heber valley campground

Camping. Ugh. I want to like it! I really do. I think it could be a fabulous way to make memories and strengthen family connections. It is just so much work. And so dirty! I was not looking forward to our Daniel family campout last Friday. We didn't get on our way until 4:00 pm even though Dave had the whole day off. Once we did make it to the campsite, I was pleasantly surprised. Now this is the way to camp. In a cabin! With electricity. And showers and toilets. And a kitchen! The campsite is owned by our church and is very well maintained. We had three different cabins (actually yurts) with 16 beds each. I use the term "bed" loosely. It was just a wooden platform but at least it wasn't on the ground nor did we have to set up a tent.

We spent Friday evening eating tin foil dinners, playing Bocce, exploring, hiking, getting dirty, eating smores, and taking pictures. The adults played games while the kids "went to sleep". Even in a yurt, one does not get a good night's sleep. I slept with Sawyer who tossed and turned all night. At least my air mattress didn't leak.


On Saturday, we woke up to this....
SNOW! I was totally unprepared for snow. We had light jackets. No gloves. No boots. No hats. I was sure the snow was not going to melt and our day's activities would be canceled. Katie had more faith than me. It sure didn't look too promising in the morning but the sun came out and the snow slowly melted away. We were able to go out on the lake at one in the afternoon.

After the lake, we went up to the challenge course where we got to climb a 25 foot pole, then walk along on a log for another 10 feet or so and finally speed down a 200 foot zip line. Emma was first to go in our group and did it with a smile on her face the whole time. Slade looked totally terrified the whole time but he did it. Nathan got scared on the climb up the pole so he just got to swing on the rope for a little while instead. I got up the pole right after my nephew Austin. This was his second time up. He got scared the first time and just got rappelled down. The second time he made it over to the crow's nest for the zip line and then just clung on and wouldn't let go. I got to hang out on the log 25 feet up in the air while they coaxed Austin into going. In the end, the missionary had to just give him a gentle shove off. Then it was my turn. I did some step kicks across the log just for fun and enjoyed my zip through the air. Dave showed me up with some clogging on the log.

There were some other challenges after the zip line. The poor sister missionary looked rather irritated with us but we were dealing with tired, crying children who weren't interested in the gospel applications. Oh well, it was still fun.

After cleaning up the campsite, we headed back home around 5:45 and took it easy that evening at home. So while I still don't think I really like camping, I would like to go back to that campground next year. Hopefully it won't snow.