In the Great Outdoors

The Chang family went camping!  Tom had vacation time at the beginning of August.  We didn't have any plans and despite our reputation for wanderlust, we have had lots of "staycations" this year.  We decided to venture out for a long weekend and try our hand at family camping.  The August temperatures were hovering over 100 degrees, but Tom was able to secure an air-conditioned cabin at Martin Creek Lake State Park.  We did rent a tent from REI but it was only pitched once - in our living room.  It was just too hot to even think about erecting and crawling into a tent.

After making several grocery shopping trips, writing a long list of supplies, packing up coolers and suitcases,  and loading the car, we headed east on our adventure.  We left after lunch, so the kids slept most of the way there.  Once we arrived and unloaded, Tom cooked dinner on the charcoal grill - bison hot dogs!  Meanwhile, the kids and I went exploring and enjoyed a quick hike in the woods as well as a few minutes of play on the playground.  We tried to enjoy our dinner outside, but the heat and even more so, the flies drove us inside.

Our little cabin had just 3 rooms - the living/dining area, a galley kitchen and a bedroom with two double beds.  The kids were excited to share a double bed but that excitement translated into no sleep.  We struggled to get them to settle down but it was after 10 before each child drifted off and Libby actually ended up in our bed with us.

We awoke the next morning, had breakfast, and set out on our first family hiking experience.  There was just one wooded trail in the park, which was a little over a mile long.  We started off well.  The kids did a pretty good job, except for the fact that Tom had to carry Libby a good amount.  We all enjoyed the hike, except for the few minutes toward the end, when we couldn't find the trailhead and thought we may be lost in the woods.

After hiking, Tom prepared to cook lunch in the fire pit.  We taught the kids to roast marshmallows.  They didn't enjoy eating more than a few, but Caedmon roasted a whole bag of them.  They also enjoyed just playing in the dirt and exploring nature.  We dined on chicken legs and bratwurst.

 It was so hot that after nap time we spent the rest of the day indoors.  Unfortunately, one of our coolers did not stay cold so we lost a lot of our food and ended up having pancakes for dinner.  The kids, once again, struggled to settle down and go to sleep.  Caedmon tried but Libby kept distracting him.  At one point, Caedmon even prayed about that, "Dear Jesus, please help Libby to stop distracting me so we can both go to sleep!."  The kids did make it all night in the same bed, which was a blessing to Tom and I.  However, because of the heat, spoiled food and sleeping challenge, we opted to end our camping adventure a day early.  So, after a short morning hike, we packed up and headed home to the comfort of our own beds.

We all had a great time and can't wait to do it again...in cooler weather, of course!