SkyPark Adventures!

Tag: camping

  • Camping at Oak Ridge

    This past weekend we went camping at Oak Ridge with another family. It took 20 minutes to reach the campsite by car after passing the initial gate. The park is massive! The kids collected firewood and made a fire. We had a scavenger hunt, cooked shrimp scampi on an open fire with garlic, butter, sour cream, and Parmesan.

    We used our map reading skills to hike through the woods and find an amphitheater and other trails. Sheri brought print outs of ghost stories to tell by the fire after we had our fill of smores.

    It started raining around midnight and it got fairly cold – down to the lower 40s. The kids slept through it all as usual and I got more sleep more I normally do when camping – a solid 3-4 hours.

    We packed up in the rain and SkyPark wore their PJ’s home – oops I may have forgotten to pack a 2nd set of clothes. Nothing that some hot McDonald’s can’t fix.

  • White water rafting

    But for Covid-19 I don’t think we would have gone White Water rafting. As we were looking for fun weekend trips, we found an option at Harpers Ferry for rafting and playing in the river.

    Saturday we went White Water rafting and then Sunday we rented canoe’s, paddle boards, and kayaks and played around in the Rappahannock river.

    We stayed at a KOA campground which was also a first for us. The cabin had 2 bunk beds and a window air-conditioner. It’s about as bare bones as you can get. Parker and Skylar were convinced it was Abraham Lincoln’s childhood home. They probably weren’t far off.

  • Camping with boy scouts

    Parker and I traveled far, far away from home to go camping with the boy scouts.  All the way to Lake Fairfax.  I think I could have walked home if I really needed to.

    We went for a hike, while the other adults tended to the grill, then came back, ate, the kids ran around in perpetual motion for an hour, ate smores, ran around for another 2 hours and by 9:30PM it was time for lights out.

    The picture in the tent is a selfie that we took right before drifting to sleep.  The flash on the phone was way too bright, hence my grimace.

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  • Columbus Day Camping

    The kids and I went camping for Columbus Day weekend.  We had another family that was supposed to join us but had to back out because of a funeral.  Nonetheless, we had a great time.  

    On our way in we crashed a party for Fairfax Water, so the kids got some cookies and some time in a bounce house.  Random!

    We checked in and then located our camping spot.  Skylar and Parker helped me unload and get the site setup.  Everyone foraged for wood, and we were lucky enough to find some big pieces as well as plenty of kindling.

    With the tent up, car unloaded, and wood situation under control, we drank some water and headed out to explore.  We found the playground close by and spent an hour playing with other kids.  Campgrounds – especially on holiday weekends are a magnet for young families.  

    Once it got close to 5:00 PM we went back to start our fire and prepare for dinner.  We ate canned baked beans, cheese infused burgers, garlic and butter corn, watermelon, and of course… smores!  After dinner the sun had completely gone down, so my two little tour guides led us on a walk through the woods on a trail to the bath house.

    Since the campground was at capacity there was no hot water left, and we each screamed as we took a nice cold shower to get the sweat and dirt off prior to sleeping.  I was hoping that with us a week into October the weather would be nice and cool, but it in the 80s during the day, and only dropped to about 72 at night, so I slept next to the door of the tent with it cracked to let a breeze in.

    I think I got about 4 hours sleep, which is way more than any other camping trip.  The kids had a blast and now it’s time for a nap…

     

  • May Camping

    We went camping at Burke Lake. It was an interesting place – they had a kids train that ran through the property and must have been over a mile long.

    We went with 3 other families and the kids had a blast. Only problem is that they didn’t go to sleep until around midnight, and then they woke up with the sun. Everyone needed naps the following day!

  • Lexington – camping & parks

    The highlight of camping for the kids was probably the marshmallows and jumping from one pack and play to the other from 8:30 to 9:30. So much for an idyllic setting of sitting still and listening to the crickets and watching the stars. The following day we went to this amazing park that was right next to the house.

    They had a mud pie making area, gold panning stream, narrow winding trails covered with vines like from a fairy tale, and we got to taste some freshly squeezed (as in squeezed right in front of us) apple juice – awesome!

    The theme of the day was “Do they dare go…” from the Berenstein Bears Spooky Old Tree book.

  • Lexington

    Last weekend we went to Lexington for a camping trip. Friday night we stayed at Nana and Poppa D’s. Parker was fascinated by the tractors and the ‘firetruck’. I’m guessing the lights on top of the rollback and the fact that it was red made it a firetruck.

    Horace – sorry if you never find your keys again, Parker is kind of a klepto when it comes to keys…