Camping with Kids

We took our first camping trip with the kids. We'd put this off for years, driven by dread and laziness. Camping was one of the last remaining pre-kid experiences we'd left unsullied. How's that for a bad attitude? Finally, this year, our desire to sleep out under the stars outweighed our hesitancy to take the kids camping. We took the plunge. It was everything we expected and more.

The campground had only walk-in tent sites, all along the beautiful Metolius River. It was a perfect, quiet, safe setting. We lugged our gear down the trail to the campsite and got set up. Navelle was nervous about being eaten by a bear and did a lot of whining but soon she settled into camp life. We spent the warm afternoon playing in the river.

 

Navelle did her version of fishing, which is a lot like thrashing the water with a stick.

 

Our first night in the tent involved a lot of crying (Arthur) a lot of squirming (Navelle) and very little sleep (all).  We started out in separate sleeping bags, evenly distributed across the tent floor, but by the middle of the night everyone was jammed into one sleeping bag. The wakefulness presented an opportunity for us to hear the coyotes and the owls calling at night. In the morning light, Gabe and I looked at each other, fuzzy-eyed and exhausted, while Navelle loudly and emphatically announced that she loved camping and sleeping in a tent.
The morning was chilly. Gabe made us pancakes and hot tea.

The heat returned by midday so we spent more time in the river. We ate a watermelon for quick refreshment. Arthur had to be thoroughly rinsed afterwards.

 A bath in the woods, in the dishpan.

Just before dusk, Gabe tried fishing. It's a tricky river to fish, but he enjoys throwing in a line anyway.

 Navelle caught a stonefly (there were lots of them flying about) and wanted Gabe to use it for bait.

 the camping kids in a quieter moment