We did our first family camping trip with Aaron's Boy Scout pack this weekend. Simply put, I had a blast!
All of us have been camping by some definition of the word at some point. Hannah's biggest experience until this point had been in my dad's backyard. I went camping with my aunt and uncle growing up more times than I can count. Rachel went with her Girl Scout troop last Spring. She can set up our small tents by herself. P.K. and Aaron went with the Boy Scouts last Spring. P.K. was a Scout and of course has all of his military experience. (I don't think of hanging out in the field with Marines and Sailors who haven't showered in who knows how long as camping, but I guess in some sense of the word, it could be considered camping.)
We all have different ideas of camping and roughing it. Most of my childhood camping memories include electricity, flushable toilets and showers. There were times we camped in the "primitive" area which meant we did not have electricity and it was a further hike to flushable toilets and showers. My idea of roughing it would be no electricity and outhouses. P.K.'s idea of roughing it would be no electricity, beef jerky and a hole in the ground.
P.K. and I didn't really have a honeymoon after we were married, but we did drive out to Wyoming a couple weeks later for our friends' wedding. I wanted to camp while we were there. Apparently, communication was not our friend at the time because P.K. had his idea of camping and I had mine. We went camping at a place where we drove the car to the end of a dirt road and got out and hiked in the wilderness until we found a place we thought would make a good campsite. There were no flushable toilets or even outhouses for that matter. When we arrived P.K. asked if I wanted to set up the tent to which I replied, "Uncle Charlie always did that." I think we were in the camper most of the time, but if there was a tent involved I did not set it up. So P.K. suggested if I couldn't set up the tent maybe I could start the fire to which I again replied, "Uncle Charlie always did that." I think P.K. then assigned me to just go pick up some sticks. Before we arrived at the campsite, I saw a sign that said to be on the look out for mountain lions. We did not see another human being so I was sure when the mountain lions attacked no one would hear our cries for help. Doing my business outside on the ground was horrifying. It is not as easy for a girl as it is a boy and I was thinking there were mountain lions. I did that once and then held it until we packed up camp the next morning and made it to the nearest McDonalds. Some time after the now infamous Wyoming camping trip, I took him camping with my aunt and uncle to show him what I thought camping should be.
Back to this weekend.
I am proud to say I roughed it a bit more than usual this weekend in that I did not take a shower. I had planned to shower, but the shower houses were quite a distance from our campsite and the shower house closest to us was full of mosquitoes (or some similar small flying bug) and didn't have shower curtains. It seemed silly to pack shower stuff all that way. In general, I am not a hat wearer. Since I have had my hair cut short, it sticks up all sorts of ways when I get out of bed in the morning, so if I am going to the track after dropping the kids at school or don't have time to shower before I take them, I throw on a cap. I remembered to pack my hat for camping and just put it on. It was only one missed day of showering.
Rachel had a Girl Scout event on Saturday and had to meet her troop at 5:45 a.m. Her leader graciously offered to let her sleepover at her house so I wouldn't have to drive her back so early. We dropped Rachel at her leader's house and headed toward the camp. We arrived about 5:30 and got right to setting up camp. I've come a long way since P.K. and I made that first camping trip and was able to pull my own weight in setting up the tent. We actually set up two. We found a big cabin tent on clearance. Looking ahead to lots more camping as a family, we thought it would be nice to have some space. We put all the sleeping bags in that one and then set up a smaller one and stored everything else. It also gave us an extra place to change clothes.
When P.K. and Aaron went camping last Spring, they packed things like beef jerky and poptarts. One of my fun memories of camping as a child was my uncle making a big breakfast every morning. I told P.K. I would be in charge of planning the meals and cooking. We had chicken fajitas the first night. I cut the chicken up at home the night before and put it in a big ziploc to marinade. We just wrapped it in a fajita with some cheese. Setting up camp makes a body hungry and those were so good. For breakfast, I made pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage. I'm not usually a big breakfast person, but it was a great start to our day.
