we just got home from a camping trip to afton state park. we all had a wonderful time and were blessed with fabulous weather (aside from during the early hours this morning, when there was a little rain and gusting winds that shook our whole tent). this was a weekend of firsts - our first camping trip of the year, autumn’s first trip not carrying fiona in a child carrier on her back (and getting to use her new backpack), and therefore, fi’s first trip hiking on her own (aside from a few piggy back rides). apart from the girls (and greta) doing so well on all the hikes, and the glorious weather, the most amazing thing was watching spring unfold before us. when we arrived, you could spot a few trees ever 200 yards or so that were starting to leaf out. by the time we left this morning, the whole forest was filled with the misty green of spring. it was like having front seats to a secret show, just beautiful. The buds in the picture below tripled in size during the two days we were there.
on friday morning, we had a class about eggs at como zoo. we biked there and back and it was a wonderful day for riding. it was tough to pick between spending the weekend on the bikes or in the woods. there was also a kids’ music night at the coffee shop friday night, so another reason to stay in town. when asked what she wasnted to do friday night, ella said ‘camp! i want to camp BOTH nights!’. that’s our girl! so, at lunch we were lucky to have the easter bunny stop by and had an egg and basket hunt in the backyard (and hence had plenty of goodies to dole out on the trail). in the afternoon we finished packing up our camping gear and planning our meals. after a quick stop to get ella some new running shoes (her old trail runners, which she uses for hiking too, were getting too small), we headed out for afton. we arrived at the park and started hiking the mile or so to our campsit. it was just before dusk and owls were hooting deep in the woods. there was an amazing sunset painting the sky as we arrived at our camp site.
sunset …………………………………………………………………..sunrise
in the morning, there was an equally gorgeous sunrise. fi was up bright and early (as usual), despite a tough night of sleep. she woke up a couple of times and was very confused about where she was. we had some pancakes, hot cocoa, and VERY hot coffee for breakfast. ella found a cooled chunk of charcoal next to the fire pit and drew on some of the fire wood. fiona thought it looked like fun, so she joined in. after that, we went for a day hike around the park. we hiked through the old farm and saw the old stone gate and abandoned harrow. the girls took a rest in one of the log shelters on the trail. once we were down to the river, the girls took turns throwing sticks into the water for greta to fetch. she’s not much of a retriever on land, but she could swim for hours chasing sticks. once back at camp we made tabouli and hummus for lunch, played go fish and su doku, and read stories. fi practiced the fine art of squating, spending most of the afternoon diaperless, and ella perfected her ability to pee standing up (sorry, no pictures, but trust us - she CAN do it!). the girls helped collect and carry firewood and water at the solar powered water pump. autumn went for a short trail run. on friday night, there were folks in most of the site close to us, but by the end of the day, it was pretty obvious that we were some of the only folks left at the camp ground. we hiked around to see if any of the other site were occupied. while we were hiking we saw a huge grouping of hawks, at least 2 bald eagles, but just one other site with campers. we figured people had headed home because of the holiday, but wondered if they knew something we didn’t - like if a big storm was headed our way. we knew there was a chance of rain for saturday night, but we weren’t too worried. we headed back to camp and hoped for the best. we had a camp fire, read more stories, and headed to bed.
early sunday morning, the wind was really blowing, making our whole tent shake. the rain fell hard for a while, but then diminished to a light sprinkle, and when we finally got out of the tent, we only felt occational drops. the girls both helped pack up out stuff, with a break for apples and clif bars for breakfast. the hike out was quite enjoyable, with all of us still in awe at how much green had spread through the forest during our short stay. it was also nice to both have such light loads on the hike out. we heard frogs or toads croaking and saw some wild turkeys, a woodpecker, some canada geese, and some more hawks on the hike out.
this was really a great trip. the weather was wonderful. the girls were both GREAT hikers. ella carried her own pack (with her clothes, 2 books, sandals, and pillow). fi carried her own little back pack for a little ways, which was more than we expected of her, but amazed us with all the hiking she did. greta was also in great shape during this trip, especially considering that on our last trip in the fall, we had to wheel her out of camp in a wheelbarrow because her old acl injury was hurting her so. on this trip, we left her pack behind. she hiked, swam, slept on the cold cold ground, and still had energy left this morning to chase some squirels. bill and i also had a wonderful time, especially since both our loads were lightened. i used to carry fiona on my back, and some of the camping gear. since i wasn’t carrying fi, i was able to carry more of the gear. so, bill’s load was light, but my overall load was also still lighter. we basically dropped 35 lbs of weigh from our overall load. it was a great time.
