The Joy of a Good Camping Trip

We've just returned home from one of the best camping trips ever. Not only did we have fun, but my kids didn't want to come home. And, as with any good vacation, they learned absolutely tons.

Our first day has no pictures. Just a long drive from home to our campground near Lee Vining. We did stop and have a short hike at a rest stop near Truckee and we explored the small town of Genoa, Nevada, the oldest settlement in that state (except to the people that come from Dayton, Nevada). So lessons for Day One included some natural history as we hiked (lots of info about how glaciers and volcanoes shaped the area) and US History.

After we arrived in camp and set up, we learned how things would work. We were camping with several other families, most of whom were new to us. We were to cook dinner for one evening of our five days and handle our own breakfasts and lunches. Our only concern were the possibility of bears coming to join us for a meal! Lessons learned - team work and manners.

Ralph, our host, had our first two days planned for us. We were going to start off with a "practice" hike the next day to prepare us for the big hike the day after that. Our practice would take us to Fairfiew Dome, near Toulomne Meadow in Yosemite National Park. Here is a picture of the dome from ground level. Our hike started lower than this elevation, but this is the best picture.



The hike up was very steep and we all learned new techniques for walking up such a steep slope. The boys learned what an open book is (no, it is not something to read) as well as a solution pocket (Connor thought they looked like the holes in which Native Americans ground corn). We also learned about scales of difficulty. This dayhike classified as a 3 on the Yosemite Decimal System.



The view from the top was well worth the effort. This was by far the hardest hike of my life. I have always been afraid of falling and I had to push that fear aside several times. And, while we were enjoying the view from the top, in the back of my mind I kept thinking of the trip back down. Yikes!





Here is Ralph teaching Connor how to walk down an open book. Both Connor and I resorted to the "crab walk" several times, but not as many as I thought we would need.



Just a look at the faces of my two boys tells you how much fun they had on this great outing. Lessons learned - team work, rock climbing, natural history, and science. More of our great trip in the next blog!