This weekend we headed for the canyons for some good old camping. We went with our good friends the Elletts and the Burton's as well as my bro and his wife. I was a little nervous taking seven-week-old Summer but she was a real trooper! She might as well get used to it now because we love the outdoors in our fam. We had some good times roasting mallows, teaching the kids about "blue darts", off-roading and just relaxing in the beautiful mountains. I organized a treasure hunt for the kiddies and made up a cheezy legend about a pirate named Ebekaneazer. Yeah, I know, when have you heard about Utah pirates? That is why it is a legend folks. Besides, they had fun and soaked up every bit of it.
The fun was a bit interrupted when we realized we were in the same area in which a boy was drug out of his tent by a bear last year and killed. There was a time I was alone at our campsite with Trace and Summer when I suddenly heard rustling in the bushes. Now, not to toot my own horn, but I don't scare easily and I was FREAKING OUT! I have learned that you are supposed to make a lot of noise to scare off black bears so Trace and I started banging sticks and yelling out. Part of me thought maybe it was a hiker and they were getting a kick out of our ridiculous behavior, but I would rather be safe than sorry. Well, I put Trace behind me (the cars were all gone) as I saw a glimpse of light brown in the bushes. Now I was like "Oh, crap! It's a mountain lion and my kids are lunch-size." I was ready to kick some lion butt when I saw two large ears poke up through the brush-it was a DEER! I felt like a total idiot, but at least I could breathe again.
The rest of the trip was fun, but we got dumped on the last night. It was peaceful to fall asleep to the rain, but packing up our stuff was quite messy. I guess that is just part of the camping experience.
I wish I had gotten some pics of the trail we had to drive up to get to our campsite. It was CRAZY! My car is great off-road and Mike is an experienced driver, but my poor Disco came home with some damage. :( I am finally talking to Mike again, but I am still sad. It isn't that bad, but it is bad enough to need a little body work. At least we are all safe-right?
The fun was a bit interrupted when we realized we were in the same area in which a boy was drug out of his tent by a bear last year and killed. There was a time I was alone at our campsite with Trace and Summer when I suddenly heard rustling in the bushes. Now, not to toot my own horn, but I don't scare easily and I was FREAKING OUT! I have learned that you are supposed to make a lot of noise to scare off black bears so Trace and I started banging sticks and yelling out. Part of me thought maybe it was a hiker and they were getting a kick out of our ridiculous behavior, but I would rather be safe than sorry. Well, I put Trace behind me (the cars were all gone) as I saw a glimpse of light brown in the bushes. Now I was like "Oh, crap! It's a mountain lion and my kids are lunch-size." I was ready to kick some lion butt when I saw two large ears poke up through the brush-it was a DEER! I felt like a total idiot, but at least I could breathe again.
The rest of the trip was fun, but we got dumped on the last night. It was peaceful to fall asleep to the rain, but packing up our stuff was quite messy. I guess that is just part of the camping experience.
I wish I had gotten some pics of the trail we had to drive up to get to our campsite. It was CRAZY! My car is great off-road and Mike is an experienced driver, but my poor Disco came home with some damage. :( I am finally talking to Mike again, but I am still sad. It isn't that bad, but it is bad enough to need a little body work. At least we are all safe-right?
