Still catching up from Summer… my goal is to be all caught up by the end of October!!!
While Reagan was away on his 50 mile hike this summer we took the rest of the kids camping up at Red Fish Lake in the Sawtooth Mountains. We couldn’t let Reagan have all the fun. It was beautiful and fun and peaceful and unforgettable.
We did have a few small hiccups on our drive up. The first was not so much a hiccup as a really sad commentary on the dessert where we live or more likely the fact that we need to get our children outside more. In our defense, family outings are rather painful at our house so we don’t do them as often as we should. As we drove up into the mountains Liberty asked, “Mom, is this a forest?” Mom: “Yes”. Libby again: “Oh, at first I thought it was just a big tree farm.”
Before the drive up I had stashed the DWWWDOC in the glove compartment of our trusty minivan for use at some point down the road. For those of you not familiar with modern day car travel that acronym stands for Devices With Which We Drug Our Children more commonly known as ipods. After a pleasant first hour drive I went to pull them out, but the glove compartment wouldn’t open. I pulled and yanked but it wouldn’t budge. Finally we had to pull over so Rock could try. The kids got to enjoy some dangerous scenic overlooks while we wrestled with the door. I could have sworn I took a picture of them dangling themselves over the cliff while their father and I tried to save the devices, but I guess not. We did finally get it open but not without breaking it. It would no longer close, but hung open on my legs the entire rest of the trip.
The next hiccup was more like an upchuck. Libby got car sick. Luckily her mother is uber prepared and whipped out a ziplock back for her to be sick in so we had no messes to deal with. Handy things, those ziplock bags. Just think what MacGuyver could have done if he’d had those in the 80s?! Libby managed to recover, but only after a good sleep.
In Stanley we stopped at the gas station where I realized that I had remembered the ziplocks and forgotten the sun screen. DO NOT EVER BUY SUNSCREEN IN STANLEY, IDAHO. Unless you want to mortgage your home and all your possessions away. Ugh. I seriously had a debate with myself at the register when the nice little attendant told me how much it would cost. $10.00!!!!! For sunscreen!!! “Hmm, skin cancer or my life’s savings, what to do…” I decided to buy it and frame it when I got home as a monument to modern day capitalism as its finest.
We arrived at our campsite only to find that we could not park in our actual the campsite, something I was greatly perturbed by, I must say. What kind of car camping is it if you can’t back your car right into the site so that everything you need is within 12 feet of you at all times!!!?? On the bright side, Cade got to get in a little practice for the Trek next year!
The rest of our campout went swimmingly. The kids loved the gigantic rock right near our campsite. I was not as thrilled by it’s mammoth size, but that only added to their pleasure. They had a great time climbing to the top over and over.
Levi is on the left.
Liberty found her own size rock to read on.
Dad joined her for little while.
The kids discovered that the campground was covered with chipmunks and this became their fascination for the rest of the trip. They chased them all over the place. Trying to get a few on camera was pretty tough. They are fast little suckers. I took twenty just to get these three.
How many can you see?
After setting up camp we headed to the lake for a very cold swim.
They had the most amazing ice cream at Red Fish Lodge. It’s worth the 3.5 hour drive just for that!
More exploring before dinner.
We roasted marshmallows and smores, read Harry Potter by the fire. Good times!
And I actually SLEPT for the first time since camping as a kid! I brought an air mattress and ear plugs and that did the trick! I could do this again!
Nothing is better than a camping breakfast. I don’t know if it’s the hot chocolate or the pancakes cooked in bacon grease, but it’s heavenly. It’s my favorite part of camping.
When we went to get our food out of the bear box that morning I found this little moth. But just barely, can you spot him?
The kids explored till their hearts content all morning . We found a beautiful little alcove that was so quiet and peaceful. Nobody was there. Still can’t figure that out, but I was grateful.
Cade in Contemplation
This was such a wonderful trip. The kids got to swim, climb, explore. It was a little slice of heaven.
Short n Sweet 
I can't believe how big Liberty is she is a little girl and not a baby! Also, I think you are making it up that there is a moth in that one picture!
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