I went camping, people. The best part? It was my idea.
So yeah, my boys and I took a quick 48-hour camping trip last month up to Carter Lake. It. Was. Awesome. Seriously, I even surprised myself.
Back in the beginning of summer I put together a “Summer Family Bucket List”. Needless to say, we did not complete everything on said list. I was crazy busy at work, we had a week long vacation in Mexico, and the Hubs is only home for so long. I set my expectations a liiiittle high. Oh well. However, one thing on the list that I absolutely wanted to make sure we crossed off: tent camping. Thanks to a coworker of mine, I was recommended an awesome spot that’s perfect for a family of three that have never been camping before. With Little Man only being three, we knew we didn’t need to go anywhere off the beaten path, and it would be good to have legit bathrooms close. The parks around Carter Lake were perfect.
After some research, I found it’s practically impossible to camp anywhere on the weekends during summer. No worries, though. I found a great spot right on the lake, 50 yards from the bathrooms, 1 minute drive to the swim-up beach, for two nights on a Wednesday and Thursday. This ended up being the best choice, as there were only a couple of other occupied spots around us during those days.
I spent a couple of weeks leading up to the trip doing all the homework. We bought a tent, a canopy, a ground sheet, extra stakes, a campfire gas grill, a battery-operated fan, etc.. I also did all the research on campfire food. I knew I didn’t want to phone it in with sandwiches for five meals. If we were going to camp, it was going to be authentic and I was determined to have the full experience. I meal prepped the night before for sausage/veggie foil packs; I bought corn-on-the-cob to grill over the open fire; Packed eggs, hash browns, and english muffins for breakfast; I even brought along a pot to boil water so we could have french pressed coffee (camping or not… I need coffee). And of course, s’more fixins.
I cannot stress enough the amazing time we had. We woke up early to the best view while I made breakfast and sipped coffee. We swam in a lake with the coldest water I have ever felt. We were outside for 48-hours with shit cell service. My kid played in the dirt and loved every minute of it. I would do it again in a heartbeat and have every intention of making this a regular family trip.
Until next time…
