The kids have been begging to go camping since we went 2 summers ago, so we decided to get it all planned out. Stan and Diane rented a trailer and we got all of our gear gathered and food bought and coordinated meals with Craig's parents and his brother Eric's family. We drove up to McCall Saturday morning and stopped to do a hike on our way. We had tried to do this hike earlier in the summer but it was still covered in snow. We hiked into Lost and Hidden Lakes. It was a fairly steep hike and so we had a 3 year old that complained quite a bit but we ended up making it to both beautiful lakes and back for a total of 3.5 miles.
After our hike we headed into McCall and stayed the night at the cabin. That evening we got a few more things ready like our tin foil dinners for the next night. Sunday morning after breakfast and a quick at home church we headed up to the Hazard Lake campground. We were able to snag two campsites right next to each other and got our camp all set up. We explored around the lake, practiced our casting, climbed a lot of rocks, tested out the tent, and McKay even took a nap on Pops. We then ate a yummy tin foil dinner and s'mores for dessert. We then headed to bed before the stars even came out.
Monday morning we ate a quick breakfast of muffins and granola and yogurt before we set out for our hike. Diane stayed in camp waiting for Eric and Kim's family to get there and Stan came with us. We decided to hike into a few new lakes. We first got to Lower Twin Lake and then Upper twin lake. Craig and I then left the kids at Upper Twin Lake with Stan to start fishing while we hiked on to Hard Butte Lake. It was only another quarter mile but there was quite a bit of snow, but it was so beautiful and worth that little bit of extra effort. When we got back to the kiddos they had just started fishing. Brooklyn caught a little Brooke Trout on her first cast, she thought it was so cool that the fish was named after her. McKay then gave it a shot. There were a couple smart little fish out there, his line got nibbled on and worm got eaten 6 or 7 times, but he never got one hooked. To say he was disappointed would be an understatement. We then started our hike back once we ran out of worms. We got off trail for a quick minute but quickly made our way back once Craig and Stan decided to believe me that we hadn't crossed a particular stream on our way in. The kids did great. McKay rode on Craig's shoulders for about 5 minutes of the 7 miles and Brooklyn hiked the whole thing.
By the time we got back to camp, Eric and Kim's family had gotten there. McKay of course fell asleep within two minutes of being back in the truck and so he slept in his car seat for a while. Once he woke up the kids were so excited to have cousins there to play with. They played card games, explored the woods, made up games, and watched Pops and Nana put together the dutch oven dinner for that evening. They spoiled us with chicken and potatoes, salad, biscuits and best of all....2 kinds of cobbler! We again headed to bed before the stars came out, the kids were asking to go to bed because they were so tired (and really who is going to fight that). Tuesday morning after getting the fire started and drinking hot chocolate we made up some bacon, pancakes, and eggs over the fire (Pops and Nana really have that down to an art). It is amazing how much better food tastes when you are camping and a little bacon grease helps too. After breakfast we then packed up all our stuff, the other families stayed one more night. We stopped in McCall for some lunch, we tried to get My Father's Place again but it was closed that day for some repairs, seriously disappointing. We swung by the cabin to grab a few things and then headed home to do laundry and take some much needed showers. We had such a great time. The kids slept pretty dang good both nights, McKay may have ended up with about 6 band-aids by the end but luckily no major injuries, Brooklyn had a decent amount of bug bites (her left eye was swollen because of some bites on her eye lid). It sure makes it more enjoyable when you get to split up the work and preparations with other families and to have Pops and Nana who are seasoned pros when it come to camping. 2 nights was the perfect amount of time and the kids have already starting asking about doing it next summer.
What a wonderful time to take your family hiking up the mountains to enjoy all the sights and mountain air. The fishing is loved by those who can catch fish. But I know how McKay feels when those fish just sniff the bait, toss their heads and flip their tails as they float away.
ReplyDeleteI did notice there were a lot of dry, dead timber in with the life, green ones. Fuel for fires, and it scares me. This year has been so hot and dry that we see a lot of fires in our hills.
It seems good that Stan and Diane can enjoy it all with you. Yes, Diane and Stan do know how to fix meals, wherever and whenever the need arises. I also noticed that you were smart to fix foil dinners so you could spend your time with the kids and nature while you were there. I never enjoyed it much, because I was the one left to fix the meals while they were climbing the hills. But there are many sweet memories and a few pictures of our camping days with our children. Thanks for your report and pictures of a wonderful time with your family!
Love,
Grandma and Grandpa Moss
It was a fabulous camping trip with you
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