Camping at Mesa Falls

We went camping right before school started up at Mesa Falls by Ashton.  It was pretty fun.  Things definitely weren't easy!  We started it Sunday after church and I think that was why things weren't going well.  By the end of the trip we were all really glad we went though!

When we first arrived, we realized that neither of us had brought any money!  It was an awful feeling.  Zac was going to just drive home and get money, but it was 1.5 hours away so I decided to just go ask a fellow camper for money.  It was not my favorite thing to do, but we found some awesome older campers from Eugene, Oregon, Carol Widmer and family, who didn't even hesitate to give us the money.  I got her address and sent a check as soon as we got home.  They still haven't cashed the check, I wonder if they will.  Only time will tell I guess.

 

 Maybe they saw our super awesome camper and thought that the check wouldn't clear.  What they don't know is that because we don't have a fancy camper, the check will clear.

On the second day we took a hike, which we were told was about one mile, to go see the Mesa Falls.  It ended up being quite a bit further than that and downhill the whole way.  I silently wondered what the trip back would be like.  The kids were complaining on the way down about being tired so I was dreading the return.  

We got there and it was so well worth the wait!  The waterfall was way bigger than we had anticipated and we all loved seeing and hearing and smelling it!

While we were hiking we ran into an older gentleman who had been waiting for us apparently.  He said "I saw you all walking down here, that is quite a little hike with those kids.  I'd be happy to give you a ride back to your campground." We chatted for a while and took him up on his offer.  

They had frozen grapes that they shared with us that were so yummy.  We were teaching our kids really great lessons about strangers as we accepted food and rides from strangers.  haha  Hopefully, this won't come back to bite us in the future!  

There was a fun lodge where the had the skins and skulls and insects from different wildlife in the area.  The kids were able to pet the furs and it was so interesting.

 Addy loved the fishtanks and was so mesmerized.  Every few seconds she would announce, "there's the fishy!!!"

We loved camping in a camper instead of a tent.  We slept pretty well, if you don't include people waking up and needing to use the bathroom constantly.  Camping is always fun, but it's also always great to head home and take a shower and sleep in your own bed.

There wasn't a ton to do so we went on lots of "adventures" hiking around the campsite and surrounding area.  I got a little concerned about the wild life and our lack of bear spray so we didn't go too far.  Right in our campout was a beautiful overlook of the lower falls.  The kids were not shy about going right to the edge and looking over the cliff...I wasn't a huge fan of that.

Zac took Teagan out on a walk to play on all the rock, Teagan was in heaven!  We all saw a fox on one of our walks and Zac got a picture!!!  It was so crazy.

On our way home we stopped to feed the great big fish and ducks.  While we were throwing our day old buns and dense pancakes Teagan shouted, "there's a beaver over here!!!"  We all came running and discovered that there were actually 3 of them, and they were some sort of water rat.  They loved to come up and eat the bread too.

Another family camping trip is in the books.  Time is our most valuable commodity and we love spending it with each other.