Camping Trip

The summer of 2010 was the beginning of many family traditions in our home.  One of those traditions was a multiple day camping trip.  This year we decided to change up the location and found a magnificent campsite on Baker Lake for our annual camping excursion.  Shell and I gave this site a trial run the week before and found it to be the best campsite we've been to...ever.  Truly an epic site.  It's in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.  A gorgeous example of Western Washington's natural beauty.  The site is on a small-ish triangular peninsula that gently pokes into the lake with sheltered coves on either side.  The narrow isthmus is heavily treed and leaves the distinct illusion of complete isolation.  There's even an outhouse just a few dozen yards from the site.  

 This site is in high demand.  I've never seen it empty and was completely shocked when Shell and I found it vacant the week before our family trip.  The vultures swooped down to reclaim it as their own even before our tent was struck. 

We loaded the Jeep and the trailer in record time and were on the road barely an hour after I returned from work.  The entire family was in high spirits and very excited to try out this new site.  Our hearts were in our stomachs as we turned onto the unmarked road.  Would our coveted site be free?  Or would we have to settle on an inferior site?  As we approached the campgrounds it wasn't looking good.  All of our backup choices were full.  As we rounded the last bend all eyes were peeled for any indication our site was inhabited.  It was gloriously empty.  Everyone chipped in and we set up quickly so play could commence uninterrupted.  

Chloe chose kicking the soccer ball as her first game.  And promptly booted the ball into the lake.  Baker Lake is a manmade lake and it's level changes every day.  What this meant for Dad's retrieval of the ball was a beautiful cove full of grass.  Creepy, creepy grass.  Every kick of my feet was met with the grasping tendrils of the unknown terrors of the depths.  The lake is fed by creeks that extract their flows directly from the beautiful blue glaciers that dot Mount Baker's heights.  So, yeah, it's freaking cold.  Invigorating!

As soon as Chloe and I were appropriately suited up, we began exploring the edges of our peninsula.  The water was warm and shallow around most of the tip.  Well, warm for a given definition of warm.  Basically, not ice.  As we came up on a very shallow area I noticed a large, dark stain in the water.  Curiosity piqued, I moved ahead of The Peanut and saw a wriggling mass of tadpoles numbering in the tens of thousands.  I wanted to share this discovery with everyone equally, so I yelled for Shell and Kirsten to join Chloe and I in examining this unbelievable phenomenon. 

We eat well in our house.  No reason not to extend that to our camping.  Campfire grilled London Broil, chicken filets, bacon, and something Shell calls "hobo dinners".  A delicious mix of potatoes, carrots, onions, ground turkey, and spices covered in foil and cooked on the campfire.  Oh!  And s'mores.  After discovering peanut butter cup's obvious superiority over straight chocolate bars, we decided to experiment.  Snickers, Caramello, KitKat, and Three Musketeers all made an appearance.  Truly a Fat Kid's dream.  The verdict remains with Reese's demonstrating clear and unchallenged superiority as the king of the s'mores candy bars. 

 Kirsten has been reading many different books in the fantasy genre and is naturally drawn towards her heroines.  One such heroine is Hunger Games archer Katniss Everdeen.  Adding to that hero worship is a recent experience with archery at Camp Cornet.  Minutes after setting up camp, K-dizz found some discarded twine and a properly shaped stick and crafted a bow and small quiver of arrows.  Chloe mimics her big sister often.  She asked for some help from Dad on this one.  Both of our archers were now ready to endanger the safety and health of small patches of earth surrounding our campsite.  Their bows seldom left their hands for the next few days.

We spent a lot of time hanging out on a partially submerged log a short distance from shore.  Sitting there soaking up the rays, we taught the girls how to play Twenty Questions.  The penalty for having your answer guessed was a quick dip in the lake.  Failure to guess meant the other three players ended up in the drink.  Kirsten was the master.  Stumping the three of us several times. 

We took a short trip down the road to the Trail of the Sentinels.  It's a short hike down a mostly boardwalk trail through some incredibly beautiful forest.  It's a snapshot of the stereotypical Western Washington forest.  Awesome.

Our last day capped the trip perfectly.  One last visit to the tadpole colony, a couple rounds of Twenty Question on our log, and general camp fun.  We had a visitor to our site in the late morning.  A bald eagle decided to roost directly above us about 30 feet up.  So, very cool.  He hung out overhead for several hours before leaving us to grace another lucky group with his majestic presence.

And, of course, we capped off our trip with the obligatory stop for ice cream.  Barely worth including if not for the excitement coming from the back seat of the Jeep.  It was warm, bordering on hot out that day.  Chloe picked a large popsicle that was watermelon flavored with candy seeds.  Yummy.  Driving with the top off in hot weather produces a wind that's not unlike a hair dryer.  Chloe's popsicle melted almost faster than she could inhale it.  As it melted the wind blew the sticky, sweet syrup everywhere.  It would be difficult to get a more even droplet coating if you tried.  I'm certain my driving skills were challenged by the belly laugh I couldn't suppress every time I glanced back at the green goo covering our daughter.  Fun times.

This was undoubtedly the best camping trip so far.  I'm looking forward to continuing this tradition for many more years and seeing if it's possible to top the fun had this year.