We weren't planning to do much of a vacation this year (or one at all) after our epic summer last year of Disney World and a cruise. But then we had some long distance friends ask if we wanted to go camping in Colorado with them. We almost said yes, and then almost said no, and finally said yes.
And we're so glad we did.
We put the kids in the car at 4am to get on the road. Our friends had gone the day before so we wanted to get there fast.
There is just something about the view of the mountains after traveling through the flat flat state that we live in.
I couldn't help but think of these lyrics...
"Mountains bow down and the seas will roar,
at the sound of Your name.
I sing for joy at the work of your hands."
Seeing the mountains with our kids for the first time brought a renewed awe and wonder of His amazing creation. Although I had been a bit nervous about the "roughness" of this camping trip, as we approached the mountains, I felt a sense of peace to just be smack dab in the middle of all of the beauty.
We had no idea where we'd be camping. We just knew we were headed to the Grandby/Grand Lake area. Our friends picked the spot and we had been told it may not be a campground. Now, I'd say we are pretty good campers. All 3 of our kids have camped since babies with us in Winfield for the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival, but we've been in a camper ever since we added children to the mix. We've tent camped with Taylor and Mason at a local lake. And I grew up tent camping with my family. But always in campgrounds. You know, a bathroom a short walk away, even showers sometimes, water hookups, other people in the vicinity.
So we were a little anxious to find out where we'd actually be for the weekend.
We were given an intersection that our friend would meet us and take us to our spot.
It was not a campground. We were pretty much just on the side of a mountain.
Ya know, with black bears on all sides of us.
But it was pure beauty.
I couldn't stop taking pictures.
This was our view from camp.
It was the absolute best that our kids had 2 others kiddos, who they had just met for the first time, to play with the entire time. Pretty sure they all had the time of their life. Mason may even tell you it was better than Disney World.
One of my favorite parts of camping is the food.
Oh yeah, that clean eating challenge I'm in? I'll try to tell you about how I balanced all of that later.
But for now, I'll just tell you about the yummy chili and cinnamon rolls.
And this harvest skillet dinner which has become one of our go-to camp dinners.
Mornings consisted of hot chocolate, a skillet full of eggs, sausage and hashbrowns, pancakes and sausage cooked over the fire.
And of course we indulged in the camping must.
We weren't at camp all that much. Our days were full of adventure. But when we were, there were kids constantly exploring, playing in dirt, doing gymnastics on the logs, whittling sticks and tending to the fire.
Gavin is obsessed with this silly Mickey Mouse hat. We got it at Disney World because Mason lost his sunglasses. We didn't want the hat, we just wanted the sunglasses that were attached to it. Mason wouldn't be caught dead in this hat.
But his brother thinks it's the most awesome hat ever.
Mason was in his own world getting to poke sticks into the fire and using his knife to whittle.
We slept in 3 layers of clothes and covered up with sleeping bags and extra blankets.
The first night it got down into the 30's. It was so cold I couldn't move. I laid awake at night worrying so much about the kids getting cold. But they never woke up once during the night, the entire trip. Awesomeness.
Be ready for picture overload as I show you our adventures next. It's really hard to stop taking pictures when you're in such a beautiful place.
No comments:
Post a Comment