We woke up Monday morning having had a surprisingly decent night’s sleep doing our first family overnight in a tent. The kids slept really well, and while we grown ups were maybe a bit stiff from sleeping on slim inflatable pads, we were none worse the wear.
It was a beautiful, crisp morning and waking up this kind of view is not too shabby.
At the campsite, the kids explored some more while I made a nice skillet scramble.
Henry didn’t finish his toast, but our friendly neighborhood chipmunk finished it for him when his back was turned.
After breakfast, we took down the camp and loaded the car back up. Our original intention had been to get up super early and drive over to nearby Bear Lake for a nice little hike. Word was that the parking lot fills up early.
But the gravity of a leisurely morning kept us from getting moving all that quickly, and it was after 10am when we left the campsite. We drove in the direction of the lake, in spite of seeing signs saying the parking lot was full. We didn’t figure we’d get in, but hey, it’d be a pretty drive anyway.
Well, the parking gods were on our side becasue as we pulled up to the parking lot, and the attendant came to the car about to turn us away, as luck would have it a car backed out of a spot just ahead of us. Someone was leaving! We got the OK to head in, so we were able to hike around the lake.
It was beautiful. It’s a short hike, only about a half mile, and great for little kids. But the views are wonderful and it couldn’t have been a more perfect day out. I’m just going to throw in a bunch of pictures, because my babbling doesn’t do the scene much justice.
We had a lovely hike, and then set out to find a place for picnic lunch before heading back home. We found this great little spot along the river.
As Erin and I finished our lunches, the kids were laughing hysterically and having way too much fun kicking dirt on each other. It reminded me of a baseball player kicking dirt on an ump.
Hey, whatever is fun, far be it from me to judge. With a nice lunch inside and a solid layer of dirt outside, we loaded up and headed home. Once back, we took the kids right to bath and shower, no questions asked, do not pass go. But I’d say watching on the grit and grime go down the drain was a perfect indicator of what was a really great first camping trip for the Schneider family.
