I decided to record Saturday, Marcy 19, 2016. This past weekend was our first of many (we hope) camping weekends. Since I'm a complete and total novice I thought it'd be fun to share our experience. This weekend it was J, the Tornado (6), Paul (18) myself, and J's brother (Matt) and wife (Julie), and a 4 month old Miniature Pinscher puppy.
6:38 - First morning waking up in a tent. I'm actually pretty comfortable. We had decided kind of at the last minute to get a camping air mattress and it was definitely the right decision. J gets up and leaves the tent and I pull the Tornado into the sleeping bag with me. He is absolutely sound asleep.
7:16 - I manage to get up and get dressed
7:21 - I leave the tent and the temperature isn't too bad. J and Matt got the fire going and J got the coffee going. Drink some coffee and head to the bath house.
8:04 - I have drunk my coffee and I'm as clean as I'm going to get. I check on the Tornado and he is still sound asleep.
9:07 - We've been collecting and cutting up firewood because it's cold (low 50s) and the 2 bags we bought are completely gone. We've started working on breakfast which is going to be biscuits in a cast iron skillet and bacon. The biscuits get burnt a bit on the bottom but everything works out pretty tasty.
9:30 - The Tornado decides to get up and we eat breakfast.
10:00 - We have to take Paul back down to his car off the mountain. We all load up in one of the cars and they drop the Tornado, Julie, me, and the puppy off at the playground. The Tornado plays on the playground with some other kids and Julie and I play with the puppy. After awhile we go walk around the playground and picnic area and look around
12:00 - Matt and J are back and we head back to the campsite. We clean up from breakfast and make sandwiches and stuff for lunch. We sit and talk about the evening. The low for tonight has fallen for 39 and we're starting to get concerned that might be just too cold. Especially considering we aren't that far away from home. We decide to play it by ear.
1:00 - We make S'mores! How did I forget how amazing smore's were?
2:06 - J, Julie, the Tornado, the puppy and I go hiking and up to the overlook.
3:24 - We go back to the campsite for caffeine and sugar and then back to the playground. This time it's just J, the Tornado and me and we have a nice time. The playground here is huge and in a gorgeous area. I'm not sure all state parks will have something like this but it'd be great if they did!
4:30 - We head back to the campsite to start dinner. Tonight is steak, grilled potatoes and onions in this little foil packet topped with cheese, and grilled tomatoes. The Tornado plays with the puppy
7:00 - We sit down to eat. We're all starting to look a little haggard and I start shivering uncontrollably. It's 48 and the wind is constant which ends up feeling way colder than it sounds. We decide to call it a night after we finish eating.
7:30 - Start loading up the car with stuff we don't want to lose, put up all the loose items, and make sure all the food is packed away. We say goodbye and leave. They head off to their house and the 3 of us head to ours though we do stop for McDonald's on the way home. The Tornado is starving and J and I agree that a McFlurry doesn't sound to bad.
8:30 - We are home. J unloads the car, I get the Tornado situated with his hashbrowns and then I head up to hopefully wash away some of the campfire smell!
9:45 - We are all clean and warm and headed to bed. I'm flat out exhausted.
What I learned:
I actually really enjoy camping - especially when we mixed in some hiking
S'mores are amazing and I should have them more often
Wear sunscreen and put some on the Tornado. We both got a little scorched
The air mattress may be wimpy but it's completely worth it. I was so comfortable and slept really well Friday night. It was worth every penny - and it wasn't that expensive.
We're actually planning our next trip though we're going to wait until it gets a little warmer. We've discovered that low 50s is really the lowest we want to go.
So that's my day! Any campers out there? If so how do you get the campfire smell out of clothes? I'm beginning to despair on a few items. Should I just Febreze the crap out of them and call it a day or is there a better method?
Be sure to stop by Trish's and check out everyone else's day!
Fun post! Sounds like you guys had a great time and a nice area too. It is nice to eat around a campfire and just hang out- the pace seems slower. And s'mores! Although sometimes I skip the marshmallow and just eat the candy bar w/ the graham cracker- it's pretty good! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you shared your camping experience with us. Sounds like you guys had a great time and I'm sure that air mattress was better than the ground. LOL
ReplyDeleteS'mores - who doesn't love them - all sticky and chocolate-y and messy - yum! Even low 50's would be a little cold for me, but then I've said that I'm more of a 5-star hotel kind of camper. My family did a little bit of it, but it wasn't all that fun as I remember. Church camp and bunks is about as rustic as I've ever been able to stand. ;-)
Fun post, Katherine! I love being outdoors and hiking and all that goes with it, but not the camping part so much. Just so much effort, I guess I'm getting cranky about it, but when the kids started talking about it recently I told them to plan it with hubs and I'd stay home. Maybe your accommodations were better? We've done camping where you get a cold water pump and an outhouse and a fire pit, lol. I'd prefer a cabin :)
ReplyDeleteThe puppy is so cute! And I'm glad Tornado had fun. I thought he would-- all kids seem to take to camping well... because it's the moms who have to stress over washing up, cooking outside, packing up, etc.
Glad you shared your weekend with us!
I'm more of a camping next to the car type of person (tent or trailer), but this sounds like a fun trip. In fact, I'm rather jealous. I need to go camping more often.
