Camping Locally

How many cars does it take for one family to camp 30 minutes from home?

Two. We needed two because we arrived at different times and I really wanted to take the double BOB so I could enjoy the 4.5 mile walk around Burke Lake. The BOB is huge and takes up a lot of space in the van even when completely collapsed.

I arrived at the campground a little after 1:00 and found most of the campsites were already reserved even though there was almost no one there. Two thirds of the sites were reserved for cub scouts who were coming on Saturday and about half of the other third were already reserved. (Groups can make reservations but family sites are first come.) The super nice woman at the camp store said that on Fridays people get there at 8:00 to reserve the sites that they want and then they come back in the afternoon and set up their tents.

We ended up with a very large campsite in section C that wasn't very close to bathhouse C but it was fairly close to bathhouse B. Some of the sites are too small for a seven person tent like ours. Being right by the cub scouts was fine because somehow the adults got them to all be quiet right at 10 PM for quiet hours.

After reserving our site and parking the van, I unloaded the kids and the stroller and walked around the lake. After the walk, the kids played for about 45 minutes at the playground at the campground while we waited for Chris to arrive. This playground is exactly like the one by the train and carousel.
Our tent looking rather fly.
Camping at Burke Lake isn't exactly getting away from it all. I did check my email once on my iphone. I turned it on to make a phone call and realized that I was getting a 3G signal and well, I just couldn't resist.

I didn't sleep well the first night because I could hear the traffic on Burke Lake Road and the Parkway. It sounded like motorcycles were racing (they probably weren't but it sounded that way.) The second night, I slept great with ear plugs in.

The worst part about camping in the fall? The temperature dropped down in the forties at night, so it was very cold getting out of the sleeping bag and going to the bathroom. Wesley had to go once each night (so did I). The weather was very different from when Chris and Wesley went camping in July with other dads and sons from our Adult Bible Fellowship.

When we camped in August we only had fires at night after Lydia was in bed but this time the morning temperature was chilly enough to warrant a campfire. I was relieved to see that Lydia had a healthy fear of the fire and that she stayed a safe distance away from it. Here is a picture of Wesley "reading" to Lydia by the fire. While Chris and Wesley were walking around the campground this large limb fell down on the road in front of them. It was about 20' in front of them when it hit the road. Chris and another camper moved it to the side of the road. This was, of course, a big thrill for Wesley.

On Saturday, the reward for riding around the lake in the stroller a second day in a row was playing at the big playground. This tunnel slide was Lydia's favorite. As soon as she got out of the stroller she headed straight for it and then went down head first on her belly. I kept telling her to go on her bottom feet first but if I wasn't there to make her she went down head first. I think it was just easier for her to get into the slide in that position.

Wesley and Lydia climbing the rock wall.

After the playground, we walked on around to the train and carousel. While I rode with the kids, Chris went back to the campsite to cook lunch. Lydia had her only nap that day in stroller on the walk back to the campsite and while the rest of us ate lunch. She only slept for about 30 minutes that day so she was sleepy on and off the rest of the afternoon. Here she is cuddling with Chris.

Camping so close to home gave us the opportunity to invite friends to join us for dinner. We had chips and salsa, black bean salad, and chicken fajitas. (We prepped everything Thursday night so we just had to grill the marinated chicken and cook the peppers and onions.) Our sweet friends showed up with banana muffins for us to enjoy with our beach eggs the next morning.

The kids had fun playing together. Here is the best picture I have of the older kids roasting marshmallows.

Yummy! Actually, after eating one s’more each night, Wesley just wanted to eat the marshmallows right out of the bag- less work and waiting that way.

Isn't this a great picture? This little 17 month old enjoyed her first s'more. Lydia had some also but Chris wouldn't let her hold it because he thought it would be too messy.

Chris ordered a nifty automatic coffee maker that worked great on the camp stove. With morning temperatures in the low fifties, the coffee helped to warm me up. Chris recently started drinking coffee occasionally and he enjoyed a cup both mornings.

Packing up to go home.

Before heading home, we put the kids in the stroller for one more walk around the lake. It was only 10:30 when we started walking but both kids fell asleep.

This is our last camping trip this year. We hope to camp next spring, summer and fall. I have a couple of places already picked out but if any one has any suggestions or wants to join us that would be great.