Weekend Pop-Up Camping Trip #2

We now call ourselves "popupologists."  (Snort) The definition is a devotee of camping with a pop-up camper. 

Pour yourself a cup of your favorite beverage, and join us while we show you are camping adventure.

We took another camping trip.  This is the back of our campsite, where there is a secluded area for more tents or simply "chilling out."

This time, I baked homemade graham crackers for our s'mores.  I made one batch of regular honey whole-wheat, and a batch of chocolate ones. Mmmmm!

We packed enough good food for several meals.  

We did have bad thunderstorms the first night, but we were able to get everything cooked despite wet firewood (bacon and potatoes on the campfire).  

Here's a peek at the inside.  This is bed #1.  It's  a bit messy, but we were just settling in.  See the toilet to the right?  See the longer curtain to the very left?  To use the potty, you close curtains on the bed edge, then you close the longer curtain, that goes all the way across the camper to the outside edge of the toilet.

Bed #2.  Here, two people can sleep comfortably.  This is the slide out that is also the kitchen table.  There is storage under both sides, and to the very right is a small "night stand" with an outlet and drawer.

Bed #3, and #4.  The couch on the left (buried in one daughter's bedding, converts flat into a bed.  To the right is the sink and area to place the propane stove to cook inside if needed.  We have a water tank for cold or hot water.  At the back is the last bed.  Like I said, we were just settling in.   I brought my vintage table cloths for this trip, and love using them.

I also brought a solar canning jar light.  I charge it all day long, and then it makes a night "nightlight" for inside the camper.  I love the light pattern it creates.

We played glow-in-the-dark frisbee, did some reading, writing, bike riding, hiking, and just plain relaxing.  This state park did not have a water source by the camping area.  There is a pond within a long hike, or drive, to go fishing (and when there are park planned activities, canoeing).  Unfortunately, the park had no events for the holiday weekend (strange, but true).  I would have loved to rent a canoe.  It was just too hot to fish.

My 14 year-old was fascinated with a black light, flashlight we brought along. She found out that it made her shoes and socks glow in the dark.  

Day two, we picked up our 16 year-old daughter, after goats were milked.  She brought along her dog Jesse.  It was his first camping trip.  It was very hot and we had a portable fan to help keep him cool (not to mention several "cooling" off periods in the air conditioned camper).....it was hot, hot, and very humid.

We put up our easy-up tent, and used our "glamper" sheets to block out the hot sun.  We played checkers, and bunco (which I won - YAY!).  We dug out the crossword book, and other fun stuff, but there was one thing that everyone was interested in doing.

Zentangle.  This one was mine.

I brought along a library book that contains the "basics" of zentangle art, and mostly because the book talked about how it reduces stress. An no that is not a leaf from a "maryjane" plant, it's from a tree. Ha ha!

I pulled out the book, and used surrounding items at the campsite, to create mine, not thinking the kids would want to try it
.

I brought along one of my cereal box notebooks (blank sheets) and a thin sharpie.  I'm not an artsy kind of person, as I have little time to do such drawing by hand.  I knew a sharpie would not be the best, but it was what I had.

After I finished, I hear my 16 year-old say she wanted to draw one.  Her's turned out much better than mine, but she has art every year in school too.  When she was about done with hers,  I hear, "I want to do one" and "me too" from the other two girls.

Completed by our 11 year-old.

Completed by our 14 year-old.  I think we all decided to keep this book in our camper "box of fun" and keep a camping tradition.

We continued to cook over the fire and the propane stove, and wash our dishes from heated water. 

Packing the ice cooler for camping tip #1:
We have packed cheese slices on several camping trips, and somehow, no matter how we bag (or double bag) the cheese, the water in the ice cooler always ruins it.  
To keep it water damage free, fold it in small slices, and place them in a few snack size ziploc bags.  Then place the bags inside a recycled glass peanut butter jar (ours had a plastic lid).  Place in your cooler.  We enjoyed our cheese at breakfast, making ham, egg and cheese English Muffin sandwiches.  Yum!

In the evening we had bouts of thunder ("Bubby" has his thundershirt on), so we retreated to the camper for a few hours.  Soon it passed, and we were back outside cooking hobo pies over the fire, and having more s'mores.  Oh, and a little dance fest too.  Who can resist a little moving and grooving when there is music?

Hubby took the two older girls on a night hike. Ha ha ha! In short, he tried to scare them the entire hike, and soon they were back at camp, and covered in burrs.  

Day three.  The weather was just a hair cooler, but still hot and humid.  

We drove to one of the trails and hiked a different trail.  However, when Hubby and I turned around to go back (we walked about 2 miles round trip), three girls and Jesse walked on. 

They got lost, but still made it out.  Later we talked about making sure there were walkie talkies or another cell phone when we divide up.  They had a compass, but the trails were not marked very well, and the map was pretty much worthless (all marked in the same color of ink, and trails were marked with colors). 

Upon returning, and after a snack of cold fruit, we played a long, drawn out, and hilarious game of Apples to Apples.  I am surprised the camp host didn't come over to tell us to "settle down."  Ha ha ha!  The evening ended with more hobo pies and s'mores, and the campsite hosted an outdoor movie.  I, myself, chose to enjoy the peace and quiet, and the campfire.

Day four.  We cooked breakfast, and packed up for home.  It was drizzling rain the entire time we packed up, but we didn't mind.

My 11 year-old asked me if we could camp more often, because she can never get her older sister to play board games with her.  There is a solution to that.  I can simply shut off the internet (again).  

As for Jesse, he did pretty well on his first camping adventure.  He only barked when someone walked up to our site, and when he was told to stop, he'd muffle a low puff of a warning.  He acted like a protector of our site, but when anyone walked out of it, he'd have anxiety from separation.  He had a bit of a rough time, too.  One day a kid on the playground had a pop gun, and popped it all afternoon (where the parents were?  I have no clue).  This caused Jesse to shake and get upset, and want to hide.  Then one day a nearby house decided to do target shooting for several hours.  Again, Jesse reacted the same way.  Poor guy.  I do think he'll enjoy camping again anyway.