First Camping Trip Ever

Preface: This post was written on 8/6/13. The next day I was admitted to the U of U's ICU. I just barely found this post today-2 years later.  

Since Heidi Anne has been about 2 years old we've gone on a little trip around her birthday. We've gone to the Grand Tetons, Bryce Canyon, and this year we spent the night in the Cache Forest at Bear Lake. This was the very first time we went camping as a family. I got some great advice from my friend, Valerie, what camp site, activities, or just some general tips. 

We decided to take it easy with camping. This was Heidi Anne's first camping trip and our first one since we're been married. Because I'm me and on top of that I was feeling unwell. But this was her birthday wish.

Char got a gift card from work. He had a great idea of we'd all go out to eat a good  lunch. That way if something bad happened to the camping food we wouldn't be as cranky. After our fun lunch we heading up the canyon. Heidi Anne promptly helped out. She would bring out some of the supplies from the car, didn't get under foot very much. But that could have been her "job" was to bring out some firewood. 

While we made our chicken dinner in a dutch over Heidi Anne kept herself busy by playing with blocks of wood and sticks. Heidi Anne and I would go and explore the surrounding forest right around our camp site while Char kept an eye on dinner. 

After our yummy dinner we played different card games. Then all three of us went on a longer walk through the whole camp site. The whole day she talked about how excited she was to have her first camping trip, What she wanted more than anything was to see the stars. Once twilight came Char brought out the the fixings for our s'mores while the stars slowly made their appearance. We did learn that Heidi Anne loves roasting marshmallows, but isn't keen on eating them. She ended up eating a deconstructed s'mores. How she loved all the bright clear stars! 

We then spent the coldest night of our lives! We didn't pack nearly enough blankets nor did we have any foam barriers to protect us from the bumpy rocks. On the bright side, she loved getting up to see the sunrise!

Epilogue: My friend Valerie now has her own blog about traveling at: http://www.51centadventures.com (I can't make it hyperlink!!)