We went camping at Mt Timpanogos campground this past weekend. I must say that the east side of Timpanogos far surpasses it's west face, it was absolutely beautiful and amazing. The Alpine Loop road is a little scary to drive on (very narrow) but well worth the drive for all the beautiful scenery. The leaves were just starting to change colors, and it was awe inspiring. It really made me feel grateful for this beautiful earth that God has created. He is truly an artist and a scientist.
We went on a very little hike around Cascade Springs. It is a really cool natural spring in the area with it's own little ecosystem. Mina loved the hike, and she also loved chewing on her hat strap.
Gotta love that baby, she has the cutest smiles!
This place was so cool, there had been a fire there some years ago leaving all these dead black trees, and with the new brush growing below it created a really awesome contrast.
I don't think Mina liked the camping much, as she didn't have as much freedom as she is used to. She did sleep surprising well, but during the day she got frustrated with her lack of free range play. After she got super grumpy, we decided she really needed a designated play area bigger then a play pen, so we cleared out the back of the car and opened all the windows. Finally she was happy :) She played in there for quite a while, but I must say that I'm not thoroughly convinced that camping with an infant is worth it. It makes it much more difficult. Cooking was a chore rather then a joy (as it usually is for me) as she just always wanted me there and I couldn't be so it was either eat and listen to her cry or not eat....neither are good choices. And then if you have a baby like Mina, she has to sleep where she is comfortable, so we were stuck at the campground pretty much the whole time. I wanted to go on a second hike but we just ran out of time between naps. I told Ryan that I am torn, because I love camping and being outdoors, but I think it is just too complicated with young children. I don't know how my parents did it, but I give them major kudos and compliments for camping with 6 kids!
We were planning on staying 3 nights, but unfortunately things were cut a little short. Saturday afternoon I started to not feel so well, I thought it was maybe just a fluke so continued to make dinner (Dutch oven pizza) and we had some friends come up to enjoy the evening with us. Unfortunately before the pizza was done I was puking, so then it was a scramble to get camp taken down and get me home. Let me just say that packing up between bouts of running to a campground bathroom is not fun, nor is stopping at multiple outhouses and public restrooms on the way home. Not the most pleasant experience of my life, and I am sure that it has somewhat tainted my opinion of camping, but we'll see- luckily it didn't last more than that night, although I am still slightly weakened from the experience.
So in short, This earth is a beautiful and amazing place....Mina is wonderful, but not necessarily a happy camper... and food poisoning (or whatever it was) really stinks!
1 comment:
I hear ya. We took Brielle camping a few times this past summer and it was quite the challenge. However, what was nice is that we had our tent trailer then and it made things SO much easier. If I had camped with her in a tent, I'm sure we would have had a very different experience. Needless to say, I think a tent trailer is the way to go if you have young children.
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