The weather forecast was for cooler temperatures which would dip into the 40's at night, but it wasn't supposed to rain. The first night was clear. We loved looking at the stars. It seemed as though they almost completely covered the night sky. Hannah woke up about 3:00 a.m. and told me she was cold. I think she had wiggled out of her sleeping bag and extra blankets, so I just had her climb in with me and she went right back to sleep.
Since we were camping with the Boy Scouts we were at the mercy of "the schedule." The boys had a flag ceremony at 7:30. That meant we had to get up early and get moving. There was something really rejuvenating about that fresh air. I didn't want to get out of my warm sleeping bag, but once I was up and moving it was great.
Another downside to this weekend being at the Boy Scout camp was that we couldn't have our own individual campfires. The pack master (or whatever the official Boy Scout term is) was by the common fire pit and took charge of keeping the fire going. So if we wanted to roast anything on the open fire we had to move down to his campsite. That was fine, but I thought it would have been nice to have our own little campfire. Of course the kids got to roast marshmallows and hot dogs. We purchased a camping stove and it was really nice to have it. I sold Pampered Chef many years ago and we bought a camping table for me to take along and use for the parties. We have held onto it through all the moves and I was delighted to actually be using it for camping.
The schedule was made up of four or five different rotations (free time, nature, first aid, etc.). We were scheduled for free time first. The kids had so much fun running around the campsites. I guess that is one plus side of camping with a larger group. We didn't have to worry about them violating someone else's space. The first night there was a movie scheduled for anyone who wanted to hike down to the main pavilion, but the kids were having so much fun exploring and playing with the other kids we just skipped it. One of Aaron's friends from school is in another pack, but the other pack was mixed in with our pack. His friend, Bradley, actually joined us for fajitas the first night. I think both boys thought that was fun.
When we were on our way to our first activity we were walking on a path through some trees. Aaron could see the clearing ahead and said it was raining. I told him it was just foggy. As we reached the clearing, it started to drizzle. P.K. said, "It wasn't supposed to rain." I had been checking the weather all week. I checked it just before we left on Friday and P.K. was correct. It was not supposed to rain. It was a light drizzle. Almost a mist. I thought it would clear right up. I left about an hour later to get Rachel. I ran by the house so I could check the weather. The radar looked clear, but the written report said rain until around 1:00 p.m. There was also a freeze advisory out for that night. The temps were going to be dipping down in the 30's. P.K. called me and I could hear that it was pouring. It didn't stop raining until after 3:00. Rachel and I had returned by then and Aaron and Hannah finished up the last rotation. We reluctantly decided to pack up and head home. My prideful side wanted to stick it out so I would be able to say I did it in the rain and cold, but my practical side kept thinking that pride comes before the fall. We were all disappointed because we had looked forward to it and were all having a great time. Being wet and cold was just too much.
We are looking forward to Spring and some warmer weather to enjoy camping with just our family!
The campsite all set up.
Hannah in the little tent.
Aaron and Hannah waiting for Mommy to fix our first camping dinner.
Aaron and Hannah roasting marshmallows.
This is Hannah the first morning. It was still dark and she was wrapped up waiting for me to fix breakfast. I made them hot chocolate to help them warm up while they waited for breakfast.
Aaron enjoying his hot chocolate and breakfast.
Hannah enjoying her breakfast.
Because we had to cut our adventure short, we never got pictures of P.K. or Rachel, but there is always next time!
The Atlanta skyline from the top.
As we were trying to get pictures of the sunset, we didn't think about the fact that it might be dark before we got back down. We were almost all the way back down before it was pitch black, but the last bit was a bit long. I was sure someone was going to twist an ankle on rocks or tree roots. Thankfully, we all made it down safely. PK and I were going to go back Tuesday morning while the kids were in school, but it rained. I am excited about exploring the rest of the park and can hardly wait to have a chance to go back.
