Monday, September 21, 2009

A camping we will go.

On a whim, we decided to go camping on Saturday, it was a beautiful day and we had nothing better to do. We had been meaning to go camping at the Wichita Mountains for some time but we always ended up only going for the day to hike. We had never been to the camping area so we didn't really know what to expect but when we pulled up we saw deer standing right next to some of the tents, they seemed really curious because they stuck around to see what we were doing. They also came back about 10 more times.







Because the "mountains" (they're really more like a stack of rocks) are only like 15 miles from our house we'll probably be going back there real soon. I don't think any of us expected to have such a good time.


As soon as we got camp set up we set out on a hike to look for firewood, much to our dismay all the good stuff had already been gathered so I took off in the car to get some from this weirdo flea market-looking place just outside the wildlife refuge. Seriously, they should film a horror movie in this place, it was creepy.

We had a relaxing evening by the fire where Luis couldn't think of a single ghost story to scare the kids with (thank God) and instead we roasted marshmallows and stuffed ourselves with smores. That night it was freezing, I brought us each a sheet and heavy blanket but it was still too cold. Luis loved it because I ended up cuddling with him all night just to try to thaw out.

We got up the next morning way too early (aka 6am), made another fire and roasted marshmallows again (after breakfast of course). We cleaned up camp and headed out on another hike. It was a beautiful morning, the weather was perfect and sun was starting to break through the clouds. We took off up the mountain and that was when we discovered the mountain was infested with millipedes.








We climbed up the tallest stack of rocks we could find and then we took stupid pictures.
















In the pictures it doesn't look like we are up that high but really we're up there. It was actually quite interesting climbing rocks with dogs. I was really worried Pucca would have a hard time and I would end up carrying her most of the time but there were only 2 times I had to lift her and she probably would have made it on her own if I had let her try. She was by far the funniest thing out there, she would climb up a rock and stand there like she was a super hero afterward. She loved hiking and every time someone would pass us on the trail they would laugh at her, you could tell she was so proud of herself, it was adorable.





Poor Susie hasn't been this active in years, she mostly lays around the house resembling Eeyore but she had a great time too. I was worried the dogs were going to be a pain but they ended up being a great addition and I was really glad they were there.










After the hike on Sunday morning we came back to camp to get packed up. While we were packing the stuff the kids were playing on these big rocks, Sophia was on top of one (she called it her mermaid rock) Nicholas very casually said, "Sophia, look, a big spider." At that point Sophia let out loudest, most blood-curdling scream I've ever heard from her. When I ran over it was a giant freakin' tarantula! At this point other campers are coming over to see what the scream was about and then inspect the wicked, cool tarantula. After everyone got to see it Luis threw a rock at it....and missed, so I stepped on it. It was disgusting! Luis absolutely hates bugs so he insisted on covering it with a rock so we could forget about it and continue packing up.



It was a great weekend, next time we'll probably stay 2 nights and we'll also figure out some kind of solution to the tick problem they have out there. When we got home we all had at least one tick on us and poor Nicholas had two....with one on his boy parts. Of course, the one on his boy parts didn't come out all the way and we had to take him to the ER last night to get it all out so, other than that it was a perfect weekend.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope you enjoyed your trip! I hate camping but I love being outside. Your kids are so cute!

karthikeyan said...

your child looking so cute....

Enjoy the life....

Ms. E said...

Nothing like a tick on the balls to ruin a good camping trip. Hahahah. Those pictures are adorable.

ItsKelly said...

Look like fun! I haven't been camping in 10 years. Love the photos.

And no matter where I am, I always freak out when I see deer. It's ALWAYS so cool. I'm a dork.

Unknown said...

Yes! Love, love, love camping. We attempted once with the girl when they were 2 and my parents ended up taking them home early. We'll try again when they're more your kids ages.

Sounds like an excellent weekend and lots of great pics.