Are We Crazy??

DJ and I discovered a shared love a couple years ago when we started going camping. We both love doing the outdoorsy thing so we bought a tent and some other camping necessities while we were still in Albuquerque and since then have gone a few times. Well, we hadn't gone since we moved to Laramie, much to my dismay, being that this might as well be the outdoors capital of the world with all the outdoor activities that you can do around here both in summer and winter. So when I found out that DJ wouldn't have to work this weekend after all, I jumped on our one last opportunity to camp this summer. I also figured that since Jayden was a little older now it might be easier then it would have been at the beginning of summer.

We initially planned to get a little more time in the mountains and head up there to camp but then changed our minds and decided on Kurt Dowdy State Park. This was one other area that we hadn't been to yet since we moved and I didn't want another year to pass before we got to go. It's a well known area in these parts so I figured we should check it out. (That sentence could be said with a western drawl; it has a certain John Wayne vibe to it, dontcha think??)

Anyway, the camping trip was a success!

But I will not be doing it again. Ha.

I learned something on that trip. In my brain, now that I've had a child, I feel very differently about things that crawl on me in the middle of the night. There was a whole new level of freaked-outedness that I've never experienced before, prior to sharing a tent with a baby. And I decided then and there in the middle of the night that I would not be tenting again with babies. I just got all freaked out by the bugs and worrying that they would attack my baby in the middle of the night when we had barely any light to see what creatures we could feel and not see. I'm shuddering just thinking about that.

But as it is, the one time that we have gone with Jayden was a lot of fun and we've decided that Jayden absolutely loves being outside. He is so happy the entire time and is constantly wanting to see everything. Here are some pictures from our adventure!

 DJ is using his special cooking techniques for making an extra yummy campfire dinner of beef, potatoes and onions. It turned out pretty tasty!

 At one point it looked like the fire was going to win but thankfully, it did not.

 Jayden pulls himself up in the play pen now! Once he gets to his feet, he always looks so proud of himself and we always cheer for him. It's so cute.

 Even after a pretty restless night, he still woke up happy!

 The next challenge was to make breakfast over the fire. That was a bit more challenging then the dinner especially because we had exactly 4 pieces of firewood left over. The pinecones came in to save the day.

 Whereas the night before we had to worry about the fire destroying our meal, breakfast's worst enemy was the smoke.

 I was loving Jayden's style on our camping trip. Ha.

 Love those yummy little legs!

 While we were waiting for our breakfast to sloooowly cook, we had smores!

 Jayden's little face just lights up when his daddy is around. Melts my heart.

 This babbling creek babbled all night long - I couldn't decide if I liked that or not but it was definitely pretty!

 Play I Spy! Can you see the chipmunk? This little guy was super friendly and even came up all the way to DJ's shoe when we started feeding him some of our breakfast burritos.

 I loved how he would go over to this little spot in the dirt and wiggle all around like he was taking a dirt bath. It even looks like he was giving me a wave in this picture!

And this picture has absolutely nothing to do with camping except that these gorgeous blooms were waiting for us when we got back. Love!

A Moose-tastic Adventure

My mom came to visit this past week and I just had to show her the amazing mountains that were practically in our backyard. We spontaneously decided to drive up there one afternoon and boy, am I glad we did! We saw these!

We both decided that we could die happy now. Ok, maybe that's a bit dramatic but we were ecstatic to see such amazing animals on our drive into the mountains. We spent a good 30 minutes just sitting on the side of the road taking pictures. In Sherry-like fashion, my mom got uncomfortably close to these giant animals to get these great photos. (She's known to make our family very anxious as she strives for the perfect photo. In this case, I just let her do her thing. Who could blame her??) Oh, and lest you think she was actually inches from these animals, I will reassure you that she actually has a great zoom lens on her camera so although she was close, she was not THAT close.

Lightbulb!

I was reading the Other People's Chicken blog and a post she wrote about gardenias hit me like a ton of bricks. (I also must credit the lovely picture above to Miss Chicken.) Here's a part of the post:

I know it might seem strange, me having a crush on a flowering shrub, but I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it. The captivating fragrance, the waxy white flowers that look like they were fashioned out of fondant, the way it always knows just what to say when I've had a hard day. I'm driving the children crazy with gardenia arrangements in every room, not to mention my theatrical proclamations each time we leave the house. BEAUTIFUL! I yell as we pass the shrub each morning on our way out the door, sometimes forcing them to stop and inhale. I feel so lucky, and yet-it's only for a while. We're not always going to live here, that's for darn sure. In this house, this city....on earth. And I don't want to miss a thing, not anymore, so I'm going to savor it all. Right down to the gardenias.  


