Dads and Kids Camping: 2009

Hannah, Naomi and I are now back from our big July camping trip. We had a great time. I was a bit concerned about how it would work with 2 kids under six years old, but they did very well. As in previous years, we went to Rasar State Park near Sedro-Woolley, WA, on the Skagit River. We left Friday afternoon and returned Sunday afternoon. In between we camped, made camping food, built campfires, went on hikes, and visited the Skagit River.

Some highlights:

The Tent: Our new six-man tent is enormous. We had room for the three of us and all of our gear, and then some. The girls were very excited to use the closet, complete with shelves. The tent also has a sort of pet door. The manual says its for 'cooler access,' but the girls thought it was for dogs. Naomi really liked to stick her head out of it.

The DeVet-Adairs, curiously enough and without coordination, purchased the same tent:

The River:

The girls loved our hike to the Skagit River. They played on the banks and in the sand. They pretended to be pirates. They tried skipping rocks. Naomi's jacket was not going to be removed, even for the river:

Shadow of Sentinels:

Another hike we made was in a forest of old-growth red woods. The oldest was at least 680 years old. The hike is a boardwalk, so the kids had it easy. The younger ones ran as quickly as they could; the older ones read the signs.

Cooking:

As usual, I'm in it for the food. I planned out the meals for the weekend. Saturday morning's breakfast was pancakes. Monica had made whole wheat "Bisquick", so I had my batter all put together and looking beautiful. Then I tried to cook it. Whisperlight stoves, the backpacker kind, are designed to boil water. They are highly efficient at what they do. They don't do much else. Try making pancakes on your kitchen range with the burner on High. They just tended to burn, and burn, and burn. By the time I got the hang of it, the girls were ready to be done with breakfast. Hmm ... Stuff that does work: oatmeal; sausages; boiling water. We had dehydrated beef stew Saturday night, and 50% of my girls liked it! (I'll let you guess which 50%.)

So, we all had a great time. We found a nearby church and went Sunday morning, clean and neat, and broke camp afterwards and came home. Naomi was asleep in seconds after leaving the campground. Hannah held out a little longer, but eventually succumbed, too.

Notes for next year:

1. Don't make anything that calls for 'simmer' or 'low' heat.
2. Bring Tang. It's tough to drink water when your cousins have juice boxes. Tang rules.
3. It's not about the trails. It's about who you are pretending to be while on the trails. (Peter Pan, Paul and Maureen, Garzishes (ask Gabe, I don't know what they are)).
4. Bring maple syrup if you are going to make pancakes. Liquid sugar covers a multitude of evils.

- Michael