Well we ended up only staying one night. The temps dropped to the 30's and Hubba and I were literally up most of the night (me so more than him).
The first day we got there, there were signs all over saying there was a campfire ban. So we were sorta bummed about it we weren't sure exactly what that meant. The signs said no fires except in "developed" sites. So we had to drive back down the mountain (about 15-20 mins) to get a signal on our phones and started calling the ranger parks. We needed to be sure what "developed" meant. We called both county rangers. The first number wasn't answering, the second had been disconnected with no forwarding number to call. We called the sheriff's dept. They had no idea. They gave us 2 more numbers to call, one that didn't answer and another that didn't know. And on and on. About 7 or 8 calls later, Hubba finally got the actual ranger on the phone. He checked to make sure nothing had changed in the ban and proceeded to tell us that as long as the site was marked, had a tent pad and there was an actual rock lined fire ring, we could burn. Of course we must burn ONLY IN the ring and make sure it's out when we leave. YAY!!! And the camping trip proceeded.
So we get back up there about 45+ minutes later. It took about 3 hours to set up- tents, latrine, cook stove, camp table, lanterns, grill rack, unload, sort, set up supply tent,chopped and cut wood, set up fire ring, etc. We relaxed fro a bit, had a lunch of chips, sarnis and maters. The boys had a blast running around playing. We got a site that had a HUGE spot for them to run around in, and of course we were near the creek.
We had dinner around 7, then a bit later made smores We got the boys down around 9:45 after dosing them up on some benedryl (all of our allergies starting acting up, you could SEE the pollens and dust floating in the air), then Seb got back up til almost 11. The temps were really beginning to drop by then. Hubba and I headed for bed about 11:30. We had just laid down and gotten comfy when we started hearing noises, so we got back up til just a few after 12. Sat up for a bit then back to bed. I had checked the kids and the Elders were covered but the little one, was only covered from mid-bum down and his shirt was up about an inch. I got him up to go potty, put his fleece hoodie back on him, recovered him and tucked another blankie around him. Went to bed, tossed, turned, sat up, just couldn't get warm or comfy (I was wearing a bra, tank, tee and a fleece. Under the sleeping bag and 2 more blankets.
Next day I was up at 4:43am, Robert heard me start getting up and he was up as well. We checked the kids, set up a fire again, changed the propane in the lantern and started getting warmed up again (sorta anyway). We talked about shorting our stay by a night, we were worried about the kids. I decided I was going to get the kids up around 6, so I started the car a little before 6, and one by one, started waking them up to warm up in the car with blankets and some warm apple juice (we called it cider, LOL). We got Tris (the middle child) as he was coughing and you could hear him getting congested-y sounding. After we sat in the car for about a half hour between the 3 of them, we sat around the fire and complained about how cold we were (LOL). Finally around 9, we started warming up enough that we could move. We'd had warm choc milk and coffee and granola bars (I was WAY too cold to really cook as I'd planned). We also snacked on choc and marshmallows *blush blush*. It was so cold that as we used the propane tanks, ice was forming on them.
We all stayed in our pj's (cept hubs who'd slept in his jeans) til almost lunch. We ate lunch around 11- hot dogs, chips and bananas. After lunch we started packing up to come home. We got everything together, packed in the car, burned the flammable trash, buried our food peels and such, got the fire completely out, and pulled out the bb guns.
After everything was said and done, we went down to the creek to shoot, skip stones, throw rocks and clean up before heading out. All the boys got to help out with setting up & taking down- they helped saw wood, dig holes, clean up, fill holes, etc. We also saw a few horses as they rode up the mountain, and on their way down, I was able to snap a few pictures of 2 (the first 2 were at a full gallop down the mountain, so I missed snapping them).
On the way home, we took a detour to see where Hubba grew up. We saw the house his Dad had built in the early 70's- changed a LOT of course. We stopped at a cute little country store, then headed for civilisation.
By the time we got home, Hubba and I had started to relax and realise how sore we were and tired after almost no sleep. We are still sore today, very sorry it wasn't at least 15 degrees warmer (which the weather sites had said it'd be), but are laughing at it some, and boohooing a little too. All in all, it was a great time, but we are all so happy to see a real shower with warm water and mostly to see the porcelain masterpiece we call a toilet, LOL....
So that's our short lived trip in a nutshell.
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