It started July 8-10 with a trip to Paulina Lake, Newberry Caldera National Monument just north of La Pine, OR, to camp with my dad and step mom - my dad is an accomplished backpacker and camper - my step mom hadn't been camping in over 25 years. It was determined that the last trip she went on my little brother was too scared to get up and go to the bathroom so he peed his sleeping bag 3 nights in a row - he is now a Captain in the Army chasing bad guys in Afghanistan. They tented.
Paulina Peak:
We 'hiked' to Paulina Falls, rented a boat and toured the lake (WOW!), swatted mosquitoes, and drove back to the Lava River Cave for a hike to the end of the cave. It was almost 90 degrees out and yet there were big blocks of ice just inside the entrance to the cave. It felt great!
The next trip was 2 weeks later to Tumalo State Park, just north of Bend, OR with my older brother, his wife and our mom and her friend. They are all camper except my moms friend, he is originally from New York and the only time he has ever camped was during boot camp for Vietnam - needless to say he though the whole idea of camping was absurd (said in your best New York accent)! They all tented.
We hit Tumalo Falls and did a short hike along the Deschutes Trail, watching the Osprey 'hunt' in the river was amazing - it was all super beautiful! We played in the river a little bit and sat around a lot and talked.
Our third and final trip was last week August 3-5 to Cape Lookout State Park, just north of Pacific City, OR. This trip was with my in-laws from Minnesota - they piled 7 people (4 adults and 3 kids) into a big fancy motor home and drove the 1900 miles from there house to the beach to camp with us. That is a commitment to family. We did a ton of kid stuff on this trip and mostly hung out on the beach and watched the crazy kids play in the water (brrr!!) - busted out the dutch oven for cobbler in the sand, flew kites, crabbed, checked out the tide pools, ate smores, etc, etc, etc. We did drive down to the Newport Aquarium which is cool and fun for the kids.
Playing 300' from the campsites:
Out on the sand at Cape Kiwanda:
The FWC rocked on all the trips and we had zero issues. We did all of the cooking on the first trip, 1/3 of the cooking on the second trip and totally tested the limits of the camper trying to cook for 10 people on the last trip. We do not have the equipment to keep up with 10 mouths that is for sure. If I add an outdoor stove and a ton more silverware and cups, I just might be able to pull it off
PICS to FOLLOW!
