery shopped Thursday, Brian packed up the car Friday night, and we hit the road on Saturday morning at 9AM.  We arrived at Warm Lake around 11AM and everyone helped set up the tent (AKA "The Taj Majal"), ate lunch, and played around the campsite. We headed to the lake for an hour or so and Jake and I hit the rope swing. Once we returned to camp we settled in with our books and a bottle of red wine while the kids played "Duck on a Rock". I joined them for a little Hide and Seek, then the five of us took an exploratory walk around the woods. It was very odd- the campground was on the edge of an old abandoned lodge that used to include individual cabins, a boat house, etc... It was very run down and had obviously been vacant for many years. It was kinda creepy and reminded me of the setting of Friday the 13th. Luckily it was light out or I would have been looking for Jason around every bend! 

We headed back to camp and grilled hotdogs and made giant s'mores for dessert.  The kids played more hide-and-seek and more "duck on a rock". At one point, after exploring in the woods, Jake and Faith ran up to me with a flat brown thing in their hands and said, "Mom, look how much this dried mud  clot looks like a smooshed frog".  Ummmmm... kids?? I hate to tell you this... but that IS a smooshed frog. That flat brown frog went flying and the kids ran to the nearby water pump to wash their hands. Too funny. 

The sky that night was so clear and so beautiful it made the two times I had to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night worthwhile. We actually all slept really well until 330AM when Tanner claimed he was freezing and came to sleep in between Brian and I. I woke up in the morning to a Brian shaped indent in the sleeping bag next to me and the smell of bacon cooking. He had gotten up early, gotten the fire started, and was already cooking bacon and boiling water for my coffee. Lovely!!  Jake continued to sleep, so cuddled up under his sleeping bag and blanket, I had to actually go over and touch him to be sure he was actually still in the tent. 

The kids played some more, we all enjoyed hot cocoa and bacon (oh yeah... and the traditional "camping donuts")  and helped us pack up. We left before lunch and headed home because Brian and I had plans with friends that night and a new babysitter was coming over.  

It was a fast and furious trip but I am so glad we did it. The kids all loved it and we were reminded how much we enjoy camping. We hadn't been in almost 2 years and the kids are getting older all the time. Boy it is a lot of effort, though. When we noticed how much faster our neighbor with the pop up tent and the other neighbor with the RV set up their site, we decided we may try an extended RV trip next summer  instead.  I'd like to head to the coast- maybe coastal WA or even San Juan Islands. Time to start planning!