Dirty Camping

 
So we get back to the campsite, the kids are playing, Jake is making dinner,

Jonathan and I are taking pictures,

                             
when I suddenly realize that the kids (well, Naomi mostly) have somehow become covered in smudges.

                         
Here Logan, you hang out with Uncle Jonathan for a few minutes while I unearth Naomi.

Eh, never mind, I might as well get them both at once.
  The kids got cleaned up, but it looks like Mommy needs a bit more work.

                         
Of course, if these two would stop moving I just might be able to catch up.

                             
Okay, dinner’s been consumed; we’ve got time for one last exploration before bed.  Step one: stop to check out weird tree full of holes.  Turns out the woodpeckers drill the holes then hide nuts in them.

Step two: observe magnificent sunset.
 Step three: pause for group photo.  (Look Mom, TWO good pictures with Jonathan!)  Return to sunset.

      Makes up for the mess.

Views on Camping

           
                                            
Views around the house, just before leaving.

                                   
View from the car on the way.


View in the car.  (Jonathan was in the way back and was sleeping when these pics were taken.

                
Okay.  So we get there, set up the campsite, make and eat dinner, etc.  As it starts to get dark we turn the lantern on and, unsurprisingly, it draws some bugs.  Surprisingly, the bugs stick around.  They bump into the lamp, crash onto the table and stay.  And more of them come, and they stay.  There are something like 30 of them, totally placid, hanging out in the light of our lantern.  It’s not until much later, after the kids are in bed, that it occurs to me that the lantern is downwind of all the smoke from our campfire.  The smoke seems to have drugged them.  The really awful part?  As soon as the fire died down, the still-intoxicated beetles got just enough energy back to dive bomb the embers.  Every single one of them.  We made sure their carcasses were well-burned so we wouldn’t have to explain mass suicide to the kids the next morning.  The whole thing was very, very bizarre.

            
Having rid the campsite of bugs, we start out the next morning for some new adventures, challenges and explorations.

                               
Science class: bark textures . . .

 
(See?)

counting wood rings . . .

                          
and the unusual behaviors of transplanted wildlife.

                    
Good little nature observers.

                    
Of course, we might see more if they were . . . well . . . quieter, but we work with what we get.

                             
And what we got this afternoon was a stop at the nature center with some nice views on the way back.
                     Thank you cameraman!


Rock climbing might have to be considered our new family sport.

                               
Along with collecting oddities.  That’s a sport, right?

By the way, Pumpkin is demanding a lot of sleep from Mommy which is making it exceedingly difficult to work on the blog.  I may never get caught up . . .  I suppose that’s the price of creating cuties like these.

And on that note, g’night all!