Benjamin and Nicholas live for camping. And camping with two of their favorite playmates is all the better. I had two very, very happy boys (ahem, campers) this weekend. Here’s the proof:
All four kids looking at the camera and smiling. Nothing can produce this result like camping bliss!
For the past three summers, we have met good friends of ours somewhere about halfway between Maine (their home) and Pennsylvania (our home) for a few days of camping fun. Our annual trip has quickly become a highlight of each summer. This weekend was spent at North-South Lake State Park in the Catskill region of New York state. It was a first time visit for all of us, and the campground did not disappoint. Set in the mountains, it was the perfect retreat of forest, lakes, beaches and hiking trails. It was also very clean with gorgeous wooded campsites, hot (too hot!) showers and stone fire-pits. Our campsite backed onto the trees, and the kids all had a blast climbing enormous boulders at the entrance of the forest. They even took a little time out for some coloring on their make-shift rock table:
We spent time at the beach (the water was so cold, my toes were about all that made it in), went for ice-cream at the local corner store each afternoon, and even went for a small hike out to a waterfall.
Benjamin and Nicholas found a troll bridge during our hike, straight out of one of Grandpa’s stories. Can you spot the troll under his bridge? Scary!
The boys biked the campground loops with their friends, and we all roasted gigantic marshmallows in the evenings. Nothing like sugaring up the kids before sending them off to bed. This gooey treat was too big for Ben’s mouth!
And we even had a little excitement of the four-legged-blueberry-loving-claws-and-teeth kind one evening. As we were cleaning up from supper, two park rangers and a county trooper, with a very large shotgun, made their way into the woods behind our site. Minutes later we heard the loud CRACK! of what could only have been the shotgun firing. Turns out, some absentminded campers had left their cooler out on their campsite. The black bears had had a field day with it, and were scouting for more. The result was eviction for the campers, and a rubber bullet in the bum for the bear. The trooper explained to the kids that the bullet felt like getting a bee-sting for the bear (I wonder how he knew that?), and took the time to demonstrate why it is so important to lock-up your food and trash when camping in bear country. Turns out, bears have good memories, and will remember where they can find treats for a very, very long time. When a bear continuously returns to the same spot, it will eventually be put-down. Seems unfair when all that the campers got was an eviction.
In any case, I will admit that I was a little on-edge for the rest of the evening, frequently looking into the woods and wondering what might be looking back. Benjamin and Nicholas thought that it was pretty darn cool that there really were bears in the woods, and that we hadn’t just made that up as a ploy to make them clean-up after eating. But, they did make extra-loud Sasquatch calls to scare away the furry-friends while we hiked. No bears, or Sasquatch for that matter, were spotted.
Back home now, and just about drowning in all that post-camping laundry. More to come soon on camping with kids. If you have any tips, share and I’ll include them in my blog.
xo Naomi
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