Memorable

I like telling RD I want to make a memory for my birthday. RD was really excited to go camping for his birthday, especially after our recent trip to Willow Creek was so fun. He really wanted to go back to Warm Lake, Idaho, where he camped as a kid on his birthday. If you  have never heard his story of that trip, it is a great story. And we found out, perhaps a foreshadowing of him camping in that same area on his birthday.
Anyway, there was a fire in the area until shortly before we left, and RD was so relieved we were able to go. We left Thursday right after the kids got home from school, and made it there around 7pm. The site was great, no one else was around, and the sites were spaced out and had lots of fun open space for the kids to play around.

Cameron and Grace loved climbing the big boulders, and Aubree wanted to follow them. She eventually was able to climg onto the big boulder herself, and I had to remind myself to be excited for her instead of cautioning her. Grace loved finding cool rocks, and she and Aubree thought it was SO cool to find lots of rock filled with flakes of crystal that was easily crushed. Aubree loved smashing them with a big rock.

those small gray pebbles are all the crushed rock!

Aubree was so excited to go camping, she was packing bags for a week.

We set up, played around, roasted some potatoes and smores, and RD led our campfire sing-a-long, which was a lot of fun. Cameron got anxious about the sign posted on the table that this is bear country, but we hung out around the fire until dark and then went to sleep. Or tried to sleep with a 3 year old in the sleeping bag with us.

We woke up cold. For some reason whenever we go camping the weather is 20+ degrees colder than it has been recently. We made hot cocoa and breakfast burritos and heated up rolls. And Reese pulled faces, and Aubree complained about cold hands while refusing to put on her coat.

 Grace and Cameron loved to go pump water, which was helpful :) They also made a 'house' for the many chipmunks around our site. We had many 'Alvins', and one huge Theodore. One even came onto my jeans at one point. Someone had fed them before, but we kept shooing them away.

the chipmunk house

The sun finally came above the trees and it warmed up, and we set off for a hike and exploration. We went over to the South Fork Salmon River campground to look for the spawned out King Salmon. We walked along the river, and we saw a few fish, but not many. We heard some eagle calls, and saw some bald eagles, which was so happy for us! The trees and eagles brought us a bit back to Sitka, and it was great.

of course, you have to throw rocks into a river

I love how Aubree had to bring along her bag in her hand

the dark spot in the middle is the salmon

We decided to check out a hot spring before it got crowded with the Labor Day weekend, and after a few wrong turns we found it! The weather was barely over 60, but we still got in our suits (which was a bit dramatic for the kids with us in the van off the road) and headed down.
There was a small pool set up, not very deep, and it was awesome. It mixed the hot spring with the river just right, and the girls and Cameron loved it. The bottom was rocky, with sparkling silt mixing in the water as the kids played. Relaxing in the warm water, steam rising from nearby rocks, surrounded by trees and flowers, watching eagles fly by and the kids giggle (and whine of course), it was probably my favorite moment of the day, and one of RD's two favorite times of the day. RD took the older kids to look for a geocache before we headed up, and they found it!

We headed back for lunch, and I read Aubree books in the tent and got her to take a nap while RD took the other kids fishing at the lake. They had no bites, but they saw some birds of prey diving into the lake and flying out with fish, which they all thought was totally impressive and amazing.

We played Frisbee for awhile, and Aubree dragged her chair over to watch. The kids eventually lost it in a thorn bush, but made up a new game involving hiding and snipers and some complicated rules. Grace didn't love that game.

We ate a birthday dinner of hot dogs, hamburgers, biscuits, watermelon, chips, apples, and ended with a dutch oven chocolate lava cake, with ice cream from the lodge a mile away. That was RD's other favorite moment.

My handsome birthday man

The kids were eager for RD to play their new game with them, so after dinner they made teams and played. RD and I had some fun, and spotted something like a "Bigfoot" striding around the campground. The evening was wonderful, and we went to bed and watched some of "Despicable Me" before going to sleep.

And then we had a night that we all will never forget, but that is another post.