Camping With Mama

Matt and I went camping with my mother, step-dad, and niece last weekend.  We'd penciled it into the calendar quite a long time back since we all know how quickly summer weekends fill up. 

We camped along the Hyalite Reservoir just outside of Bozeman, MT.   We camped at nearly the same spot two years ago.  Keleigh was so little then!

We played Scrabble.  Keleigh was on Grandma's team. 

I lost as usual.  My mom won (probably all that help she had!)

My step-sister and her dog came out for a visit.  The dog ended up biting Keleigh.  It was....well...interesting.  (For the record I am sure the dog was unintentionally provoked by the victim, but none the less it was an intense couple of moments.)  Keleigh sure liked walking the dog around on its leash though.

Keleigh, Matt, and I had a little jam session/sing along down on the shore.  Keleigh actually did some pretty nice improv with that harmonica.  It played quite well with a couple of my songs and I was quite impressed.  There were only a few finger-nail-on-the-chalk-board type notes.  She really wants to play guitar, but its just pretty much too big for her yet.  She likes the harmonica and the maracas a lot, too.

I cannot remember a camping trip with my mom where she didn't spend a great deal of time reading.  I think that is the height of camping relaxation for her.   Naturally, Matt and I both brought our books, too! I never did crack mine though.

Keleigh wanted a tree stump stool to sit on (like Matt had).  He rolled one over to the fireside for her and then, in a moment of playful enthusiasm over his new hatchet, he stripped it of all the bark for her, too.  It ended up a nice, smooth throne.  It even had little foot rests in the form of the stumpy remainders of the tree's cut off branches.  She seemed pleased.  So did Matt.

Keleigh did a little wading in the cold reservoir.  She couldn't entice any of the grown ups to join her though.

A storm rolled in during the late afternoon, as tends to be the case in the mountains.  It was neat to watch the reservoir being pelted, ripple after ripple, with rain drops.  We played some cards as we hid out from the rain.

Matt and Keleigh started a campfire around sunset.  She had been, not so patiently waiting for it to get close to dusk so they could do so.  She was glad to be assistant to the fire builder.

Matt reading the Hiking Yellowstone book...planning a great adventure for us since we have no tie-dye selling gigs in the month of August.

This is the I'm-a-crazed-lunatic-with-a-hatchet photo.  Don't you think?!  He'd wanted one for a while and we picked up this one for $10 at a yard sale.  He is very pleased with it so far.

The next morning Keleigh woke up (in the camper) and came out (to the tent) to find me and Matt.  We bundled her up, made some hot chocolate, and started a morning fire.

Her coat had been overlooked in the packing stage of the trip so we just bundled her in my clothes, which I found quite endearing especially as she tottered around camp in my over-sized coat.  She looked so sad and cold when I first opened the tent door!  But with a down coat, a wool hat, and knee-high stockings it didn't take long for her to get over it.  Plus, she was dressed as me, which she seemed to like and, as mentioned, I found super cute.

We all had a grand time I think.  I know I did.  We'll have to be sure and pencil it in again next year!  I think my deep love of camping has its origins in my mother so it seems only right we should.