Frozen

This past weekend was the coldest weather we have had so far this season.  It was also the weekend we went on our family camping trip for three nights and four days.

We went on this trip with some friends and the 11 of us did our best to stay warm during the nights.  It was extremely cold the first two nights and we each put on multiple layers to stay warm.  When that wasn't sufficient we added an extra layer and stood next to the fire.  The boys even had an electric heater with them as they sat near the fire.

Once the sun came out in the morning the weather was great for being outdoors and camping.  We were at Table Rock State Park and spent a little time each day hiking.  The longest hike we took was around the lake trail.  We expected it to be around 1.5 miles but by the time we explored all the sights around the lake I clocked us at closer to 2 miles.

One of the favorite parts of our trip as declared by one of the kids is that we had s'mores every evening.

Our other meals were well prepared by Cari and Becca as they made great use of a few crockpots to keep us from having to eat hot dogs roasted over the fire for twelve meals (only did that once).

As we Cari packed for this trip I made a few comments about all the stuff she was bringing along.  It seemed like we had way more than we would really need.   I think my preference for camping is still to be minimal and closer to backpacking but I now admit I was glad for the stuff that Cari packed.  When you have as many people in the group as we had with a mix of ages and camping experience it's better to error on the side of comfort.

It was a very relaxing trip, and that was helped along by being in a place with nearly no internet connection (very minimal cell phone reception) to distract me from taking a break.

Over the next week I'll be sharing a few more photos (I took nearly 300) and stories from our trip and I believe I even have some video to get uploaded for sharing.