For the past few years we have gone camping in Yurts along the Oregon Coast once each summer. Yurts are very easy, you don't need to set anything up, and they are perfect for camping with smaller children. But both Matthew and I grew up tent camping, and we wanted the kids to have the same experiance.
A few months ago we bought ourselves a small 6 person tent, and did a little urban camping in the backyard to try it out. The kids had a blast and Matthew and I enjoyed it as well, despite the fact that we forgot all about air mattresses and spent the night sleeping on hard lumpy grass. This week we decided to take our tent and do some real camping, so we headed up to Lost Lake in the Mt. Hood National forest.
Even though it was a Wednesday afternoon, the campground was surprisingly crowded...at least along the desirable 'F' Loop that is right next to the lake. But we lucked out and found the perfect spot. We couldn't see anyone from our site, and we felt totally secluded. There was a short path up from the main roadway to our campground, I took this picture from the top of the path and you can barely even see my car!
This was an area straight ahead at the top of the path:
And then an area in the back where we set up our tent:
There was a nice fire pit near the picnic table, and plenty of space for the kids to run around but still be close enough that we could keep an eye on them. We got everything set up and went out for a hike along the lake. There was a nice path to follow, but we found ourselves off the path many times to explore cool stuff:
We stopped a few times to walk to the shoreline and take in the beauty of the lake and forest:
All that fresh mountain air really went to our heads!
On our way back to the campsite Rowan gave us a big scare...she was trying to look at a tree Killian was pointing at and walk in a straight line at the same time. It didn't work out so well for her, and she fell off the 3+ foot elevated pathway that we were walking along. She tried to catch herself on her way down but landed with a thud and a few rolls since she was on a slight hill. She was very scared, but ended up with only bad scrapes and bruises along her forearm. I was pretty relieved...I cant imagine what you would do up there in an emergency, since cell phones dont work and you are miles from 'civilization'!
Everyone was ready to take a break from hiking after that, so we headed back to the campsite to make dinner and relax a little bit. Later we headed down to the lodge store and picked up some firewood:
And took a short drive to a viewpoint along the lake to check out Mt. Hood. The mountain seemed SO close! It was a beautiful site, and we sat on the bench for a while taking it all in:
Back at the campsite, we built a fire and roasted smores with the kids. Rowan decided that it was more efficient to roast two marshmallows at a time, and she was quite pleased with the humongous smore that she built with them:
Excited smore builders:
The next morning we woke up early and had breakfast before heading out for another hike around the lake. This time we headed in the direction of the lodge, and we found these really cool day use areas along the lake. There were fire pits, and rock walls you could sit on right on the water. The water in the lake was so clear and clean...we hadn't even thought about bringing swimsuits but it would have been so much fun to play in there!
On our walk to along the paths we saw this cute little guy dart in front of us:
When we got to the lodge we went in and rented a row boat to take out on the lake. No motors are allowed on Lost Lake, which makes it really quiet and peaceful. Matthew started out rowing us, with Killian at the bow, and Rowan and I together at the stern:
It was mandatory for the kids to wear life jackets (we would have made them even if it wasn't!) but they were optional for adults. Matthew and I started out wearing them, but then got comfortable and took them off. We kept them close at hand though, because there was a lot of seat changing and boat wobbling going on! Matthew taught Killian the basics of rowing:
Then he took a backseat with Rowan while I rowed:
Then I took a turn rowing with both the kids...it was so much fun and quite the workout. Matthew was definitely the smoothest rower, but I am going to begin secretly training for next year at home (we bought a rowing machine a few weeks ago...perfect)!
The view from the middle of the lake was gorgeous!
We watched hawks fly lazily around above us, and one dove down to catch a fish just 20 feet away from us...it was amazing to watch! After our hour of rowing was up, we headed back to the campsite to have lunch and sit around and relax for a while. We entertained ourselves with the resident chipmunks. I haven't seen chipmunks this numerous since camping trips with my family when I was little, and this was the first time the kids had ever seen them. They are so much fun to watch, and Killian and Rowan quickly fell head over heels in love with them. And whats not to love? Look how cute these little ones were:
And so not scared of us...at least not when peanuts were being offered!
The kids decided to make chipmunk forts, and set about gathering sticks, leaves and rocks to make their masterpieces. Killian went with a rustic stone and dirt fort:
While Rowan prettied hers up with leaves and bits of newspaper:
They worked very hard to make their sites attractive to the chipmunks...and it worked!
That night we built a big fire and sat around eating more smores, and fighting off the mosquitoes. Rowan was very tired, and went to bed around dusk. Killian, Matthew and I stayed up pretty late, talking and messing with the fire. It was a really nice for the three of us to spend some quality time together, Killian is growing up so fast and I have really seen him grow and mature these last few months. I enjoy talking to him, and hearing his perspectives on things....he is such a wise kid!
The next morning we packed everything up and began the long drive home. On our way, we pulled off the freeway to check out the Bonneville Fish Hatchery. I haven't been there in years, and remember the last time I was there they had these HUGE sturgeon in a pond with a big viewing window. I was so excited to show the kids the big fish...only they were all gone. :( There were a couple sturgeon in there, but they were hardly impressive at just a couple feet long. So we headed over to feed the fish in the feeding pond, which the kids loved!
These fish were fat! The sign said that they are much bigger than a wild fish would be because of the amount of food that they get from visitors:
We walked around and did a self guided tour of the hatchery, and fed more baby fish along the way. It was a quick stop, but it was nice to get out of the car and stretch our legs.
This was by far our best camping trip ever. It was so peaceful at the lake, and I really enjoyed all the quality family time we were able to spend together. The kids kept saying over and over "Thank you so much for bringing us camping mom and dad"! It made us really happy that they had such a great time, and we cant wait to come back here next year to do it all over again!
