First off, I’d like to tell you that I had SO much fun gathering the things I thought we’d need for our camping trip. Mark’s job was to plan the route, find the sight, and have a hiking plan for us. My job was everything else! I goolged how to create a meal over/in a camp fire and made a list of my foods etc. I was feeling ok about this whole thing.
SIDE NOTE: Please allow me to clear up this major confusion about camping…I HATE the idea…my idea of camping is and will always be a nice hotel with a potty right there, mo bug spray needed and flashlights are not a have to. But when it comes to the reality of camping it’s just not my first choice in life. I’ve been camping…heck I’ve rough it over rocks in Mexico a nice 13 times…I’ve been in the nastiest places that were considered the bathroom…and I’ve even had to pour contaminated water over my own head while standing on a wooded pallet to take a very badly needed shower…I’ve been there, done that with roughing it, I’ve also had family camping time on the river with my cousins so I’m not a total stranger to the idea. One issue here is that I believe with ALL my heart that spiders and bugs are UNABLE to enter my house or a hotel…and they for sure cannot get into my bed or fall on me, BUT in the woods…camping…well that’s a free for all. The bugs and spiders know me and target me! Again, not my desire. The times I’ve been camping I was involved in the camper side of it all…I was provided for by brave and wilderness knowing people. The cooking I did was Jelly & Peanutbutters and S’mores! This camping trip means that I’m the provider…I’m supposed to be (at least ½ of the wilderness leader) – what are we thinking? I mean Mark’s very brave and can easily make us feel safe…but he can’t really do the other stuff…so…THIS is my issue with camping. MAYBE this short 2 night trip will change my whole way of thinking…just maybe.
OK...so back to our story:
Mark planned for us to go to the 2nd largest National Forest in our country to King Canyon. It stretches all the way through California and into Nevada (Sierra). It was cute to see him get SO excited to go to this place and see the 8th largest Sequoia/tree in the world…but it was even cuter when he found out that it’s now THE largest tree in the world! Ha!! The things that amuse him. We had plans and had gathered all our foods and camping gear (yes it took up a ton of space on the way out here so I also felt obligated to use it seeing that was lugged it SO far!)
Our trip was going to be a nice 4-5 hour drive so we planned to leave early Friday morning our plan being 5 a.m. in the car and rolling (ha). I told Mark the only way we could get close to this time was if the van was ALL packed and super ready to go…only needing humans to make it go! SO Thursday evening after we celebrated Keegan’s real birthday and after we put the kids in bed we loaded the van up once again feeling as if we were really playing Tetris. We headed to bed and oh how excited I was (she claimed sarcastically!).
The alarm came way too early, but we were up and ready to roll. We carried the first load to the van (Grissom for me and Ella for Mark) with the hopes that they’d stay asleep, and then Mark ran back for Keegan. Our plan would have worked great if Keegan wouldn’t have been the excited little guy that he was. They get to the van and he says at least 3 times, “Hey guys, thanks for waiting for me! I’m so glad you did!” and after the 3rd time everyone was up and cheery as can be. Our leave time was pushed back to closer to 6 a.m. but I think snooze was the problem. So we are off.
We had to start a movie so calm them down cause after about the 1,000 question about where we were going and when we’d arrive there we felt very strong that the answer was going to turn into a NEVER!! As we left them by the side of the road…so the movie helped.
As 8:30 approached us we found we were kick’n with time travel! But I had a new concern…the ‘heat wave’ we’d been hearing SO much about from Face book, the News, and friends and family back home…that same wave we had a hard time believing to be real (our temps were still 50’s thru the night getting super high into the mid-low 60’s for our daytime highs and always with fog!) All of a sudden this heat wave became real. As the sweet sensitive wife that I am I calmly looked to my loving Mark and sweetly said, “It’s a BAZILLION degrees out in this world and you are making me do what?? Where?? I’m dead!” I think he knew the camping was going to come back and bite him. I had to hold my tongue cause it seemed at the same to have been an obvious concern to him as well. It was only 86* and rising at 8:30 in the morning…how much worst could it get?!?
Well, I’m glad to report that once we got to our elevation it was in the 60’s and we felt just like we were back in Monterey! It did reach a nice sunny 76* which was a very nice change of pace. We found the haven camp site that we’d be calling home for the next few days.
Mark unloaded the tent and started putting that together…why do these directions insist on calling their tent parts ‘Male vs. Female’ not that Mark needed directions, he’s a true man! Ha! Our tent was in the levelest part of our sight and yet you still roll ever so slightly it you don’t lay the right way. We read the bear box instructions (well, I read those instructions) and according to that we had to put ANYTHING that had a smell in this box; food, coolers, baby wipes, sun screen, bug spray, ANYTHING with a smell. So I can tell you that after dinner Grissom’s clothes will ALSO need to be put into this box. And this box IS super full! I’m still thinking I could fit IF needed.
All is set…we are now officially camping!
Before we got TOO much into this camping I sat the family down and we had a wilderness chat. I simply told them that this was how people started out living life. They had no homes and no bear boxes or food like we do now, they had no TV’s, lights, video games, etc. so we are playing old fashion living. And then I explained what the meaning ‘You make it what it is’ means…if it’s boring it’s cause they aren’t being creative type thing. We brought one of my 31 totes filled with outdoor games and things to do so there was no reason to be bored. That chat did a huge thing because all of a sudden the winning stopped and the playing began!
We did a short little hike and climbed some fun rocks. Grissom not only was super dirty but looked as if he would fall off the rocks into a deep sleep. So Mark, Ella, and Keegan played his new Pirate-opoly while mommy sacrificed and took a nap with Grissom.
Thanks to my mom Mark shot mini marshmallows in the air as Ella and Keegan tried catching them with their bug nets to eat them. Mark LOVED that silly air gun thingy…but how funny was it to see the kids catching these flying ‘bugs’ then eating them…I KNOW they were playing ‘Bear!’
We had piñata fun…Ella sliced it open and party time! We made monster puppets (Monsters was Keegan’s birthday theme this year) so now they will be performing a puppet show for us by the fire tonight! Speaking of fire…Mark rocked at creating ours! What we funny about that is as soon as Grissom saw a flame he starts singing and dancing to ‘Happy Birthday!’
We’re waiting for our water to boil so we can make Mac’N Cheese then roast our hotdogs!! Then oh, yeah…S’mores! What tasty food!!
It's a good day camping...good night...we are ALL still alive!
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