Two weekends ago we loaded everyone up for what was probably our last camping trip in Oregon. We didn't camp that much out here since we just got our trailer last summer, but it is one of the things we will really miss about Oregon. It is so nice to camp without many bugs in near-perfect camping weather. I love waking up and drinking coffee in the cool mornings around the fire and roasting marshmallows and talking around the fire in the cool evenings. And the days are usually the perfect temperature. This time it rained a little on us, but even that didn't spoil our spirits. We had a wonderful time.
We went to a campground on Paulina Lake, which is a caldera (crater?) at 6,000 ft above sea level and about 2-1/2 hours from our house. After that drive in the truck, the boys were so happy to get out and run around. We had the perfect camping spot... it was right by the woods and there were some clear areas that the boys could ride their bikes through. They loved riding over sticks and bumps... they were in heaven.
We got in a little late, so the boys went to bed pretty quickly after we got there. Phil and I had a very rough night that first night, because Reid was up pretty much from 1:30 A.M. on. Phil had made sure to fully charge our camper battery before we left, but I guess when the boys were playing in the trailer the evening before we left Emmett had accidentally turned on the heat, so all night long the heat was running and draining the battery. We should have checked the battery before going to bed, but we forgot to, and basically the heat wouldn't work all night! Poor Reid woke up freezing at 1:30 and he just would not go back to sleep after that. We brought him into our bed, but he's not used to that and thought it was play time. So after a few hours of that we bundled him up in a few layers of clothing and put him back in his bed, but he wasn't having that, either. Finally at 5:30 Phil threw in the towel and got up to make coffee and take Reid outside. I got up shortly after that and J and E woke up around 6:15. Luckily they had slept through all of the craziness during the night. So we were the sideshow people who were making noise and turning on our generator at 6 A.M. while everyone else was still sleeping. But we couldn't help it! I tried to keep the boys as quiet as possible and the generator was behind our camper so it really wasn't loud at all.
Daddy built us a nice fire so at least we had some extra time to enjoy that!
Reid was determined to get up in these little chairs by himself, and once he succeeded he did it over and over!
Happy Daddy running on no sleep! Phil is so patient and positive and such a trooper.
Usually I am pretty grumpy in the mornings, especially when I don't have good sleep, but the fire and coffee made me happy and I tried really hard to suck it up and enjoy the moment! The boys were having so much fun that it was hard to be grumpy. :)
Poor Reid was so exhausted around 8 A.M. so we loaded up soon after that and drove into Bend for a quick stop at Costco, but mostly to let Reid take a nap in the car. We were hoping that if he napped early enough that he might take another nap in the afternoon, too. Luckily, we were right on that one and he slept again for about 4 hours in the afternoon! We all took a nap at the same time and Phil and I even got in some good zzzzs. It was great! We thought about going home that day instead of spending another night, but we decided to chance it and stay, hoping that with the heat working this time everyone would sleep well. We did!! No one made a peep all night. :)
After naps that afternoon we walked up to the lake and let the boys throw rocks in, which is one of their favorite things to do. The lake was gorgeous!
Then later we went to a different part of the lake to try to hike to some hot springs. We thought it would be an easy, 1-mile hike to the springs, but we questioned some people that we passed about the distance and they said it was actually a pretty tough 2-miles or so. By this time it was almost 6 P.M., so we decided to turn back and head back to the campsite for dinner. Our friends rented a boat and went ahead to the springs and apparently they were really awesome, so I was disappointed to miss out. But it was definitely the right decision for us... we had a nice dinner and were able to shower the kiddos and put them to bed easily, and it poured rain for a little while right after dinner so at least we stayed dry.
Hopefully we will get to see some hot springs later in life! :)
The short hike that we did go on before turning back was really neat, though. The lake was so gorgeous and the trail was rocky. The boys loved climbing over the rocks and throwing rocks into the lake from up high.
Hot dogs for dinner... Jackson didn't want to get near the fire to cook his dogs, but Emmett did.
The next morning we tried to make up for our missed hot springs experience by hiking to a double waterfall nearby. The boys didn't get to play in any water, but it was a gorgeous morning and we all loved walking through the woods.
And the waterfalls were really beautiful. A few times along the trail we were able to hike down close to the rapids and the boys had fun throwing pine cones into the river and watching them float down the rapids. No pictures of this as I was trying to make sure no one fell in!
It was such a great family weekend! Right now we are planning to camp across the country on our drive from OR to FL, and we are hoping for more fun family experiences like this. :) Priceless.
