Joe and I went camping once when we were dating (ha ha ha) and that is a story in itself, but last year, when Collin was 1, we decided to get a big ole tent and some camping gear to try to go camping more. We went up in the Shenandoah Mountains, and it was a nightmare, he wasn't ready and cried most of the night :) Wasn't sure if we were ever going to go again, but I worked with him over the past year to not have to have his own room and complete silence to go to bed. This made this year's camping trip much easier!
We debated where to go camping, Enchanted Rock or Colorado Bend State Park and the latter won because the pictures looked better :) We were one of the only people staying and no one was around us. We brought Belle, too. She scared off the deer when we first got there, but was well behaved otherwise! She has been coming along well in her on and off training :)
We set up camp and it was just up from a river in a canyon area. Very nice setting. The days are still very hot here in Texas, but the nights cool down into the 60's so that was bearable. Joe put up our gigantic tent while I dragged all the stuff down from the car.
After camp was setup, we went for a hike! We wanted to do the waterfall hike, but were told it was only trickling. It is a pretty long hike, so we are saving it for when it will be more of a waterfall to view. The state park rangers told us about some fresh water spring ponds that were on a hike and we decided to go check them out. They said it was only like 1/2 to them, but it was more like 1 mile + and carrying two kids, by the time we were done, it felt more like 10 miles instead of 2!
The trail was along the river most of the way. The kids called the cactus we passed "pokies" and we saw an Armadillo. We weren't sure what it was at first, so we sent daddy to investigate :) Once we got to the pond, we were surprised they were green :/ But they were teeming with life. Little fish and big fish and who knows what else. they flowed from one area to another down rock like cliffs and the kids had a ball climbing through the water and trying to catch fish and slipping on the slippery rocks/silt. Mommy and daddy on the other hand (at least mommy) was freaking out about them slipping and hurting themselves or into the deeper water :) They were all wet and we sat down for a snack and a drink before heading back.
When we got back to camp, we were physically tired, but it wasn't quite dinner time yet. So we all headed down to the river area to do a little exploring. Again, there were a bunch of fish of all sizes, little water snails and TONS of little frogs! I caught one for the kids to see up close and personal. We walked up and down the water's edge looking for things. I have to say, I enjoyed this a lot and reminded me of some childhood memories :) We headed back up to camp for dinner.
Dinner was pretty basic. We weren't allowed to have any flames of any sort since it has been so dry and hot here in Texas. So we just had some sandwiches and chips. We then went and used the potty's (gross) and got ready for bed. We brought the Ipad and watched Rio (for the umpteenth time). Once it was dark, the kids were out, like light bulbs. It was fantastic until...
Raccoons. We didn't take our garbage up to the dumpster, but hung it in the tree. Ugh, that was a mistake. The darn raccoons were at it all night waking Joe and I up every 20 mins at night. After that, the deer came to see what they were up to and then the rascally raccoons started to go for our cooler. Not sure why Belle never barked at any of them. Maybe she knew she wasn't suppose to?
In the morning, (mommy didn't want to wake up) Alana was the first up, followed by daddy and then Collin. Amazing that Collin wasn't first! We had muffins and donut holes, backed up and loaded up the car because we had a pool party to get to that afternoon.
So it was a good time! We learned something new...throw away your trash BEFORE bed :) We are excited to go again soon. So glad the kids enjoyed it so much. Just hoping I get a little more sleep next time.
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