We went to our ward camp out last weekend. I was really looking forward to it because it was a chance to get away from the heat for a day. The other great thing was that the leaders decided to provide dinner, games and breakfast for everyone, so I didn't have to worry about bringing or preparing food while we were there.
We went to Teancum Timbers, a church 0wned campground just a few miles outside of Bluewood ski resort in the Blue Mountains. It was really beautiful up there and we saw about 15 head of deer and 10 wild turkeys on our way to the campsite. We thought it would have been much cooler up there, but even as we pulled into camp at 6 pm on Friday, it was still 100 degrees outside.
We ate a great dinner that I didn't have to prepare (always makes it taste better!), the kids ran around with the other kids from the ward and enjoyed a few small hikes up the hill across the river through camp. In the evening, the bishopric set up a movie with their laptop, projector and a sheet hung up in the pavilion. The movie lasted until about 10:00 pm, but the kids were totally pooped by 9 and asked to go to bed. Cannon was so tired that he fell asleep as soon as Doug put him on our bed and was getting ready to change his diaper and get pjs on him. Cannon woke up while Doug was changing him, then he walked to his crib and tried to climb in by myself. That's a first!
In the middle of the night Cannon woke up and had a hard time going back to sleep. If he knows we are in the same room as him while he is sleeping he really fights going to sleep. Doug and I had been up for an hour or so with Cannon crying and the moon was so bright outside Doug decided to go for a walk. Cannon started crying when he left him behind, so Doug decided to take him too. As soon as they got outside and walked by Kyah and Cierra's tent, Cannon started calling to Kyah. He is not a quiet child! He has quite a set of lungs on him. So here at 3 am they are walking past all the other tents of the people in our ward and Cannon is yelling "Kyah Kyah Kyah!" Doug decided to forgo the walk and they ended up sitting in the van for an hour. He did finally bring him back to the tent and Cannon slept until 8:30 in the morning while everyone else was already up and moving.
That morning we ate breakfast and drove up the road to where the Weikums used to have an old cabin. It is no longer there. When the lease on the land was up the government took the land back. They said they were going to clear cut that area and use the cabin land for a hub where they could put logging trucks, but they never did. Instead, they ripped out the old cabin and left a bare spot of dirt. Except for it being in the complete sunshine, it was a good place for target practice with the 22s. So we stayed there for a while and Doug helped each of the kids fire off a few rounds at some pop cans and red tape on branches.
A huge fire came through that area a few years ago and burned out a lot of the trees. They have cut down many of the larger damaged trees, but there is a lot of new growth. The hills were so beautifully colored while we were there. There were wild yellow, purple and white flowers growing alongside the road, and all of the undergrowth around the trees were bright green and lush. I wish I had taken more pictures while we drove. It was spectacular. Here is a picture of the place where the cabin was and also the hillside behind it.
After our drive up the mountain we went back to camp. Most of the other families were packed up and leaving by the time we got back. We had a great site right along the river, so we let the kids play in the water while Doug and I packed up the tents. The water was cold, but the kids didn't mind. Cierra brought her tube and they had a fun time riding down the "rapids" on it. By the time we had cleaned up and the kids were done playing in the water, we were the last people to pull out of camp at noon.
This is about as far in as Zane would get...
The water was only about knee deep for him, but it was too cold for his skinny little body! He was perfectly happy playing in the mud on the side of the river.
Cierra going down the "rapids"
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