For weeks leading up to our big camping weekend, Clara has been excited and wanting to talk about it and prepare for it. Every night after her reading time, she would chat with Jason or me about camping. She knew that it was going to be very different from camping in the backyard... I don't know how, but she did. And as the days got closer, she just oozed excitment. The smile that stretched across her face was contagious as we put fresh batteries in her camera and loaded it up into her backpack. She helped me gather all sorts of things that we would need. And the whole while that she was anxious beyond containment... I was hiding my worries. My fear that Eli would not be a good camper... that we would come home covered in ticks... that we would get there and have forgotten something big (like the sleeping bags)... that Clara would get horribly carsick... that it would storm on us in our tents. I just had to keep telling myself it will be fine... it always turns out fine.
Sat. - Our drive was full of sightseeing... we stopped at just about every overlook on the way. The campsite was perfect, we set up the tents and then headed to a ranger-led program. The ranger led us on a short hike up to Blackrock summit, the highest point in Big Meadows (3,092 ft) for a beautiful view. Then it was time to get the fire going. More than 2 hours later, the fire was still not going. This, of course, made it extremely difficult to roast hot dogs and marshmallows, but we managed. That horrid fire will be a funny story in months and years to come, though. The kids got to bed quite late. Eli was so overtired that instead of falling fast asleep, he was laughing and climbing all over both Jason and me... until all of a sudden he was quiet and still.
Sun. - Lucas woke us up dark and early (5:40am) the next morning with a bathroom run... so we got an early start. A breakfast of eggs, bacon, fruit, and chocolate milk got us going strong. We started off with a nice long hike through the Big Meadow (in the early early morning... this area is a deer magnet). Clara and Lucas entertained themselves by climbing any tree or rock they saw along the way. After our hike, Clara and Lucas participated in a junior ranger program about insects. The ranger gave all the kids their own magnifying glass and told them to go hunt insects. Clara and Lucas absolutely loved it! Clara found ladybugs, frog hoppers, crickets, japanese beetles, and more butterflies than we could keep count. After lunch back at camp, we headed off for a hike to Dark Hollow Falls, which had an elevation change of 600 ft in less than a mile. Going down to the falls was easy, but climbing back up was very strenuous (Clara ended up with raw heels from her shoes... all the way up the mountain, she kept crying that her "heels were on fire"). After that, it was time to relax back at camp... with a much much better experience getting a fire going (thanks to scavenging for wood at empty campsites). Dinner and smores were done by 7pm! That gave us plenty of time before getting ready for bed to enjoy the show... of deer marching around and through the camp. This time, Eli gave out within 10 minutes of getting in the sleeping bag... he must have been worn out!!
Mon. - Eli woke up laughing! So... we were up at 6am and decided to wake Clara and Lucas to enjoy the sunrise at one of the beautiful vistas. Then we had breakfast at camp before packing up to head home. Before going home, Clara wanted to do one last hike... up to Hawksbill summit (the highest point in the entire park at 4,050 ft). So we did, Clara in her flip-flops (since she couldn't wear her other shoes), the trail had a 650 ft. elevation change in less than a mile. It was breathtaking. 
So I think I've highlighted the majority of our weekend... with the negatives being the fire that wouldn't burn, the kid that wouldn't sleep, the kid that got blisters on her feet, and the kid that came home with his eye nearly swollen shut (turned out to be a bug bite). What I have omitted thus far was that Lucas wandered off and we couldn't find him!! This happened at the very end of our weekend (actually on our way home, we stopped at the Skyland lodge to get a couple pictures). It was scary and infuriating and did I mention scary? I finally found him after what seemed like an eternity of looking. The reason that he wandered off... he was looking for a trash can!! Even after I found him he was still saying that he couldn't find a trash can!! The ironic part? There were trash cans right behind where Jason was sitting when he went looking. After I calmed down, I was (and still am) determined not to allow this to overshadow all the great moments we had, as they sometimes can. In fact, I'm ready to do it all again... well, maybe after I rest for a bit...
2 comments:
Oh man, I can't imagine losing a kid in a place like that! Thank goodness you found him fairly quickly.
I love your photos and am glad you had such a great trip.
Yeah... it was really scary! I assumed that he had gone down this one trail, but thought "no... he wouldn't have gone down a trail by himself"... i followed that trail twice, looked around the building once and sent Jason down a gravel path before I went down the trail a third time... followed it all the way to the end (running most of the way) to finally find him past the trail's end with some employees ACROSS the STREET! yeah... it was really scary. of course, this isn't the first time he's done something like this... i need to strap a leash to that boy!! like i said... it was bad, but i'm not letting that detract from the fact that we really had a great time!
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