That's how I've been feeling!! I finally have an answer to my unspoken question! I've been smelling (more like hyperventilating) this oh-so-amazing, wonderful, intoxicating scent for some time now and although I didn't know what it was as it wafted through our open windows, I knew I never wanted it to go away. Ever. The scent alone was making me weepy to leave Knoxville because I just know they weren't going to have air that smells like this in brown, windy Wyoming. And now it's been confirmed. Gardenias don't grow there. They're a southern flower. But at least I'm not alone in my magnolia-induced drunkeness. And that makes me feel a little better. Now I'm just hoping I can find a magnolia-scented candle that smells just like it does outside. Yeah right. (But for those of you who may actually know of such a thing, because I'm still going to hold to the hope that somewhere out there there IS a company that has developed a magic formula to emanate the real smells of nature and not just a poor perfumy replica, and you're familiar with this heavenly magnolia smell, seriously, PLEASE please please buy several of whatever it is and I will pay you back. With interest!! I am willing to pay big bucks to take this smell with me.)

Becoming one with nature - Part 2

After the previous weekend was such a disappointment from being stormed out, we decided to postpone our packing for one more weekend and try camping again. And this time, it was great for all 24 hours. Instead of just the 4 we enjoyed the weekend before.

We loaded up the car once again and this time remembered to buy our firewood before we got to the campground. Good looking firewood, huh?


We successfully set up our cozy tent again. Well, DJ did and I took pictures.


And then it was time to reeeelax. And take more pictures.




Oh, see that fire? I should mention that DJ started that fire with no matches. He's an old pro now ya know. What can I say? Just poof! Let there be fire!

Ok, some old coals that were left smoking in the pit may have helped a little but still...impressive, eh?


Maia did some exploring. I think she has the easiest job of any of us of becoming one with nature. She fits right in.








More chillaxin'...




And then it was time for a little hike to the lake that we never even got to see on our last trip to the campground.



Goooorgeous!!!

It was as beautiful as we'd been told. There was a great little path that went all the way around the lake but that was about 3.5 miles so we just went a little ways. We found a huge spillway that had a cement bridge going across it and made that our turnaround point. It was a beautiful walk through the woods and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. Juuuuust right.









After the hike, it was time for some very important matters to be taken care of. And that would be...

...roasted marshmallows. Myfirst couple of attempts resulted in burnt marshmallows.

But I got better as the night wore on. By the end of the night, not only were the coals perfect, but they aided in roasting perfectly brown marshmallows. DJ, on the other hand, burns his marshmallows, on purpose. I've never heard of such a crazy notion.

The rest of the night was perfectly uneventful. It got very cold at night but our tent was oh so cozy. I was also hoping and praying that, for once, I wouldn't have to get up in the middle of the night, as is the usual these days, to make a trek to the bathroom but, no such luck. I got to enjoy the campground during even the wee hours of the night.

It was a beautiful campround, a wonderful experience and one that we hope to repeat again once we get to Wyoming!

Becoming one with nature

DJ and I decided to get a camping trip in before we left the beautiful Smoky mountains. Our first attempt was going splendidly -- we found the perfect site with only one visible neighbor, we got the tent set up for the first time with no problems (or arguments),

we got a great campfire going also with no arguments (we tend to argue a lot when we don't know what we're doing, or rather when one or the other person thinks they know what they are doing and doesn't think the other person does),

we made some mac & cheese with DJ's new Jet Boil, improvising where necessary when we realized we forgot certain things,

and we cooked some hot dogs after I whittled a stick with some scissors that we could (sort of) lodge the hot dog on long enough to get some heat on it.

It was all so great and sure, we knew there was a little rain in the forecast but heck, we had one weekend to make use of our new camping supplies in the great Tennessee wilderness and I was not about to let a little rain spoil our plans.

AND THEN....

The weather decided it didn't care what kind of stubborn will I was planning to exude in order to become one with nature, and it let loose its fury anyway. Or rather, the campground host notified us, and the rest of the campground, that all heck was going to break loose any minute in the form of 75 mph winds and a tornado watch and that we should definitely consider leaving.

LEAVING?!?! Wha...

But, but...we just set everything up, my perfectly padded bed was waiting for me to sleep on it, marshmallows were calling my name from the trunk of the car, we hadn't even seen the beautiful gorgeous lake that we had heard so much about.

My mind started working. Maybe we can tough it out. I mean, really how strong are 75 mph winds anyway?? I'm sure our trusty little tent could handle it - it wasn't even fluttering with the breezes as it was. And then we were told that last time they had to take shelter in the bathrooms, there were only 50 mph winds and these were expected to be at least 20 mph faster. Ummm yeah....that's all we needed to hear. Let's get the heck out of here!! We probably set a record for how fast we got everything packed in, rolled up and thrown back into the car before leaving a puff a dust in our wake as we shot out of the campground, followed by many others who also decided to make the same kind of getaway.

We made it back Knoxville as the rain came down, mind you, no winds were playing a part in the part of the storm that we saw, but we decided it was better to be safe than sorry and the radio stations were saying that there was a huge storm coming. We were so disappointed. We had spent a total of 4 hours at the campground.

So we decided to try it again the next weekend... (to be continued)