Camp Bugs and More

Last year, there was a new bug caught every day. This year, the excitement was in one day over two bugs. Look at how large this beetle is. It was just crawling by as we sat, and Josh observed it for awhile til he set it free.

This catterpillar conveniently crawled right onto our tent netting and was so cute.

It blesses me each time Pete reads the Bible with the kids, whether at home or on vacation. I love this habit. What was cool about the timing today, was that as these three sat down to start, our neighbors were worshipping the Lord singing "How Great is Our God"

This sunday afternoon, we went down to the end of the road, and added to this dam that others before us had started.

upstream view from the kids building project

For Pete and I, there is much pleasure in sharing our pre-kids past time of camping, hiking and exploring with our kids now.

another tradition the boys created is throwing pine cones at this neck of the woods:

to see how fast they float away

River Water Slide

Our boys were thrilled to find a natural "water slide" and this would be a place that brought joy to revisit

balancing

submerge

What else can you do on river rock?  c l i m b

Morning Hike

The cabin was used as a storage area, and these three take up about a fifth of the cabin space.

 Our first hike of the week started at Knapp's cabin and we explored from there. This is the oldest building in the area, built in the twenties.

guarding the door

lookin' tough

The three guys

After hiking upstream, we gazed at gorgeous canyon views

We arrived at the river, 4000 foot elevation

great walking sticks are always a plus

We found balanced rocks

After spending much time snacking, we noticed these insects camoflague in the rock right next to my shoulder! Can you spot them?

rock walking to cross as far as we can go

or a good rock to rest on!

Setting Up Camp

It's the first night of our annual week long camp trip and the boys are eager to be involved in each step. Maybe because it's all so new?!?

marshmallow roast!

It was a good day of traveling, fellowship with family, productive set up, and exploring!

Grizzly

 There is so much anticipation to arrive at our favorite camp spot. Even so, we stopped to look at Grizzly falls. The water is low this year, so the falls are smaller, but still a pretty sight to see.

mini family gathering

Pete's sister and niece were so sweet to share their company with us. They went out of their way to meet us along our travel route for lunch. We had a wonderful time of stories, conversations about the upcoming year, and hanging out. It was a meaningful time.

More Fun at the Shore

Josh about to  balance on the surfboard. You can see the excitement building on his face.

The boys were so blessed by our friend's impromptu surf lessons

Big Smile on our son. Huge encouragement from our friend who is a wonderful teacher.

Yet another fun day at the beach with friends!