Yes, we all came back alive! As you could see from Amy's post on Friday, the weather was not cooperating with us at all. It continued to rain all Friday evening.
Oh, Minnesota!
The fire was a lifesaver Friday night.
Our firewood was scraps from lath, so it was very easy to break, and the boys took their job of preparing the wood very seriously.
By Saturday morning, it had stopped raining, though it was still chilly.
We went through three pallets of those lath scraps (helped in great part by the dads who liked to see how big they could get the fire going. At one point, I was about 30 feet away and had to move back because my face was burning.)
The fire pit was about 12 inches deep when we got there, but the lath left so much ash in there that it soon built up level with and then over the fire ring.
One of our many traditions on this camping trip is a dads-against-kids capture the flag game on Saturday.
The dads always complaining that they are way outnumbered (which they usually are with about 30-40 kids and 8-10 dads), but they do just fine on their own, as you can see by the number of kids in jail.
On Saturday afternoon, some of us hiked out on the peninsula. It is a little less than a mile to get to the point. I think it is one of the prettiest places on this earth, and so I got a little carried away taking pictures. Above is the path you take to get to the peninsula.
On that path, there is a section of boardwalk that goes through a bog.
Ok, now we are on the peninsula. At first, it is flatter, but soon, you are walking on a ridge the slopes steeply down to the lake on either side.
Dad spotted this adorable little nest. I should have held my hand up to it to give a little perspective - it was only about 3 inches in diameter!
There are lots of cedar trees on the peninsula, and every once and a while you can catch the aroma in the air.
I took this picture to show how much it slopes off on the side.
I love Minnesota!
The end of the peninsula is called Chase point. There are steps leading down to a little landing, then you can walk down to the edge of the water.
The view from the point.
After our walk down the peninsula, I got a little lazy taking pictures. Saturday night was our traditional meal that we eat altogether. This year, we did it bigger than ever. As an "appetizer," Uncle Dave made his special pheasant recipe. Then we deep-fried 5 chickens, and we had a porchetta in a crock pot. After the chickens were done, into the deep fryer went tater tots followed by french fries. When we were all sitting around stuffed with all that yummy food, one of the guys suggested we have some ice cream for dessert. So in they went to town and came back with ice cream for everyone. That night the kids ran around playing games and the guys kept piling the fire bigger and bigger, and having contests to see who could break the most lath over their heads at one time. Sunday when we were all packed up, we kept another tradition by stopping in Big Fork on our way out for ice cream. After that, we say our good byes, and head home. Dad and I drove the three kids we brought and our cousin Carson home, and it wasn't ten minutes after we left Big Fork they were all either sleeping or going to sleep. Even though Friday started out not so great, it was still a really fun weekend.
Oh, Minnesota!
By Saturday morning, it had stopped raining, though it was still chilly.
We went through three pallets of those lath scraps (helped in great part by the dads who liked to see how big they could get the fire going. At one point, I was about 30 feet away and had to move back because my face was burning.)
The fire pit was about 12 inches deep when we got there, but the lath left so much ash in there that it soon built up level with and then over the fire ring.
One of our many traditions on this camping trip is a dads-against-kids capture the flag game on Saturday.
The dads always complaining that they are way outnumbered (which they usually are with about 30-40 kids and 8-10 dads), but they do just fine on their own, as you can see by the number of kids in jail.
On Saturday afternoon, some of us hiked out on the peninsula. It is a little less than a mile to get to the point. I think it is one of the prettiest places on this earth, and so I got a little carried away taking pictures. Above is the path you take to get to the peninsula.
On that path, there is a section of boardwalk that goes through a bog.
Ok, now we are on the peninsula. At first, it is flatter, but soon, you are walking on a ridge the slopes steeply down to the lake on either side.
There are lots of cedar trees on the peninsula, and every once and a while you can catch the aroma in the air.
I took this picture to show how much it slopes off on the side.
I love Minnesota!
The end of the peninsula is called Chase point. There are steps leading down to a little landing, then you can walk down to the edge of the water.
The view from the point.
After our walk down the peninsula, I got a little lazy taking pictures. Saturday night was our traditional meal that we eat altogether. This year, we did it bigger than ever. As an "appetizer," Uncle Dave made his special pheasant recipe. Then we deep-fried 5 chickens, and we had a porchetta in a crock pot. After the chickens were done, into the deep fryer went tater tots followed by french fries. When we were all sitting around stuffed with all that yummy food, one of the guys suggested we have some ice cream for dessert. So in they went to town and came back with ice cream for everyone. That night the kids ran around playing games and the guys kept piling the fire bigger and bigger, and having contests to see who could break the most lath over their heads at one time. Sunday when we were all packed up, we kept another tradition by stopping in Big Fork on our way out for ice cream. After that, we say our good byes, and head home. Dad and I drove the three kids we brought and our cousin Carson home, and it wasn't ten minutes after we left Big Fork they were all either sleeping or going to sleep. Even though Friday started out not so great, it was still a really fun weekend.
4 comments:
Yes, despite the rough start, God blessed us with two beautiful days for camping, and lots of fellowship, food, and fun! The hike to Chase Point was a definite highlight, as was Capture the Flag. I can't wait to go back next year, although I sure hope it's just a little bit warmer :-).
~Amy~
I'm glad you had a good time! It looks like it was beautiful!
Katelyn
For some reason I'm kinda glad I missed out on the freez- i mean cool camping trip!! :D Sounds like a lot of fun! Wish we could've been there!
Tori
I laughed out loud at the "breaking lath over their heads" part! Funny. What a great tradition this trip is! Fun pictures too.
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