Camp Unlucky

The first camping trip as a family we had this summer was on the first day of August. We went to Williams Lake, which is a mere 10 miles from our house. We left on Monday afternoon, and we planned on returning Tuesday late afternoon. We thought since it was a weekday nobody would be there and we'd have the campground to ourselves. When we arrived, it appeared that we did have it to ourselves, and we were glad! But, after we set up camp in our favorite spot, we realized we weren't alone: there was a Young Women's camp on the other end of the campground. Since our camp spot was the closest one to the bathroom, we constantly saw all the young women and their leaders walking past to go to use the facilities!

I was so happy to finally be camping! I'd craved it all summer long! I'd brought along a book to start, and so did Josh. We both like sitting and reading and doing a whole lot of nothing when we go camping! I began reading "The Kite Runner" and he started "Lonesome Dove". The boys brought their bikes, and they rode around the campground on them, and they hiked all over the surrounding rocks, too.

I was banking on it being a very relaxing camping trip, but it ended up not turning out the way I had planned. Last August when we went camping there at the exact same place, Ammon had just cut his fingers in the lawnmower the day before, and while we were there, the boys smashed Kanyon's finger and his entire fingernail fell off. There were lots of tears last year...

Well, within minutes of setting up camp this year, and Josh and I sitting down to read a book, Kanyon crashed on his bike. He'd scabbed his face the previous day in a scooter accident, and when he crashed his bike, his face hit the ground, and his wounds bled all over again.

We cleaned up the bloody wounds, and he sat by Josh for a while (in a safe place) as the other boys continued riding their bikes.

I made Tin Foil dinners with carrots, potatoes, and onions from our garden and added some hamburger. Josh cooked them over the coals, and they were SOOO delicious!

Then the boys experimented with combining hiking in the rocks with riding their bikes: they took their bikes up on the rocks, and tried driving them down the hillside!

It didn't work out as well as they expected, and they stopped doing it--because dragging those heavy bikes up the hillside just wasn't worth the result! So, the boys all decided to act silly instead! I just love these funny photos:

It started cooling down, so Josh made us a fire while the boys rode around some more on their bikes. And that's when accident number 2 happened: Micah fell while riding his bike and hurt his knee.

We sat around the warm campfire, and gave the bikes a rest for a while. Then Josh's parents and brother Malachi drove up to visit. They brought us cupcakes, and the boys played night games with Malachi until it was time for bed.

The next morning, we got up and had breakfast, and we were planning on going to the lake mid-morning. But, unfortunately, we never made it. Accident #3 happened not too long after breakfast. Ammon crashed on his bike, and part of his skin ripped open, and it was wide enough that we knew he needed to see a doctor. So, we packed up camp in a jiffy, drove down off the mountain, and as soon as we made it to cell service, I called and made an appointment for him. His wound was glued shut a couple hours later.

We didn't even make it a full 24 hours on our first camping trip! I was disappointed about that. But I was still glad that we'd made the time to go camping together, regardless of what the outcome was! Next time we go camping there, we will be prepared with a team of doctors!!! ;)