22 July 2009

camping compare and contrast

my first overnight back packing trip was 21 miles in the Tetons with English and the BTBR when i was 18. it was a baptism by fire sort of experience but i was so in love that i only slightly noticed the pain. a couple things resulted indirectly from this 3-day hike: English + Kelly, and our subsequent back packing trips all over Utah and i love it.

now that Ash and Tom are hanging out with us, car camping is the best bet. our first ever family camping trip was up at Tanner's Flat a couple weeks ago. it was the perfect trial run because we knew that if all hell broke loose at any time during the camp out we could sail down the canyon and be home in 20 minutes. fortunately there was no need for a midnight drive. the kids were great and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves...



full of confidence we planned a couple days at Fish Lake last week. we rented a 'rustic' cabin and packed our swimmin' suits. unfortunately this trip didn't go as well. our cabin was on the main drag so anyone going to or from the marina passed our place. diesel engines and headlights through the window well past 10pm made sleeping quite a challenge. especially when very curious and attentive Ash kept whispering, 'what's that?' every time one went by. we're pretty low maintenance people so 'rustic' sounded fine. but these cabins weren't rustic simple, they were rustic crappy-beat-down-hear-the-guy-peeing-next-door. strike two. after a frustrated afternoon rest (i don't dare to call it a nap) amid maintenance sawing a drilling on the neighbors deck we decided to cut our losses and go home.



so we've learned a couple lessons from our experiences. 1) it's more important to be far from the road than miles from the city. 2) background noise is key (rushing waterfall vs. Dodge Ram). and while we don't mind waiting, we are excited for the day when the kids are big and strong enough to carry their own packs.