Campin' Ain't So Bad!

We left off last post with me complaining about everything having to do with this camping trip. Well, the night was pretty long. Bed was uncomfortable and I just didn't sleep well. But I woke up to such a beautiful sight ... sunrise over the lake. It was my first glimpse of the lake.

And the kids woke up not long after because there were no blinds on the windows so everyone was up at the crack of dawn which is good for me because I'm an early riser.

The church group we were with provided breakfast so we headed over to their campfire and ate some really good egg and bean casserole they made in the fire. But it was really, really COLD! And who is that strange man standing behind me?

Then we went back to our own cabin and Marty and the kids cleaned out the firepit. We didn't have any lighter fluid so we decided to wait until we had some to get the fire started.

And here's our cabin and the view of the lake from our cabin ... and Austin holding a stick by the cabin.

Our horse riding reservation wasn't until 10:00 so we decided to head in town for some supplies ... you know, lighter fluid, hot dogs, marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate! Took us a while to find the Trading Post but it was a much needed oasis!

And then on to some horses! There weren't enough horses for the adults so just the kids rode. First we had to sit and listen to the safety speech. Then the kids got on their helmets. And they were so excited to get their horses. Lauren was on Ketchup. Mackenzie was on Daisy. Nick rode Cody. And Austin was on a very spirited Mule named Max. I think Nick and Austin rode a horse at a birthday party many years ago but for the most part, no one remembered ever riding a horse so it was a really cool experience for them all.

No time to rest! We went straight from the horses to archery. Nick and Austin had shot bows and arrows at Boy Scout Camp 2 summers ago and felt like they were pros. And Mackenzie and Lauren did great, too. Lauren was the first one to get an arrow to stay in the target and she was really proud of herself.

Then we went over to the lake because we wanted to see if the barge was running to Devil's Island. It wasn't running from our camp but we were told to go check at Main Camp.

On the way to Main Camp, we detoured to the riflery place. This was probably my favorite activity. We got to shoot real guns! Lauren was the first to get a bullseye. But Nick was the real marksman. One round, he hit the target 9 out of 12 times!

Then we drove over to Main Camp to look for the boat. On the way, we saw a couple of deer which was really cool!

Unfortunately, it was too windy and the barge wasn't running to Devil's island. So I took the kids back to shoot some more archery while Marty went back to the cabin and started our fire.

And when we got back to camp, Marty had a nice fire going and the kids all roasted some hot dogs and marshmallows.

Mmmmmm ... more s'mores!

Dinner was back with the church group. We had "hobo packs." Basically you make your own meal by throwing some raw hamburger meat, vegetables and seasoning in some foil, sealing it tightly and throwing it on the fire for about 30 minutes. The trick is remembering which hobo pack is yours.

After dinner, we were all pretty tired. We went back to the cabin and all talked for quite a while. Then we saw the full moon over the lake and headed to bed. It was a good day! (Day 3 coming soon.)

Here's some music for you. This is totally not a camping song but when I said "it was a good day" I was reminded of this song. Ice Cube: Today Was A Good Day