Family Camping Trip to Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon is just a quick 30-minute drive down the road from us.  We'd never camped there before and decided to try it out.  The views and weather were perfect.  Since we were there on a Monday night-Tuesday morning, we practically had the place to ourselves, too.  There wasn't a perfect flat spot for the tent, but we made it work.   We were close to a bathroom and running water, too.  

Menu included:

Dinner--hot dogs, hamburgers, Pringles, carrots, grapes

Dessert--roasted Starburst candies and marshmallows (for s'mores)

Breakfast--pancakes, sausages, oranges  (we skipped the hot cocoa because it wasn't cold outside!)

We played a few rounds of the Great Dalmuti card game that night in the tent and went to bed.  There wasn't a lot of sleeping with the dogs sharing our tent, but all things considered, the dogs did okay, too, haha!  In the morning we ate breakfast, packed up, and went for a little hike in the area.  It was a blast!

We had a great time and enjoyed each other's company.  It was great to relax together and get away for a night!

Swadey Boy's Scout Campout by Swadey Boy

      We get to the church, pack everything into the truck and van, and go. In about an hour, we get there. It rains for about another hour before we get the tents set up. Then we mess around for two hours and have burgers and fruit for dinner. Then all the troops meet together and discuss fire, knife, and axe safety. After that we all go to sleep.
       We wake up and eat some breakfast. Then we all drive to a place where we can rappel, but it starts raining and thundering, so we cancel rappeling and hike back to our campsite. When we get back we eat lunch and go home.  :)

(Mom's note:  Wade is a heavy sleeper at campouts.  He was the last one out of his tent at this campout and the Father and Sons campout, haha!)

Chimney Creek camping trip

As soon as Wade got home from school on Friday, we piled into the truck and headed to Chimney Creek for a family overnighter campout.  The drive through Nine-Mile Canyon is a little crazy, and the dogs sure didn't like the bumpy road to the campsite, but once we got there, we had a fantastic time.  It was maybe an hour's drive, tops.  So close and such a change of scenery!

Chimney Creek was NOT crowded.  There was one other camper next to us, but we couldn't hear them at all (unfortunately they probably heard US a lot).  Normally when we've camped we have been surrounded by lots of other campers.  Maybe because this is a very rustic site (no water), it's not as popular.  We liked having the place to ourselves!  We brought water and firewood with us, and there was a "bathroom," so we did just fine.

Our camping menu included:

--hamburgers, chips, fruit, and veggies with dip for dinner

--campfire dessert was roasted Starburst and a different take on s'mores (put a roasted marshmallow between two Fudge Stripe cookies; I loved that it was less messy, but the family preferred the old-school version)

--For breakfast we had Smokies sausages, pancakes, and fruit.

We used the campfire to cook our desserts and used the wonderful RoadTrip grill to cook everything else.  Love that thing!!!

Rhiannon and Wade had a blast climbing the rocks around the campsite and taking TONS of pictures together.  We could hear them giggling and having a great time.  Wade got a small injury on his head from hitting a branch, but he was fine.

Probably one of our favorite things was the night sky, filled with stars.  The absolute stillness of the campsite sure added to the majestic atmosphere.  The only thing I heard besides ourselves was a couple of birds in the morning--it was THAT quiet.  It was fun playing card games in the tent at bedtime, too.

Camping with the dogs was interesting.  Overall, we think they did well.  It was ALL new to them, so they were hyper and edgy and on full alert the whole time, especially Oscar.  We probably need to camp with them more often so they chill out a bit!

If we did this campout all over again, the only things I'd change would be to bring more warm bedding for the dogs--it got pretty cold when the sun went down, and I'd pack bug spray!  We were fine once the sun went down, but the rest of the time there were lots of little pesky bugs flying around.

What a blast!  Hurray for family camping trips!

Many thanks to Rhiannon who took these wonderful pictures!

The dogs whimpered and whined most of the drive there.  They were FINE on the way home, though! :)

We're not in the desert anymore!

Thank you, Daddy, for the perfect campfires!

One of MANY sibling selfie shots taken up on the rocks

Dogs are a lot like toddlers on camping trips.  They are under foot and don't want you to be out of their sight for an instant, or they freak out.

Cute boy!

Watch Dogs

Trip Photographer--what a cutie!

Fun!  Loved camping with this girl!

Peace!

Hiking boot selfie

Yay!  We got Dad in a picture!

Rhiannon called this "Twinners."  Glad we could make memories together and have a great time camping at Chimney Creek!

Jason and Wade go on their second annual boys' backpacking trip

The first weekend in August Jason and Wade went on an over-nighter backpacking trip.  They had a great time together, had beautiful weather with a little rain, and, of course, took some amazing pictures!  

Wade says his favorite parts were taking a walk around the lake and dipping their tired feet into the lake.  Eating at the diner in Lone Pine on the way home was fun, too.

Thanks, Daddy, for this fun tradition!

The boys go backpacking!

To commemorate his hike to Mt Whitney with the Boy Scouts last summer, Jason took Wade on his first official, for-reals backpacking trip last weekend.  They had a great time hiking around Cottonwood Pass and camping out by Chicken Spring Lake.  Jason took some great pictures--enjoy!

Pics from our 2013 Spring Break Camping Trip

An hour north at Tuttle Creek campground--enjoy!

On the ride there--the kids were good sports about Oscar riding in the back with them.

 

 

Beautiful views!

 

Our campsite was clean and quiet, right next to the creek, and close the bathroom! :)  Check out Oscar's dog bed in the tent, ha-ha!

Having fun by the creek!

Good times!  I love that picture of Jason with the kids and Oscar!

 

Family Camping Trip

We had a FANTASTIC time this weekend on our family camping trip. Jason and I packed up for it on Friday while the kids were in school, and then we jumped in the truck as soon as the kids were both home that afternoon. I'll add details to this post tomorrow, but for now, enjoy the digital scrapbook of our fun times!

Free scrapbooking design personalized with Smilebox

The boys go backpacking

Jason and Wade went on a fun adventure last weekend.  Wade got to get out of school early to go on a backpacking overnighter with his dad and some other friends from Ridgecrest. 

THEY HAD A BLAST!!!!

And here are some great pictures to prove it:

I'm so happy they could get away for some "guy time"--they had so much fun and really enjoyed the group they were with, too.  Wade enjoyed all of it, planning, shopping, hiking, camping, eating, making new friends, and being with his dad!  Jason said he did a great job keeping up, too.

Stay tuned for some daddy-daughter awesomeness soon.  Rhiannon and her dad aren't sure what to do yet--movie, dinner, golf, shooting?  She asked her dad if he wanted to go shopping...but that didn't fly. :)  We'll have to wait and see what they come up with!