Camping at Hazard Lake

 

It had been a couple of years since we had been camping so we were due for a camping trip.  We headed up to McCall the morning of Friday July 14th.  On Saturday we spent the day at the lake and then headed to My Father's Place for a late lunch.  

Sunday after church we then got everything loaded up to head up to Hazard Lake.  Stan and Diane rented a small RV and we set up a tent at our favorite spot at Hazard.  We spent Sunday afternoon setting up camp and then drove to some random place to do some shooting.  The kids had the best time shooting and did great.  When we got back to camp we cooked up a super yummy steak dinner over the fire and then roasted marshmallows and made s'mores.  We all slept good enough and woke up early to a thunderstorm, luckily we had put the rain tarp on, we all eventually fell back asleep and woke back up once the storm was over.  After some egg and sausage breakfast burritos we loaded our hiking bags into the truck and headed to the trail head.  We hiked into Lava Butte Lakes with Stan.  It was a fairly short hike, about 5 miles round trip, but it was beautiful.  It was a little bit different scenery than usual but all the lava rocks were really beautiful.  When we got back to camp we went out onto lake with the paddleboard. The kids and Craig jumped into the lake and we all cleaned off the best we could.  The kids spent the rest of the afternoon building forts, climbing rocks and getting dirty.  McKay was living his best life.  Stan and Diane out did themselves with a full dutch oven dinner and cobbler.  I ate until I was way to full, but it was all just so good.  We all slept pretty well that night and woke up Tuesday morning and cleaned up camp and headed back to the cabin to unload what needed to be left there and to take a shower before heading back home.  We had such a great time but two nights was definitely enough for me.  It is always nice going with Stan and Diane because they do about 90% of the work and have all the equipment that we don't have.  It makes it a lot simpler and enjoyable to do the camping thing.  Camping is always a great way to create memories and a lot of fun ones were made this weekend.

Let Freedom Ring

 

We love celebrating the 4th of July, especially in our small town.  They really do such a great job.  So we headed up to McCall the weekend before but made sure we made it back to Star in time for the 4th.  The Friday before we left in the morning and hit up a hike we have been wanting to do for years, Granite Mountain Peak to Tripod Lookout.  It was about 6 miles total and we just stayed along the ridge line the whole time and just went up and down the whole time.  We got some amazing views at the Lookout and had fun eating lunch on the deck of the lookout.  We also saw a mountain goat when we were just about back to the truck.  It was no bear, but still pretty cool.  We then finished our drive to the cabin.  

Saturday we spent a good part of the day at the beach and lake.  We played football, paddle boarded, built sand castles and threw the frisbee to our hearts content.  After the beach we hit up My Father's Place for hamburgers, fries and a milkshake.  The wait may have been long, but it is always worth it. We spent the evening hanging at the cabin with family.

Sunday we went to church, which is always packed on holiday weekends.  We got there early and got some soft seats.  We fixed and ate our usual Sunday brunch and then spent the afternoon playing yard games and having a fire and eating s'mores. 

On Monday it was time for hike number two of the weekend to Box Lake.  Again another hike we have been wanting to do for a while, but were waiting for the kids to be ready for it.  It was another 6 mile hike and was pretty steep.  The kids did great, I think they even preferred this hike to the last because once we got there, it was just downhill coming back.  Beautiful views yet again and always a fun way to spend time together as a family. When we got back to the cabin we packed up and cleaned up and drove back home.

Tuesday morning, after a quick ride on my new bike, we rode our bikes to the parade.  Luckily Craig went and set up chairs the night before because it was crazy busy.  Brian and Brooke's family and Pops met us at the parade.  As always, the city of Star knows how to party.  The parade was fantastic.  The kids got a ton of candy, frisbees, otter pops, beach balls, etc.  After the parade Craig, Brian and Pops went and played a quick 9 holes of golf and then we met them up at Stan and Diane's house to swim and BBQ.  After we were swam out, we headed home got showered and then headed to  watch the fireworks.  McKay managed to stay awake this year through the fireworks and Pops even joined us.  It was a late night, but well worth it.  We had such a wonderful 4th of July and love celebrating our country that we are so lucky to live in.  It was a lot of fun to talk to the kids about why there needed to be a country that could have freedom of religion and how Heavenly Father had it all planned out.