June 5-7 Camping Trip

To celebrate the end of school, we packed up and headed out of town for a few days.  We went to the same camping spot we went to last year.  We love it because you don't see anyone else; nevermind the fact that you don't see anyone because it is so stinking difficult to get there (1.5 hour drive followed by 45 minutes on a road that is barely passable for four-wheelers).  When we get there, we have all of Pyramid Lake to ourselves.  Here's a few pictures from our adventures.

 One morning we were sitting in our tent (freezing because there is snow on the ground) and the boys said they wanted to go start a fire.  We told them "Great. Go work on that."  Ten minutes later they came back to inform us they had a great fire going.  First we didn't believe them but then Julia confirmed it.  Then we were afraid the whole forest was on fire but we saw they had done a great job with the fire pit.  Then we wondered where they found the lighter and they explained they had used the flint and steel that Peter had in a bucket.  Their first fire and they did it without matches!
Everyone loved the hammocks.  So glad Peter remembers the fun stuff.
We used our Saratoga Jacks thermal cooker for the first time to make three different meals.  You get the food to boiling for 2-3 minutes and then it cooks in this insulated pot the same as a crock pot.  Pretty awesome and fun.

 Fortunately Peter thought to borrow a canoe about 30 minutes before we left.  It was great.  Everyone loved it.  At one point Simon, not realizing how cold the water was, jumped out and swam to shore.  He liked it enough to get back in later though.
Later, Porter thought he would try out the water as well when he fell off a log into the freezing lake.  It was a cold walk back to camp but he survived and learned a good lesson.

While I napped with the girls, Dad took the big kids on a hike where they saw a dear, a woodpecker and some beautiful scenery.