Long Lake

With the extra time we had before going back to school, we decided to sneak in a family backpacking trip. It was FABULOUS! We went during the week, which means we had Long Lake all to ourselves with the exception of a couple day-hikers. It was beautiful and the weather was perfect.

This was the first time J actually walked himself and he did great on the 2-mile trail. Zoe and Noah were troopers and carried all of their own gear, as well as some of J's.

We found a place to set up camp at the end of the lake and were able to get everything put together and make dinner before dark. That night the almost-full moon was completely orange and amazing. I wish the pictures would have turned out...it was breathtaking.

The next two days were full of hiking, fishing and just hangin' out. We found some wild raspberries which was very cool, except for the fact that I was certain that would lure the bears over for a visit (luckily we didn't have any sightings...whew!).

Zoe loved the tree bottoms of all these huge trees that had fallen over. She had required summer reading for school that we had to catch up on, so we spent most of our time doing that. Both boys were able to catch a couple of fish, played cowboys and James Bond and jumped around on the rocks. Chris....well...let's just say he caught 40+ fish, and I caught zero. That should explain what we did. ;)

As for the funny faces.... When we are in the tent I play a funny face game with the kids. While the other kids aren't looking, I take a picture of one of them making a funny face. Then they hide their eyes and I take a picture of another, so on and so on until they've all made a face. We then look at each other's pictures on the camera and vote on which one is the funniest. This is a great time filler and good for lots of laughs.

I have not been backpacking for a couple of years and I forget how much I miss it. Although I am getting much more paranoid of wild animals in my old age, I love being out and truly enjoying nature. If that does not testify there is a God, I don't know what more could. That quiet, beautiful time with my family was perfect and the memories will last a lifetime!