So about a month ago, Dave's parents invited all their kids (and their kid's kids) to go camping up off the Mirror Lake Highway. Our little family and Dave's dad, Paul, were going to head up on Thursday and then everyone else was going to be able to come up on Friday. We were heading home Friday night though, because Dave was unable to get time off for the rest of the trip.
The plan was to camp at the Soapstone campground but as we were driving through, we realized that everything was reserved and we weren't going to be able to stay there. A little bummed, we headed up to the next campground, Shady Dell. It was a ghost town there. We had our choice of whatever site we wanted. (Personally, I thought Shady Dell was a great campground and was a little confused that no one was there.) We got everything set up and decided to head to Pass Lake for some fishing. Little did we know that it was FREEZING at the lake. There was a cold wind blowing across the lake which amplified to below zero temps by the time it hit us. (Not really, but it kind of seemed that way at the moment.) Needless to say, we didn't stay very long at the lake.
When we got back to the campsite, we started dinner. Paul had decided on tinfoil dinners. I have not had any luck ever with tinfoil dinners, so I was a little nervous about them. I should have trusted in Paul because he did his homework and we had FANTASTIC tinfoil dinners. I'm not joking. They were SO good. I think I ate the most out of everyone.
We sat around the fire for a bit and then went back to our tent. (We had our own site.) Mina was thrilled to be out of a crib (yep, she still sleeps in a crib) so she went wild! Dave and I sat outside the tent looking at the stars until she crashed. We got her settled in and hunkered down in our new sleeping bags. (Which were absolutely awesome!) Dave and I didn't sleep well. We missed our soft bed.
Tin Foil Dinners
Matthew enjoying his surroundings
(We set up a playpen outside for him.)
The next morning, after a nice cereal breakfast, we piled into the truck (which had the 4 wheeler in the back) and headed out to see if we could find some firewood. Once we reached the road we wanted to follow, Dave, Lily and Castor climbed onto the 4 wheeler and started up the road. Paul, Piper, Mina, Matthew and I followed in the truck. We were having a nice relaxing ride for a while and then it got really bumpy, and I really mean bumpy. Piper had a blast. I had fun too, but Paul and I were a little more concerned than Piper. =) We were focused on making sure that we could get back to the campsite later on. Nobody wants a high centered truck. =) Piper was able to trade with Lily and Castor and enjoyed a nice ride down the road with Dave.
Nap Time in the Shade
The Main Site
The Hammock
SHH! She's sleeping (or pretending to, anyway).
How do kids get so dirty?
Once we got back, relieved and completely empty handed, we decided to give fishing another try. It was much nicer this time. We only caught one fish but we still had fun. After the lake, we all huddled around the fire, back at camp, to cook hot dogs. They were tasty. Dave and I then packed up our stuff so that we wouldn't have to do it in the dark.
Fishing at Pass Lake
The one and only fish we caught.
Eventually, everyone started showing up. It had been really quite peaceful when it was just Dave's dad and our little family. Add 5 adults, 7 kids and 2 dogs and it became chaos! We roasted some marshmallows with everyone and then said "Sayonara!" We were sad to leave but were kind of happy too. We were exhausted! I don't remember much of that night when we got home. I'm pretty sure that we all just climbed into bed and let sleep take us. Oh, it was so nice to have my bed back. =)
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