Camp Brewer

So instead of doing the usual family activities that the kids will enjoy but forget by next weekend, we wanted to make some lasting memories. So we decided to go on a weekend tent camping trip. Casey's friend Corey told us all about this great campsite up by Hardware Ranch. We were going to leave Saturday but the anticipation was killing us so we were out of here by 5 pm on Friday. We had a map and figured we were both smart enough to read and follow. Little did we know how much more technical it would be than that! We were on some scary ranch road, not fit for man nor beast. There were huge jagged rocks sticking out of this dirt road (if you could call it that) which wound around cliffs (I don't do cliffs!) and it didn't remotely resemble the map. By now we were definitely lost, it was cold, it started to rain, and it was getting dark. So we headed back the way we came and stopped at the first flat spot we came to. We were on this wide open plain, in a huge patch of dead weeds. The wind was so bad we couldn't light a fire. By now I was crying, (and white knuckling the door handle)afraid something was going to go wrong in the middle of nowhere and Dalen was crying because this wasn't what camping looked like on TV! I got about 1 hour of sleep worrying about everyone getting cold, reenacting the tornado scene from Wizard of Oz as our tent shook violently in the wind, and we just happened to be camping on a hunting trail on the first weekend of the bow hunt. Every ten minutes or so a 4-wheeler, truck, trailer, motor home, etc...would pass by on the crappy road at all hour of the night. Here are a few pics of our first glorious night!

The only redeeming moment on the road from hell was the moose that was standing in a steam right off the side of the road (still debating the use of this word). He was the biggest moose I'd ever seen.

So needless to say we were up bright and early and out of there in search of the campsite that would better suit the camping visions in my children's heads. A few miles of going back the way we came, towards civilization, we found the perfect spot. Covered by trees, fire pit, flat ground for the tent, right next to the river with the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.

The kids got to fish (even though the fish were sleeping) and play to their hearts content. Dalen, the great scavenger that he is, spent all day finding shells and fossils. Kenna had a good time throwing rocks into the river and playing on the stepping stones. Casey made up a game of spill the milk with the firewood we brought and rocks. Both kids have a pretty good arm on them. I made the kids each a camping activity book with pictures to color, word searches, and a scavenger hunt I found on the Internet. We made dutch oven chili dogs and played in the fire till bed time. Despite the not-so-great beginning the trip turned out a total success.

The kids loved it and so did the dogs. Jackson is the best car dog alive and Mattie was just happy it wasn't so hot with all her thick hair! We will definitely be going again, but maybe next year we will look into buying a trailer. (Mental note: bring can opener and contact case!)