Camping With The Boy Scouts

Ugh!  I broke my blogging schedule over the weekend.  I am going to have to cut myself some slack though.  It is a little hard to blog while camping with a toddler, and a bunch of Boy Scouts on primitive camping lots with not electricity.  I could have done it from my phone but just could not find a good time. 

We ended up camping at Moraine View State Park.  This was a last minute change of plans.  We got to the park pretty much at dark.  We stayed on some camping spots that were primitive and you had to hike in a little to the spots.  Not too far thank goodness.  We had to make plenty of trips back of forth to the vehicles.  Once all the tents were set up we had just enough time to enjoy a fire and some smores before it was quiet tent time.  Jadon a hard time settling down to sleep the in the tent.  First he was in his own little nest we created for him, then he was in between us, then he was up, then he was down.  You get the idea.  I ended up having to hold him and bounce him to sleep.  I was ready for bed after that.  Whew! 

The boys making breakfast.

The adults having their coffee.

The next morning everyone was up around 7:00 or so.  The boys plan their meals at the meeting before the camp out.  Breakfast was bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast.  We brought our percolator so we were in charge of the coffee for the adults.  The boys did a great job cooking breakfast.  After clean up was done we decided to go do some trash collecting at an area one of the rangers told us was really bad.  The boys try to get some service hours done while they are camping.  This a great way to do that and the park staff really appreciate it.  Whenever we go out trash collecting I am always amazed at how rude, inconsiderate, and disgusting some people can be.  I would never consider throwing trash on the ground somewhere acceptable in any situation.  I don't understand what people think when they do this.  The boys collected a lot of trash.  They did a great job!  I am so proud of all of them.

Daddy and Jadon.

Jadon helping out his brother by carrying his water.

Look at all that trash!  That is just a portion of what was picked up.

By the time we got back from completing service hours it was time for the boys to start making lunch.  For lunch it was walking tacos.  Once again very, very good.  The boys take turns cooking and cleaning at each meal.  After lunch there was some free time.  The boys played some sort of game that involved swords and other weapons which were created using sticks.  Some of the boys even found the perfect shaped branches and some string that they made bows and arrows out of.  So creative.

Jadon having blast!

At some point during that free play time Jadon fell asleep.  I knew he would.  He had been going strong since early in the morning.  Unfortunately this meant that Matt and I missed out on the afternoon hike.  That was okay.  It was nice to take a little afternoon nap.  I don't remember the last time I did that. 

A couple of the boys (not Jacob) needing some lessons on how to cut an onion and peppers. 

When evening came the boys make chicken stew and I contributed a modified version of my Pasta Asparagus.  I forgot (don't ask me how) my minced garlic and red pepper flakes so I had to make due with some McCormick Spice called Roasted Garlic and Red Pepper.  It was good.  Not as good as the usual recipe but the boys still loved it. 

After supper it was time to sit in a circle around the fire and enjoy it.  I brought out the smore stuff I brought to share.  The boys had also planned to make kettle corn for snack that night.  They had never tried to do this before so Matt helped them out a little by finding some instructions online.  It was pretty darn good!  I was impressed at how good it turned out for the first try!

Now I am getting to the part of the trip that did not go so well.  Jadon seemed sooooo tired on Matt's lap while we were sitting by the fire.  He was just laying his head on Matt's shoulder and not moving at all.  So we decided to call it a night.  We get in the tent and suddenly Jadon has all sorts of energy.  He is all over once again.  It took both Matt and I taking turns bouncing him to get him to sleep.  It took over an hour.  By that time it has started to rain.  We were in one of the new tents.  We were using the one that was a cabin tent but it had no rain fly.  It was also a little old but in terrific shape because the guy never used them.  Well....the only problem with that is the sealant that keeps the water out must have worn off.  We started feeling drips on our faces.  It was only once in awhile so we just covered up with the sleeping bag and ignored it.  I had gotten a really bad sinus headache when the weather had moved in so I was just trying to close my eyes and try to sleep it off.  My advil was in my purse and that was a pretty good hike back to the truck in the parking lot.  As the night wore on it just kept raining, and raining, and raining.  About 4:00 in the morning it began raining inside of our tent.  It was no longer a drop here or there, it was constant.  Pretty soon it was soaking through our sleeping bags.  Matt said it was time to pack up and head to the truck.  By 4:45 we were in the truck.  Soaking wet.  Jadon was the only one dry because we had covered him with one of his blankets to keep him dry.  Once in the truck the only things we could really do was sit and wait.  Oh and keep Jadon entertained.  Ugh!  Not easy to do in the truck.  All he wants to do if push buttons.  Finally, after what seemed like and eternity (6:00) Matt came back from checking the camp sites to say that the rest of the crew was starting to stir and would be packing up soon.  Everything was wet and muddy.  The boys were too by the time we got loaded up to go about 8:00. 

I was so happy to get home.  It felt great to use a normal toilet (not a pit toilet), take a shower, and put dry clothes on.  Now I just have to get all this laundry clean.  We also have a few wet tents we need to set up in the yard to dry.  It is never good when it rains the day you leave.  So much more work to do when you get home!  I am still exhausted tonight.  It may take me a few days to recover! 


Until tomorrow.....

 The view from our camping area.  Not bad....

"Each Day Comes, Bearing Its Own Gift, Untie The Ribbons"