I don't recall having so many sick people at one of our family camp outs before. There was a stomach bug going around the week before our family vacation that came camping with us this year. Todd's mom got it the worse but several people suffered stomach discomforts and other digestive issues.
Between that, a sister-in-law with a severe Celiac allergy, my Menieres and a brother-in-law with a pinched disc, I felt luck was not on our side this year - at least with regards to our health - but we didn't let that stop us from enjoying ourselves.
The truth is the kids don't really care if we leave camp. They were happy playing card games, riding their bikes full speed downhill, making forts, trying to catch chipmunks - AKA monkeys, as my two year old calls them - blowing bubbles, or simply exploring the 'forest'. In fact, they whenever I asked Emilia to go on a walk or do something that didn't include her cousins she turned me down.
On Wednesday the day time temperatures dropped to the mid 50's with a morning low in the low 40's. It was grey and raining most of the day, perfect for a nap!
After an uncomfortably cold first night, we bundled up the kids with two layers of pajamans and added a few extra blankets to everyone's sleeping bags and we were all toasty warm the rest of the trip. I have been reading the book "The Adventures of Emily Windsnsp" to the kids at night time. It worked out perfectly. After they crawled into their sleeping bag, I would read them one chapter of the book. They were so exhausted from playing that they fell asleep by the end of each chapter, and we got to finish the story on the last day of camp.
On Thursday a group of us hiked the Foreman Hollow Nature trail. It is described as an intermediate 4.0 mile trail with amazing views of Daniels Canyon and Strawberry Reservoir. It was more like a 6 mile trail, not very well maintained with overgrown vegetation, decaying bridges and a steep ascent. When we reached the top we were overwhelmed by a horrible stench. A bloated, decaying dead cow laid about 30 feet from the trail. That kept us moving really fast! I really enjoy hiking but by the time we reached camp I felt like a zombie, my body kept taking steps but my mind was numb and tired.
One more camping trip for the year and we're done! Can't believe Summer is almost over.
