The way it's supposed to be

We just spent 3 days and 2 nights camping in the woods and Big J declared that this is the way it is supposed to be. We slowed down and shut out the outside world. No phones ringing, no TV's, no computer, no one coming to the door. Not really paying any attention to the time. Just hanging out with your family, attending to the very basics, and just being. He mentioned how after the first night you can just feel your metabolism slowing down and it is a great feeling. I think he put it very well and he hit on exactly what makes us keep going camping again and again. We long to get back to that feeling.

This weekend was so enjoyable. When we arrived Friday afternoon and started setting up camp, we realized the tent was really musty and probably hadn't been cleaned properly last summer before being stored away. But we didn't let that spoil our mood. We set it up and staked it down and opened all the windows to let it air out. We weren't too surprised that the family of raccoons who'd made their next in an old tree about 100 yards behind the campsite last summer had moved on. I think the kids were actually sorry they weren't there and they kept looking for them. However, we made a new friend. There was a large black crow who kept flying from one tree to another, making a large circle around the various campsites probably looking for dropped bits of food. He entertained us around the campfire that first night and Little J declared, "Nevermore!" From that time on we named him Edgar Allen Crow. Whenever we'd return from a hike, my five year old would ask, "Where's Edgar?"

I already posted about the hikes we took, but I forgot to mention one other fun thing we did on our very first hike. There is a creek that runs through the park. Part of it runs through a canyon of rock that has been worn away from years and years of erosion. There is a beautiful waterfall and hundreds of rocks along the creek edge. We climbed down the stairs to the creekbed and the boys leapt from rock to rock balancing and trying (unsuccessfully) to keep dry. Big J and I were reminded of the old video game Frogger.

We had a good time around the campsite too. We had lots and lots of campfires and burned lots of firewood. I tried to teach the 5yo how to toast marshmallows without burning them, but I don't think 5yo's are able to toast without burning. ;-) We ate way too many smores. We shared a book of campfire poems and made up a few silly stories. When it was still light outside Little J used a sling shot to practice aiming gravel at some of the trees behind our campsite. There was also an area with lots of trees but little undergrowth that made a perfect play area for the other two boys. They started off by saying it was Endor (as in Star Wars) and a couple of sticks were their light sabers. But a little while later they switched to pretending to catch Pokemon and I guess they were in the Pokemon world back there. They spent lots of time back there which really helped me out when I was busy trying to cook a meal.

At night time we slept so peacefully in our tent. It was surprisingly warm enough for us to have the windows unzipped all night both nights. There is nothing like lying there at 6am looking out at the trees which are just starting to become visible as the sun begins to rise. The birds start coming to life all at once. Sleeping on the ground isn't as easy for me as it used to be and I have to use an air mattress. But I am determined that I'm not going to stop doing this until I absolutely have to. I took my medicines to minimize the pain. I woke up stiff and a little sore in the morning, but it was so pleasant otherwise that I didn't let the discomfort bother me. Up and at 'em and some instant coffee got me going pretty quick.

I think I have one more post in me about our eating habits while camping and how we handled the vegetarian thing. But I'll have to wait a little bit before I get to that post. I still need to unpack. Stay tuned to my next post...