If any of you know my friend Gwen, you know that she is the queen of organization and event planning. She has parties and outings booked on her social calendar for months in advance. If any of you know me (ever since the birth of my three children), I am the queen of last minute social event planning. I enjoy a good party/outing as much as anyone, I just don't seem to get around to thinking about it until the day or evening before.
So, way back in May (I think), Gwen e-mailed us to see if our two families would like to take a weekend and head up to the hills for some camping. Good thing she did, because way back in May, there were only two camping spots left for this one particular weekend. The rest of the summer was booked. Neither of our families have done a lot of camping with our children, so it was definitely going to be an adventure. We agreed, and marked August 10-11 on our calendars.
I think from that point forward, Gwen started making lists of what to eat, what to bring, and how our trip would go. I on the other hand, realized that my pre-season volleyball camp and tryouts were sandwiched right in between camping weekend. But, this was the beauty of the how it all worked together. Gwen called me on Wednesday or Thursday night before camping. She read through her list and we divvied up who would bring what. She finished packing, I started packing, and on Friday afternoon, we were on our way!
We camped up near Idaho Springs, so it was only a 45 minute drive. It hadn't rained for past two months, but of course, as soon as we got out of our car, it started raining.
So, we quickly (sort of) set up our tent. Our tent is kind of a beast, with three separate rooms for sleeping, so Wes made fun of me for referring to the directions on the bag. But, they helped and we finally got our now wet tent up and running.
Here she is in all of her glory. We can actually fit a queen size air mattress for us in the front room, a pack and play for Landon in the second room, and the two big kids in sleeping bags in the third room.
Landon thought the entire thing was awesome.
The Vogelzangs arrived shortly after us and set up their tent in the spot below. It was nice to have our cars right near by for keeping gear dry and storing food at night away from bears!
Once all the setting up was done, we headed down a little path to the river. Let's just say the kids had fun.
Just like his big bro.
Payton and her poppa.
After getting thoroughly wet and muddy in the river, we headed back up to the campsite to start our campfire and eat dinner. We opted to pick up some pizza/McDonald's in Idaho Springs for our first night's meal.
As soon as it got dark, it started raining again. So, we hustled the children to bed and got them all cozied in. The adults headed back out for a few more minutes of talking, drinking, and smores, but I left the camera where it was dry.
Very early the next morning (there's no sleeping in when you're camping with kids!), our kiddos were ready for the day. It was actually quite chilly, in the 40's, when we woke up, so a hot breakfast was essential. We made pancakes, eggs, and bacon on the fire. I was pretty impressed considering we have never really done this before.
Next up? A hike to burn off breakfast. Wes and Tim took off with the big kids, so Gwen, Reagan, Landon, and I all tried to find them.
We never did find them. By the time we got back to our campsite, they were all there ready to swim!
The water was just a little bit chilly. Not really like Grandma Inge's pool. So, back to the campsite for a mac and cheese lunch and a scavenger hunt planned by Aunt Gwen.
What a cool idea!
After an hour or two of hunting, Gwen stayed back at the campsite for Reagan's nap, and the rest of us headed down the mountain to a stocked trout farm. This was our kind of fishing! The kids did a really great job. They baited their own hooks with power bait and cast their own lines. They got tons of bites, and Payton even reeled on all the way in to the shore and it escaped at the last minute. Wes ended up getting two fish. Here they are trying to catch in in the net.
Uncle Tim and Rylan also got a few bites. Tim reeled one all the way in and Payton rushed over to catch it with the net.
This picture makes me laugh out loud. Instead of catching the fish, Payton fell in the water. Tim pulled her back, but the net started to sink. Wes dove forward to save the net, and Rylan? He just kept reeling in the fish. Needless to say, it got away. :)
If you catch your fish, you have to clean it. Opa Bosch took us trout farm fishing when I was growing up, so I got to do the dirty work.
We paid for our fish, put them on ice, and headed back to the campsite for dinner. Of course, it started raining again, so the kids hung out in the tent while we cooked taco salad on the fire. I also made up some tin foil packets with the trout, some cilantro, lime, butter, and other veggies. It was actually pretty good!
If you read her
camping blog post, you'll know that Gwen (and Tim) did not enjoy their first night's sleep in the tent. Between a basically cardboard egg shell mattress and vampires, Gwen was not eager to spend another night without sleep. (We tried laying on their eggshell and could definitely see why). So, the Vogelzangs packed up and headed home after dinner. It finally cleared off a bit, so we headed out for a little after dinner hike.
We got back and got ready for bed. There was supposed to be a meteor shower that night so we were excited to watch it away from the city lights.
We tried to keep the big kids awake, but they were just too exhausted. So, Wes and I hung out by the fire and watched the meteors. There weren't as many as we thought, but it was still cool to see. Because it was so clear, it was VERY cold on night two. I think it was in the thirties when we woke up! Thank goodness for warm sleeping bags and body heat!
The next morning, again very early, we got up, packed up, and headed home. I had to start thinking about volleyball tryouts. You know, they were the next day :)
Here's a pick of the car once we got home. Just a few things for our two day trip!
We had an awesome time. Thanks, Vogelzangs, for inviting us and getting things organized. We can't wait to do it again!