A few months ago we bought ourselves a small 6 person tent, and did a little urban camping in the backyard to try it out. The kids had a blast and Matthew and I enjoyed it as well, despite the fact that we forgot all about air mattresses and spent the night sleeping on hard lumpy grass. This week we decided to take our tent and do some real camping, so we headed up to Lost Lake in the Mt. Hood National forest.
Even though it was a Wednesday afternoon, the campground was surprisingly crowded...at least along the desirable 'F' Loop that is right next to the lake. But we lucked out and found the perfect spot. We couldn't see anyone from our site, and we felt totally secluded. There was a short path up from the main roadway to our campground, I took this picture from the top of the path and you can barely even see my car!
This was an area straight ahead at the top of the path:
And then an area in the back where we set up our tent:
There was a nice fire pit near the picnic table, and plenty of space for the kids to run around but still be close enough that we could keep an eye on them. We got everything set up and went out for a hike along the lake. There was a nice path to follow, but we found ourselves off the path many times to explore cool stuff:
We stopped a few times to walk to the shoreline and take in the beauty of the lake and forest:
All that fresh mountain air really went to our heads!
On our way back to the campsite Rowan gave us a big scare...she was trying to look at a tree Killian was pointing at and walk in a straight line at the same time. It didn't work out so well for her, and she fell off the 3+ foot elevated pathway that we were walking along. She tried to catch herself on her way down but landed with a thud and a few rolls since she was on a slight hill. She was very scared, but ended up with only bad scrapes and bruises along her forearm. I was pretty relieved...I cant imagine what you would do up there in an emergency, since cell phones dont work and you are miles from 'civilization'!
Everyone was ready to take a break from hiking after that, so we headed back to the campsite to make dinner and relax a little bit. Later we headed down to the lodge store and picked up some firewood:
And took a short drive to a viewpoint along the lake to check out Mt. Hood. The mountain seemed SO close! It was a beautiful site, and we sat on the bench for a while taking it all in:
Back at the campsite, we built a fire and roasted smores with the kids. Rowan decided that it was more efficient to roast two marshmallows at a time, and she was quite pleased with the humongous smore that she built with them:
Excited smore builders:
The next morning we woke up early and had breakfast before heading out for another hike around the lake. This time we headed in the direction of the lodge, and we found these really cool day use areas along the lake. There were fire pits, and rock walls you could sit on right on the water. The water in the lake was so clear and clean...we hadn't even thought about bringing swimsuits but it would have been so much fun to play in there!
On our walk to along the paths we saw this cute little guy dart in front of us:
When we got to the lodge we went in and rented a row boat to take out on the lake. No motors are allowed on Lost Lake, which makes it really quiet and peaceful. Matthew started out rowing us, with Killian at the bow, and Rowan and I together at the stern:
It was mandatory for the kids to wear life jackets (we would have made them even if it wasn't!) but they were optional for adults. Matthew and I started out wearing them, but then got comfortable and took them off. We kept them close at hand though, because there was a lot of seat changing and boat wobbling going on! Matthew taught Killian the basics of rowing:
Then he took a backseat with Rowan while I rowed:
Then I took a turn rowing with both the kids...it was so much fun and quite the workout. Matthew was definitely the smoothest rower, but I am going to begin secretly training for next year at home (we bought a rowing machine a few weeks ago...perfect)!
The view from the middle of the lake was gorgeous!
We watched hawks fly lazily around above us, and one dove down to catch a fish just 20 feet away from us...it was amazing to watch! After our hour of rowing was up, we headed back to the campsite to have lunch and sit around and relax for a while. We entertained ourselves with the resident chipmunks. I haven't seen chipmunks this numerous since camping trips with my family when I was little, and this was the first time the kids had ever seen them. They are so much fun to watch, and Killian and Rowan quickly fell head over heels in love with them. And whats not to love? Look how cute these little ones were:
And so not scared of us...at least not when peanuts were being offered!
The kids decided to make chipmunk forts, and set about gathering sticks, leaves and rocks to make their masterpieces. Killian went with a rustic stone and dirt fort:
While Rowan prettied hers up with leaves and bits of newspaper:
They worked very hard to make their sites attractive to the chipmunks...and it worked!
That night we built a big fire and sat around eating more smores, and fighting off the mosquitoes. Rowan was very tired, and went to bed around dusk. Killian, Matthew and I stayed up pretty late, talking and messing with the fire. It was a really nice for the three of us to spend some quality time together, Killian is growing up so fast and I have really seen him grow and mature these last few months. I enjoy talking to him, and hearing his perspectives on things....he is such a wise kid!
The next morning we packed everything up and began the long drive home. On our way, we pulled off the freeway to check out the Bonneville Fish Hatchery. I haven't been there in years, and remember the last time I was there they had these HUGE sturgeon in a pond with a big viewing window. I was so excited to show the kids the big fish...only they were all gone. :( There were a couple sturgeon in there, but they were hardly impressive at just a couple feet long. So we headed over to feed the fish in the feeding pond, which the kids loved!
These fish were fat! The sign said that they are much bigger than a wild fish would be because of the amount of food that they get from visitors:
We walked around and did a self guided tour of the hatchery, and fed more baby fish along the way. It was a quick stop, but it was nice to get out of the car and stretch our legs.
This was by far our best camping trip ever. It was so peaceful at the lake, and I really enjoyed all the quality family time we were able to spend together. The kids kept saying over and over "Thank you so much for bringing us camping mom and dad"! It made us really happy that they had such a great time, and we cant wait to come back here next year to do it all over again!