ReplyDeleteYour day sounded amazing, although I haven't done any camping in many years. I loved it back then, but I'm thinking it's not really my cup of tea now. LOL.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
I'm so glad you shared this day with us, Katherine! What fun! I mentioned to you before about my parents' refusing to let us use an air mattress when we went tent camping as I was growing up. My parents actually did end up getting one after my brother and I were grown and no longer going on the camping trips with them. We'd go camping every spring and summer. My dad loved camping. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the photos you shared. Sounds like such a fun time. My favorite camping spot was always the mountains. I loved to wander off by myself and go on hikes.
I'm with you on the s'mores! Every time I make them I think "why did I wait so long to make these again?" And yes the air mattress is a total requirement when I camp. Otherwise, no matter how well I think I cleared the ground under my tent, I end up tossing & turning with the tiniest little stick or pebble under my sleeping bag.
ReplyDeleteOoh I love the idea of recording a day OUT of the ordinary like this! Awesome.
ReplyDeleteLove how you call the kiddo The Tornado. Yep, that's about right! OMG I love your site name!! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great trip you had. My brother and SIL love to go camping. We only went once w/them before they started having kids. They invited us for this year but it was a bit last minute and I told my SIL since her BIL is still healing his foot, we need to focus on that and wait for next year.
ReplyDeleteSmores! I used to camp as a child with my family every summer and as a teen I camped alot with my friends. As a teen we did many spring and fall trips, and more than once had to get up in the middle of the night to start a fire to keep warm. Once it even snowed! You are smart; if I were to camp now I would wait for warmer weather, too. It is great that you have decided to go again. It is good for the soul to commune with nature, and I think it also makes us appreciate your home conveniences too. Ha ha. This was a great post.
ReplyDeleteI really like camping (wouldn't go so far as to say love) but we don't do it very often. I grew up in Washington/Oregon and there are mountains and pine tree forests, so camping now in the Nevada Desert is a different experience--still fun tho. And yes, how doesn't love s'mores?! Great Day--this is so much fun!
ReplyDeleteI love camping and an air mattress is a must, I used to use an old futon mattress sometimes. When thing start to be cold/rainy/not fun it is definitely time to throw in the towel.
ReplyDeleteI usually just hang my campfire-y clothes on the clothesline for a day or so and the smell usually goes away.
I haven't camped since I was a girl. Not sure if I could do it now unless I was in a deluxe motor home with all the bells and whistles. Waiting for warmer weather is a good idea.
ReplyDeleteAll that fresh air can sure make a Tornado sleep, can't it?! I do like to camp but it's so much work to get everything ready to go, then unpack then pack back up then come home and get it all put away again. It has to be a nice weekend before I'm willing to go to that much work. Those campfires may put out a lot of heat but not enough to keep you really warm when it's cold. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fun post and I love the pictures. It sounds like your first camping trip was a success. It's fun to get away and you can't go wrong with s'mores.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good time camping. I used to go all the time, but have gone less frequently the past couple of years. Your puppy is soooooooooo adorable!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a camper, but I enjoyed going on this trip vicariously with you! It sounds like you all had a fun expedition in the Great Outdoors!
ReplyDeleteSuch a fun post. I applaud you a "camping mom". We tried it once before we had kids and I said, "not, thanks motels only for me".
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun day! My husband and I love to go camping too. But I am all about the air mattress, we never camp without it.
ReplyDeleteWe are wimps. Once we had kids we decided that camping in a camper is the way to go. I actually really like tent camping (YES with a mattress!), but our tent is rather small...it just fits the mattress. I don't blame you for heading home, though. We did Yellowstone once and the last night we woke up to frost. We had each other's warmth, but if we had been alone like Tornado, it would have been really chilly.
ReplyDeleteThe smell. Ugh. Hate campfire smell after the fact. For coats and such maybe it just fades? Though I think we're usually just wearing sweatshirts that can be thrown in the wash. You have me itching to go camping! The girls and I have been begging Scott but he's not too keen to go with the babe. Sigh.
What a fun day! I have been camping just a few times but always with people who know what they are doing. I have no idea what I am doing on most days. My husband and I are totally not sleep in a tent type people at this point but I do wish that we did things like this sometimes. I definitely would not have been able to handle the cold.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post! I am not a camper - love being outdoors, but want a comfortable bed to sleep in at night. Hope it warms up before your next adventure in the great outdoors.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had fun! I haven't been camping since I was a kid, but I loved reading about your weekend.
ReplyDeleteOh fun! I'm not much of a camper. I have terrible allergies and sleeping in a tent makes me miserable. I like staying in cabins, and hiking and all of that though.
ReplyDeleteThe puppy is so adorable!!!!
ReplyDeleteI am not a friend of camping but I do like s'mores, I had some the last time I was at Disney over a camp fire and they were amazing!!
Great memories that you are making with your family! I camped a lot as a child, but don't like it so much as an adult. If I am going to camp....it will be with a camper! LOL! Thanks for sharing a glimpse into your day!
ReplyDeleteNot sure I will ever love camping...I like a nice hotel...but your adventure sounded like fun!
ReplyDeleteNothing as wonderful as camping! I adore sleeping outdoors and being media-free.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to say that sounded life fun, but I am a 5* resort type of girl. I don't mind getting dirty and all that. But I have never been in to camping. The few times I went in my younger years were mostly fueled by alcohol.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, you learned things. And you liked it minus the cold. So that's a win!
The whole time I was reading this I was thinking 'Where is the puppy picture', so your redeemed yourself in the end. lol I am not much for camping, but maybe one day! I enjoyed your post. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad yall had fun! I'm totally down with the smores and the puppy but the camping...eeeee on nature. lol
ReplyDelete