I’ve taken a short break from the blog. This weekend I was out of cell range and that also meant no wi-fi! So no blog! It was great to get outside and go camping with my hubby and sister (and of course, the little dog too). It came at the perfect time for me because they’ve been painting at work and the fumes were starting to get to me. I couldn’t wait to breathe some fresh air!
Takhlakh Lake with the hubby!
Jeremy had been researching new places we could go. It’s been fun to camp at two different locations for the first time this summer. The first would be Hidden Springs on California road trip and now Takhlakh Lake right at the base of Mt. Adams. It was beautiful! The lake framed the mountain perfectly and it was a very picturesque place.
There were many highlights to our camping adventure. The first and foremost for me is getting away! When I get to a place where there is no cell reception, I truly feel free. There is something freeing about not being track-able. I know this might seem silly, but falling off the grid every now and then does a lot for my soul. The views were spectacular and the combination of a beautiful setting and the freedom of being off the grid made for a relaxing mini-vacation.
Thursday, we set up camp and got everything situated. I love making the bed in my tent and making it feel homey. We packed a ton of blankets so we could stay warm. I always layer them and make them look as much like a “made” bed as possible. I guess I’m OCD even in my little tent home. After the site was ready to be inhabited, we look a walk around the lake. It was a nice mile hike with great views. Once we got back from the walk, we started to make my favorite camping dinner – pizza pockets! Camping food would also go on my highlights list! We eat well on these trips.
The view from the top of the lava rock mountain!
It was really cold Thursday night into Friday morning. I was surprised by the chill even though I knew it was coming. However, even with 4 extra blankets on top of my sleeping bag, I was still cold. It think the greatest downside of this trip was constantly trying to feel warm. It was a battle for heat and I was losing most of the time. Friday morning we had breakfast (cinnamon roll pop tarts, another camping food treat) and then set off to hike around the camp ground. We made our way to Takh Takh meadows and we climbed a lava rock mountain. April was the first to start scaling the rocky path and soon we were all following suit. The view from the top was worth it! After our wanderings, we made it back to the campsite for lunch.
Our next adventure was a drive around the area to look at other campgrounds and check things out. It was so remote out there. Every campground we came to I marveled that there were people out there that knew about these places. The scariest and funniest part of this afternoon adventure was our drive on what was labeled a “primitive” road… That would be an understatement! It was like a movie scene as our truck drove through the forest in what reminded me of the jungle. There were huge potholes, giant rocks, narrow road with the branches scraping along the side of the vehicle. At times we weren’t sure if we were going to make it, but we did! Praise the Lord! There is a lot of prayer on my part for us to see the end of the road. The funny thing was I was sitting in the middle of the truck cab, so I had nothing to hold on to. Toby had settled into my lap and we literally bounced around the cab together. I was flying every which way the truck seemed to go. It seemed like some strange kind of chiropractic treatment. Or I might need chiropractic treatment afterwards! By far the sketchiest road I’ve been on.
Huckleberry stained fingers!
Friday concluded with huckleberry picking, another walk around the lake, a hot dog dinner and s’mores. Around 8:00pm, we all got talking about the cold night ahead of us and I admitted that I would be willing to pack up and head home so we could sleep in warm beds. We’d done everything we planned on doing. All we would miss was breakfast and tear down in the morning. So we quickly got the site packed up in the fading light that we had. We were on the road and heading home before 9:00pm. We got in around 11:00pm and let me tell you, it was nice to sleep in my own bed! I didn’t sleep so well with the cold on Thursday, so even though I felt a bit wimpy about coming home early, it was a great decision!
Saturday morning, April and I ate pop tarts in honor of our camping trip and watched the Hunger Games all wrapped up in blankets. It was so nice to be warm! We got cleaned up and headed out to lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant and then went blackberry picking. It wasn’t the Saturday we had originally planned, but it was pretty close to perfect in my book!
Thus ends our camping adventure and really the last hurrah of our summer! It was a great trip and one we’ll always remember… that view, that road, the lake. Summery weekends like this are going to be gone soon. It was nice to spend the last official one in August in nature with loved ones!
Amy Scott's Thoughts 