Camping at Paulina Lake

Well, I finally got my film back, but missed developing a roll, so I can tell you the story, and I'll post the final pictures later.

We went camping. Weather looked to be ugly. Forecast said snow was potential. The elevation was high. We went anyway, because some of us had taken vacation time, we scheduled 4 days, had already paid, wouldn't be able to get in anywhere else anytime soon, because everything is always booked, so we loaded up the camper and headed out bright and early Friday morning. We met up with the Hagan's and the Samples, and marched on.

We were later joined by Steve's parents, and the Merritt's. We set up their tents, despite the somewhat frigid temperatures, and were determined to HAVE FUN! It was cold though, and we experienced wind, rain, hail, and only occasional sun.

We were later joined by another camper driven by our friend Josh, who brought his fiance and her young neice. Even later, the "Luxury Motorcoach" driven by the Sallee's arrived with what I can only compare to the Sweet Pickles Bus, Barnabus, to be exact. Our friends have such silly riggs, but they were big inside, and kept them warm, so that's the point!

We had quite the group, and quite the weather. I can't believe we made it. The Merritt's came and went a few times before Raegan finally put the halt on the camping in the cold, so they went home Friday night. After the first night Steve's parents didn't think they'd make it another, but toughed it out and lucked out with better weather the second night. The rest of us were warm and cozy in our campers/motorhomes, so we determined to stay, and fortunately for us, the children also agreed that this was a good idea.

The fishing stunk, but we had a great time. Most everyone went home on Sunday except for the Hagan's and Samples, but Steve's parents and the Merritt's played with us on Sunday before they went. In fact, the mom's all strapped the kids in our backpacks, and decided to go on a little walk while the boys fished. Sabrina wanted to fish as well, so Raegan was in the front pack and Matt was with the mommies. What started as a little hike, ended up being quite a jaunt, and we hiked around the lake! It's a 7 1/2 mile loop, 8 because we took the wrong turn!, but we did it! And with our kids strapped to our backs, no less. I was only sore where my backpack rubbed my shoulders wrong. All in all, that was fun and we are glad we did it. My backpack squeaked and Raegan sang a majority of the way. We had a few minor meltdowns, but considering that we hadn't prepared for a 3 hour tour, everyone did very well.

Back at the camp, Sabrina was the only one who caught a fish. You go girl!

We had a great camping adventure and look forward to the next one. In fact, Papa is coming down July 16, and we are spending one night at Prineville Reservoir with a skidoo that I am borrowing and maybe buying from a gal at work. That should be fun!