Camping

Last weekend, we ventured out to Shenandoah National Park to camp for one night with Quinn's Boy Scouting den.  The den only consists of two boys, Quinn and his best friend Jack so the group consisted of our two families.  It really works out perfectly that their family has a boy Quinn's age, and a girl Keely's age...and that the kids get along so well.  Only problem is that we don't have a 13 year old to pair up with their oldest.  Oh well, John's a good sport and had fun anyways.

We had so much trouble planning a weekend for this one night trip.  The only weekend that both families could find time in our busy schedules was early in November, and then it was so late in the season we worried about snow, and cold temperatures.  Luckily, we didn't have any snow but it was cold...highs around 50 and low in the upper 20s to low 30s.  It was also 'fall behind' weekend so we had an extra hour in those cold tents :)

We left after the girls' soccer game on Saturday and arrived at our destination, Andy Guest State Park around 5:30 PM.  A little later than I would have liked, only giving us an hour or so of daylight to set up camp.  The boys were supposed to do everything themselves to continue their boy scout training.  They set up their tent with a bit of help, and started a fire (again, with a little help).  They made a really good oven out of a box and aluminum foil...and using charcoal, it heated to more than 350 degrees (judging by how quickly things cooked while in it) and made biscuits to accompany dinner and cinnamon rolls to accompany breakfast.  Our main course for dinner was foil pockets...and the boys made all 9 of them, cooked to order with trimmings.  They consisted of ground beef, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, potatoes, salt, pepper, and whatever flavorings you wanted - BBQ sauce, white wine, ketchup, etc.  These are so simple...put all of the ingredients on a piece of foil, wrap it up like a tent, and put it on the fire for 20-25 minutes.  I was a little skeptical at first, but they were delicious!  The boys also made some desserts...including s'mores, bananas with marshmallows and chocolate, and apples with cinnamon and brown sugar.  I was so stuffed...for campfire meals, this was by far better than my usual standby of hot dogs and mac n cheese (though we did have some of that on the side).

Night arrangements found the boys in their own tent, and Keely wanting to sleep with Julia so that left me and James to our tent.  It was super cold...my feet were cold most of the night despite having wool socks on, and my nose never warmed up.  It wasn't the best night's sleep...oh, and also was interrupted by Keely and Julia needing me to accompany them to the bathroom at 1 AM (because they were afraid of bears). 

In the morning, we had bagels toasted on the campfire and the aforementioned cinnamon rolls.  We broke down the camp...honestly, so much trouble for just one night...and then ventured out for a hike to complete the Outdoorsman badge.  It really is beautiful out in that area, even though the leaves were past their prime.  I forget how beautiful, but it inspired me to get out in the mountains more often.  We were so spoiled having them so close in Utah, that I often forget we are still relatively close to mountains here in Virginia.

It was a fun one night trip camping, and I'm sure we will do it again sometime soon...hopefully in a bit warmer weather.