I always look forward to the first camping trip of the season, and this year it was no exception. The first weekend of April, we cleaned out the camping trailer in preparation for going. On Saturday morning, as we listened to morning General Conference, we packed up some food and clothes, and then at lunch time we headed up to the mountains for an overnighter. The relaxation that camping provides was badly needed, and I was so happy to spend some downtime with my family.
We went to Williams Lake Campground, which is about 10 miles from our house. This was the first time we'd taken our new truck, and it pulled the camper uphill nicely. This was also the first time that Ammon opted to ride his motorbike to our destination instead of ride in the truck with us.
After we arrived at the campground, we discovered we were the only ones there. We love it when that happens! Ammon set up his tent, and the boys started riding their bikes all over the trails and rocks!
The weather began to get cool and overcast, so Josh built a fire with sticks and kindling and dry grass. Then he had the boys each try to see if they could start the fire--and gave them all only 3 matches.
It was funny watching them get so intensely focused on their little competition of who could light it. Jonah almost got it going, but the others were unsuccessful. So Josh got out 3 matches himself, and lit the fire the old-fashioned boy scout way without a lighter!
Every time we go camping, and the fire is going, the boys try to find surrounding fuel for it. We always bring firewood from our supply at home when we go camping, but they find it exciting to hunt for broken branches and dead limbs and they delight in stoking the fire themselves. On the hunt for extra firewood this time, Micah found a very long treasure!
They also think it's adventurous to burn different materials and watch how they flame up or melt or explode. Instead of throwing items away (like wrappers & containers), they always experiment with sticking them over the open flame. After the fire got going this time, they were pulling items out of the garbage can that was at our camping spot that other people had thrown away! Jonah is burning one such garbage item here...
The rain came that afternoon, and we piled into the trailer and played several rounds of card games. We all played Uno, and then SkipBo. Then the younger boys played the card version game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. And while they did that, Ammon & I re-taught Josh how to play Phase 10. The only time I like to play Phase 10 is when we're camping because it takes SOOO long. I learned how to play it as a teenager at Young Women's Camp and I've decided it's the perfect camping card game. We ended up playing 2 or 3 times, and it was very fun and competitive! And then as soon as the storm passed, we were right back outside again. The boys played on all the big nearby rocks and rode their bikes, Josh read his newspaper, I read a book, and Ammon drove his motorcycle around.
That night for dinner, we ate the BEST Grilled Cheese Sandwiches of my life! We were supposed to have grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, but by the time we arrived at the campground and set up camp, neither Josh nor I felt like cooking. So we all ate junky snack food until dinner time. For dinner, the plan had been to eat steaks. So, Josh got out the little camping grill, and started grilling the steaks. But I was hungry for more than just that, so I decided we should have grilled cheese sandwiches, too. I got all the materials out, and prepared the sandwiches, and then he put them on the grill next to the cooking steaks. Josh had perfectly seasoned the steaks, and when they were done grilling, they were extremely moist, and I thought they would go well with the crispy, cheesy sandwiches. So, I pulled open my cooked sandwich, and placed cut-up pieces of steak onto it. It was the perfect marriage of flavors and textures. The bread was crispy, the cheese was soft and gooey, and the steak was moist and flavorful. Mmmmm. My mouth is watering even now just remembering it. I recommended to the others that they try it too, but the kids preferred to eat their steak and sandwiches separately. Josh was hesitant at first, but he eventually tried it too, and he felt the same way about it as me.
We cooked marshmallows and starbursts over the fire that night before retiring to the trailer for sleep. Ammon tried to convince his brothers to join him sleeping in the tent, but none of them could be coerced! We tried to convince him to join us in the warm trailer, but he was stubborn about sleeping on his own.
The next morning, we had breakfast, played around and relaxed for a bit before packing up the trailer and heading back home. On the drive back down the mountain, we had a beautiful surprise of finding a herd of Mountain Sheep on and along the road by the river!
There's 4 of them pictured here.
Aren't they such beautiful animals?!
Our 24-hour first camping trip of the season provided me all the respite that I was looking forward to and needed. I just love camping with my family!
1 comment:
Awesome. We also had our first family campout recently. It is such a great, affordable way to get in quality family time that everyone loves.
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