Camping Trip 1: Devil's Head

This summer, we didn't have any big vacations planned.  (Going to Mexico twice last year kind of spoiled us).  So, because we had just purchased the atv's, we decided we wanted to try and go camping quite a few times.  This was our first trip up to the mountains...I think it was the weekend after Payton's birthday.  I can't even remember now!

As soon as Wes got off of work on Thursday, we headed up towards Rampart.  It's about an hour away from home (much closer than Steamboat Lake!), and there are tons of atv trails everywhere nearby.  Devil's Head Campground is first-come, first-serve, so we knew we had to get up there early.  

We found this great spot buried in the trees and right near a little creek, so we set up camp.  It was almost dark by the time we got the tent up, so we cooked some chili dogs around 10 PM and called it a good first night.

When we woke up Friday morning, we decided we had made a good choice, even in the dark!

The kids wake up super early camping because the birds start chirping at like 5 AM, so we send them out of the tent and let them eat PopTarts.  That's what camping is all about right?

Landon peaking in...

But of course, they just can't resist coming back inside and cuddling on the air mattress!

These three...

Buried in the trees.  This campsite was so pretty.

Over the years, we've learned more and more.  This year, we finally have packing, unpacking, shopping, set up, etc. down pretty well.  

After breakfast (PopTarts), we decided to go to an easy, open area to do a little atv-ing.  Wes is very good, but the kids and I had never even ridden on them.  Wes took turns giving each kid a ride.

Payton, the dare-devil, loves going fast!

Brady, our thinker and planner, wants to know where Wes is going, how fast Wes is going, and when Wes will return :)

And Landon just screamed the whole time.  So, we got a picture of him afterwards!

After an hour or two of riding, we headed back to camp for some lunch.  Then, we decided to try and hike Devil's Head.  I had no idea how far, how long, or how difficult the trail was.  So, we set off with all five of us, one tiny little puppy, and ONE water bottle.  Oops.

The hike is absolutely beautiful...

...but it is straight up hill, and LONG.  We reached this sign after about 30 minutes of uphill.  We thought it was a joke, but not so much.

When we finally got to the top (after rationing the one water bottle between all family members and the dog), we found this stair case.  It's 142 steps up to a fire look out tower.  A forest ranger still mans the station every day because you can see for almost 100 miles in every direction.  They have located a lot of fires over the years.

So, I carried Lucy, Wes carried Landon, and we all hiked up those steps!

The view from the top was worth it.

After a long, sweaty hike back down the mountain, we ate some spaghetti for dinner and called it a night.  

The next morning, we couldn't wait for Mark, Abby, and the boys to arrive!  We were so ready for some company, I think we all jumped up when we saw them driving down the road.

They purchased this Taj Mahal from Costco.  We thought out tent was big, but this one made ours look super small!

All of the kids had a great time chilling in the tents (and making them filthy!)

After everything was set up, Mark and Wes went out for a little atv-ing, so Abby and I took all of the kids exploring.

So many boys!

King of the mountain!

Landon the bear in his cave.

When we got back, we did a little bb gun shooting.

And then got ready for dinner.  It rained a little, but that was the first time all weekend.  That's got to a record for us!  (Notice Wes's kelly green grill?)

The whole crew eating some 'dawgs'.

And God bless Aunt Abby, she played Uno with all the kids for a LONG time.  It was great entertainment!

We had a great first weekend of camping and were so glad the Jansen's could join us.  The blog about Camping Trip 2 to come next!