I grew up in the country, playing in the dirt, calling the mountains my playground, and riding my horse wherever my heart desired. But there is one thing that this country girl has never done...well not really anyways. Camping. That's right, shocking I know. I have always wanted to sleep under the stars, sit late into the night talking around a crackling fire, and cooking all our meals over an open flame. Upon hearing this news, Marc knew something must be done. So after some persuading, planning, and stressing we conned Brett, Chris and their families to head out into the wild unknown with us. Chris was kind enough to do all the hunting and searching for the perfect place. We had all decided that Moab and Arches National Park would be the perfect place to head, but unfortunately so did 3/4 of Utah on Memorial weekend. So we headed off to an unknown campground just slightly south of Price up Huntington canyon. Brett and Chris were packing up their large RV's with all the comforts of home, while Marc and I managed to pack all the essentials into the back of my Montero. A tent, sleeping bags, mats, 2 bikes, a duffle bag, cooler, fishing equipment, Timber's pet port, food, helmets....oh and two people and a 60lb dog. Amazing..that's all I have to say...it was like watching Tetris right out my front door. After a long hard and full week of work we were ready to escape for some solitude and relaxation. Only two and a half hours away and we were well out of cell phone and pager reach...ah nirvana. Unfortunately this was going to be a very chilly memorial weekend, but I was determined to make my first camping experience unforgettable. We did become somewhat concerned as we summitted in the canyon to find snow and the temperature at a whopping 30 degrees. As we decended we anxiously watched the thermometer in my car...praying for it to go up...it did...but only to 42 degrees.
Saturday was a bit chilly but we didn't let it dampen our spirits as we set up camp, pitched our tent, and got our things settled. We were concerned that Timber+ the kids would = disaster. And it did, for the first little while but then something snapped and Timber was actually behaving. It was wonderful to be able to turn her off leash and know that she would stay close and come when we called her.
The first night we enjoyed hot dogs roasted over the fire, followed by the all traditional smores....yum. As the sun went down however, the cold sunk in deep into our bones. A toasted RV would have been nice to snuggle down in, but the fun and laughter we had keeping each other warm in the tent was priceless. There is one lesson, however, that we have learned the hard way, and that is to never forget your pillow. Sore necks and achy backs were what awoke us that morning. Minda was so nice and offered us breakfast that morning of eggs, texas french toast, and fruit. Sunday morning was already far far warmer than the day before, so Marc, Timber, and I headed off on a little hike. The trail we went on was quiet mild, so feeling daring we raced back and grabbed our bikes to give it a try. Growing up I always use to joke with people that I was a mountain biker, they would take one look at me, laugh, and for some reason not believe me. Well, I can now say that I am officially a mountain biker...I'm not going to define which kind, but I am one. And Timber loves it, she runs harder off leash with us on the bikes then on leash. That dog was like the energizer bunny on sunday, she was running from sun up to sun down. Like silly young parents Marc and I enjoyed so much just watching her, playing with her, and seeing what adventures she would go on with us.
When you get a day off enjoy it, when you get a weekend off take advantage of it and live it up....so I did...a little too much probably thought. That day we hiked, mountain biked, I biked up the canyon 8 miles ( uhh, I'm no Lance but I'm working on it), hiked some more, rock climbed a little, and just explored and explored and explored. Needless to say I could barely walk the next day, neither could Timber. That evening we prepared one of my favorite meals, hobo dinners...yumm. Basically you throw all of your favorite foods into some tin foil, drench it in cream of chicken soup, seal it up, and throw it in the fire. There is no exact art to this, no time or temperature that you have to gauge it by. Simply let it smoke and simmer and take a peek when you dare. In the end...it was delicious; chicken, potatoes, carrots, peppers, and onions. Now I know what to cook while our kitchen is being remodeled. Brett shared a delicious dessert idea that I am now hooked on. Banana boats, mouth watering bananas covered in melted chocolate and gooey marshmallows, pure heaven in tin foil form. Our evenings were full of laughter, randomly weird stories, and watching the crazy kids and equally crazy dog. Our last day up in the mountains Mike and Linda joined us for a fun day hike and lunch. Linda brought chicken and mango hot dogs( only costco could actually sell these and make a profit), and giant....giant marshmallows.
