Though it was a short trip, we managed to squeeze in a camping trip before the summer slipped away. Ryan was very excited this year since he remembered our camping trip from last year and knew a bit more what to expect. He helped set up the tents and get the campsite ready, and he couldn't wait to make S'mores.
We camped on the banks of the Row River and within walking distance of Dorena Lake and the dam. We got to the campground on Thursday evening, so we didn't have much time to do more than set up camp and take a quick walk to the dam. To our surprise, Ryan wanted to sleep in the little tent by himself, and so I reluctantly let him. Since our air mattress went flat right after we went to bed, I didn't sleep more than five minutes and listened intently for noises in or near Ryan's tent two feet from me. (We bought a new mattress for the next night!)
After a breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, and hot chocolate, we headed out for a day of exploring the area while geocaching. Cottage Grove is the town near the campground, and it is known of it's covered bridges, so we saw quite a few of those. We also ran across a small airshow with vintage biplanes, so we stopped and looked at those for a while. That night we made S'mores, much to Ryan's delight. He doesn't even like marshmallows, so I didn't expect him to like them much. He did enjoy it, but asked for his next one to be without the marshmallows. He spent the night in the little tent again the second night!
We woke up and had cereal for breakfast, and then I took the kids to the camp playground for a bit while Daddy did some fishing. While we were there, Ryan and Abby made a friend in a little boy named Hunter. It turned out he was staying in the campsite right next to ours with his Grandma and Granpa, so we headed back to our campsites so they could play there for a while.
After lunch we headed out for more exploring, and we ended up at Cottage Grove Lake where we let the kids play in the water for a while. They had a blast splashing and floating and trying to swim in their life vests. We then went back to Dorena Lake and went for a beautiful walk on the path that goes all the way around the lake. Ryan was in a pout because he was getting tired of walking, so we headed back to the van. Both kids were a bit cranky so after dinner they pretty much went right to bed and fell asleep fairly quickly.
Ryan had a nightmare at a little after 4:00 am and we brought him into our tent for a few more hours. We got up, had some French Toast and bacon for breakfast, and then Daddy took them to the playground for a while and I began packing up the campsite.
Everyone was a little cranky, and it was time to go home. We had a good time, and it went better than last year. Maybe next time will be even better! We're already planning where we want to go next summer. We hope to take at least one longer trip to Crater Lake or some place that's a bit farther away and requires more time.
No comments:
Post a Comment