Camping

The weather was going to be nice for the weekend so we decided to go camping we hadn’t been for a while. We left Friday when we got off work and headed to CJ Strike, a lake about 1 1/2 away. We actually stayed by a little lake near the CJ called Crane Falls.

Almost immediately I remembered why it had been so long. Something always happens. We didn’t get to leave as early as we wanted and then Greg’s truck seemed to be having problems. It didn’t have enough power and we had to drive kinda slow. Greg figured it was his fuel filter but we didn’t stop we just wanted to get there. There were times I wasn’t sure we were going to make it up a hill. We got there when it was starting to get dark – which always seems to happen when we go camping. So we had to get everything unloaded and start setting up in the dark.

We got everything set up. Started the charcoal for a quick dinner and then pretty much just went to bed. We didn’t even do a fire the first night cuz it was pretty windy and the wind would of blew the smoke straight into our pop up.

That night was HORRIBLE! I could not get comfy my hips were hurting on the hard surface and my arms kept falling asleep. I love to sleep on my stomach but Greg and I were too close for me to do that. And our dog was so annoying. He was constantly moving, licking and making noise. We heard some coyotes howl and that made him start growling and barking. Finally about 3 am Greg kicked the dog out. We got a bit of sleep after that.

Of course when we got up in the morning the dog was gone. We fanned out and started calling for him, hoping he didn’t go too far. I walked towards the lake and finally could see some rustling in the reeds. He came running up wet with ice cycles on his belly. Looked like he had some adventures in the morning.

Greg and Jaelee decided to go down by the boat ramp and go fishing. Jayse was still sleeping and I was going to walk over there with the dog. They weren’t getting much fish there and there were more and more people coming in using the boat ramp so we decided to go across the little lake to a boat dock.

We went back to our camp to get a few more things. I rode the 4 wheeler with Jaelee and Greg rode the little bike to the dock. The dog ran beside Jaelee and I. He looked so cute keeping up. When we got tot he dock it was nice and sunny there. Greg right away got a bite. He lost the fish but got another one pretty quick. He didn’t keep it but kept fishing.

I went back to camp to wake up Jayse and got him. We went back to the dock and fished for a bit. We didn’t get any more fish but it was nice just sitting there in the sun. After a few hours we went back to our camp to get lunch. Greg stayed on the dock to continue fishing and the kids and I went into the popup and played Phase 10.

After lunch Greg took Jaelee on the four wheeler to teach her how to drive it. Greg followed in the little bike. She had some problems. She veered off the path a bit and just about crashed into a bush. But she corrected and continued on. She did not really like driving the 4 wheeler. She liked the bike better. After Jaelee’s turn Greg took Jayse on the 4 wheeler to learn to drive and he picked it up in that one trip. He drove it all around after that, the bike and the four wheeler. He went on a mission to find big rocks to put around the fire pit.

After riding around for a bit Greg and Jayse took the four wheeler and little bike to the river near by to try fishing there. Jaelee and I stayed behind and played cards. We played war, solitaire and jenga. Then she used the jenga pieces to play with and build things. Greg did end up getting a pretty nice trout this time that he kept. We ate it a few days later and it was really good.

When they got back Jayse continued to ride around on the four wheeler or bike. He did wreck the little bike a couple of times but got back on and just continued riding. Jaelee just goofed around, digging, throwing dirt and running around with the dog.

Greg and the kids decided to go back over to the boat dock to fish. Greg took the four wheeler with Jaelee and Jayse drove behind them with the little bike. They stayed until it was dark. Jayse had his first experience driving in the dark. They didn’t get any fish. I stayed back and stayed in the pop up with the dog and read.

That night we did start a fire – in fact Jaelee and Jayse even made their own little ones and hung out by it for a bit but we were all pretty tired and went to bed kinda early. This time we let the dog sleep in the truck bed. I think we all slept so much better. We did hear coyotes again but were able to go back to sleep.

We got up the next morning and were ready to head home so we packed up and headed home. Greg’s truck was even worse on the way home. We had to drive 50 on the free way with our lights flashing. We did pull over one time but then continued on and made it home. He did check the truck a few days later and it was the fuel filter – has worked fine since.

Seeing how many cheeseballs he can fit in his mouth at once.