The worst part about camping...well actually about traveling in general is repacking and heading home. It was sad to see our rare weekend was slowly coming to a close and that we would soon be having to head back to the chopping block. But it is these small special moments that we treasure the most, we never take one another for granted and we always enjoy every moment. As we were driving back to salt lake I casually asked Marc what was his favorite thing about the weekend, he replied, "Watching Timber". I couldn't help but agree, we may not have crazy kids but we sure do love the furry one that we do have. Already we began planning our next adventure.....come September we're hitting the road again, this time heading north...to Yellowstone:)
I grew up in the country, playing in the dirt, calling the mountains my playground, and riding my horse wherever my heart desired. But there is one thing that this country girl has never done...well not really anyways. Camping. That's right, shocking I know. I have always wanted to sleep under the stars, sit late into the night talking around a crackling fire, and cooking all our meals over an open flame. Upon hearing this news, Marc knew something must be done. So after some persuading, planning, and stressing we conned Brett, Chris and their families to head out into the wild unknown with us. Chris was kind enough to do all the hunting and searching for the perfect place. We had all decided that Moab and Arches National Park would be the perfect place to head, but unfortunately so did 3/4 of Utah on Memorial weekend. So we headed off to an unknown campground just slightly south of Price up Huntington canyon. Brett and Chris were packing up their large RV's with all the comforts of home, while Marc and I managed to pack all the essentials into the back of my Montero. A tent, sleeping bags, mats, 2 bikes, a duffle bag, cooler, fishing equipment, Timber's pet port, food, helmets....oh and two people and a 60lb dog. Amazing..that's all I have to say...it was like watching Tetris right out my front door. After a long hard and full week of work we were ready to escape for some solitude and relaxation. Only two and a half hours away and we were well out of cell phone and pager reach...ah nirvana. Unfortunately this was going to be a very chilly memorial weekend, but I was determined to make my first camping experience unforgettable. We did become somewhat concerned as we summitted in the canyon to find snow and the temperature at a whopping 30 degrees. As we decended we anxiously watched the thermometer in my car...praying for it to go up...it did...but only to 42 degrees.
The first night we enjoyed hot dogs roasted over the fire, followed by the all traditional smores....yum. As the sun went down however, the cold sunk in deep into our bones. A toasted RV would have been nice to snuggle down in, but the fun and laughter we had keeping each other warm in the tent was priceless. There is one lesson, however, that we have learned the hard way, and that is to never forget your pillow. Sore necks and achy backs were what awoke us that morning. Minda was so nice and offered us breakfast that morning of eggs, texas french toast, and fruit. Sunday morning was already far far warmer than the day before, so Marc, Timber, and I headed off on a little hike. The trail we went on was quiet mild, so feeling daring we raced back and grabbed our bikes to give it a try. Growing up I always use to joke with people that I was a mountain biker, they would take one look at me, laugh, and for some reason not believe me. Well, I can now say that I am officially a mountain biker...I'm not going to define which kind, but I am one. And Timber loves it, she runs harder off leash with us on the bikes then on leash. That dog was like the energizer bunny on sunday, she was running from sun up to sun down. Like silly young parents Marc and I enjoyed so much just watching her, playing with her, and seeing what adventures she would go on with us.
When you get a day off enjoy it, when you get a weekend off take advantage of it and live it up....so I did...a little too much probably thought. That day we hiked, mountain biked, I biked up the canyon 8 miles ( uhh, I'm no Lance but I'm working on it), hiked some more, rock climbed a little, and just explored and explored and explored. Needless to say I could barely walk the next day, neither could Timber. That evening we prepared one of my favorite meals, hobo dinners...yumm. Basically you throw all of your favorite foods into some tin foil, drench it in cream of chicken soup, seal it up, and throw it in the fire. There is no exact art to this, no time or temperature that you have to gauge it by. Simply let it smoke and simmer and take a peek when you dare. In the end...it was delicious; chicken, potatoes, carrots, peppers, and onions. Now I know what to cook while our kitchen is being remodeled. Brett shared a delicious dessert idea that I am now hooked on. Banana boats, mouth watering bananas covered in melted chocolate and gooey marshmallows, pure heaven in tin foil form. Our evenings were full of laughter, randomly weird stories, and watching the crazy kids and equally crazy dog. Our last day up in the mountains Mike and Linda joined us for a fun day hike and lunch. Linda brought chicken and mango hot dogs( only costco could actually sell these and make a profit), and giant....giant marshmallows. 
The worst part about camping...well actually about traveling in general is repacking and heading home. It was sad to see our rare weekend was slowly coming to a close and that we would soon be having to head back to the chopping block. But it is these small special moments that we treasure the most, we never take one another for granted and we always enjoy every moment. As we were driving back to salt lake I casually asked Marc what was his favorite thing about the weekend, he replied, "Watching Timber". I couldn't help but agree, we may not have crazy kids but we sure do love the furry one that we do have. Already we began planning our next adventure.....come September we're hitting the road again, this time heading north...to Yellowstone:)
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