Monday, August 15, 2011

otterlake

Our last of 5 camping (glamping) trips this summer took us to Otter Lake Provincial Park in Tulameen.  I think the 11 weekend camping trips we've taken over the past 2 summers have made the kids well-adjusted to our camping "routine".  A weekend is a short time to go away, but man, is it ever fun!

Our adventure started when we decided to follow Google Maps' directions to get there.  We were skeptical about taking an exit that was sometime soon after the Coquihalla summit, but we did it anyway.  We ended up on a 1.5 hour tour of the logging roads in the area.  Good thing Bri washed the truck and trailer the night before!

Needless to say, we survived.  It was an interesting route and we got to see some of the forestry/recreation sites around the Boss Lake area, but it was slow and bumpy!  And it made me think that you really need to have some idea of an area before you blindly follow Google Maps or your GPS.  I can see why people go off on a road trip and then their family members report them missing days/weeks later.  We were in the middle of nowhere and if it was a different time of year and we broke down or something, we could have been SOL with no 3G.  We literally drove into the middle of nowhere by following a computer's directions!

Anyway, back to camping.  This was our first time camping with the Bush family.  In a word, we had a blast!  We had 4 adults, 5 kids and 3 dogs on a double campsite.  And it was chaos at it's best!  Actually, it wasn't chaotic at all.  Nicole and Sig have 3 boys - ages 5.5, 8 and 10.  Josh took to them immediately and I've never seen him so independent and having so much fun.  I guess I will have to get used to that more and more, but it's always hard for mom to let go, no?

Aves still stuck close to me, but she gets more and more adventurous everyday.  At one point, I was happy to see her at the beach, stepping into the water by herself, calf deep, to fill her watering can.  But then she lost her balance and fell into deeper water, getting her face wet.  That was the end of that adventure!

We were also subject to a campfire ban that started at noon on the Friday we arrived!  Bad timing!  It cooled down considerably at night.  On Friday night, we huddled around an imaginary campfire with blankets on, but on Saturday, we got smart and sat at the picnic table with a portable propane heater under the table to keep our legs and bodies warm.  Oh the joys of glamping!

We had a great time catching up with Cole and Sig, too.  Nicole and I are friends from all the way back in high school!  We did a bit of reminiscing, but mostly we wanted to hear how things were going as the Bush's start a new chapter of their lives in Vernon.  It sounded like things are going brilliantly and we can't wait to see the new digs on our impending visit!  And Sig, you ARE the dog whisperer. 

Of course, I have to share the cool things that Josh learned getting to hang out with older boys for the weekend:
1. Aves' princess ride-on toy makes a GREAT concrete toboggan!
2. Weiner is another word for his you-know-what.  And because it's just a weiner he can say it whenever he wants.
3. Instead of having his usual warm milk when he wakes up in the morning, Josh would now like to have a beer.

Thanks for a fabulous weekend, Bush family!  We can't wait to go again next year - this time, we'll try to do longer than 2 nights!

See more photos here.  Note below: the kid with the red helmet was not ours, but he loved playing with our kids!


3 comments:

Shannon Pifko said...

I love it, just wish we were with you!!!! p.s you should hear what my girls learn!! lol

Erin Rogers said...

That's hilarious! Glad it's turning out to be a great summer for adventures! :)

Freia said...

a wonderful recollection of your glamping weekend....i thoroughly enjoyed reading this....thanks for sharing...love the weiner bit....haha