Camping at the Sand Dunes 3/5 - 3/6/10
So we had an unseasonably warm week in early March and I was a little over excited about Spring and Summer coming, so I started to think about camping. As I watched the weather (with most of the attention being paid to the daily High's) it looked like it was shaping up for a gorgeous weekend. So I decided to go camping early in the week.
We decided to use a site that had electricity and water along with a firepit and little shelter for a picnic table. I had told the kids earlier in the week that we would try to go camping this weekend and they were really excited. Sarah wrote the following little note for me on Thurs: "Dear Daddy I hop we have a fun time together tomorow going camping at the sand doons I hop we have a grate time of corse you now that. to Jeff from Sarah Hamm." What a sweet girl! Nathan was also very excited and looking forward to camping. They were counting down the days all week. Their excitement and anticipation alone would have been worth the trip! They helped me pack some of the camping stuff on Thurs evening and asked over and over why I had to go to work on Friday, because they wanted to camp “all day”. I got home from work early on Friday and we finished packing all the great food that Mary had put together for us and we were on our way. We got out to the camping spot at the Sand Dunes around 5 pm and we set up camp. The kids had a fun time helping me and playing around the campsite. We then went and registered our campsite at the pay-station and the kids found “firewood” (really just small sticks and twigs) as we walked around the campgrounds. A neighborly camper pointed out that there was a horned owl in his nest in a nearby tree so we went over and looked at it, the kids thought that was cool and I answered their questions about what it eats and how it catches it’s food. We discovered that there was no water at the campsite so we had to drive to nearby Bruneau to get some water from a gas station there. The kids enjoyed seeing some deer in the fields as we drove. We got a fire going when we returned and the kids enjoyed helping with the fire. We then cooked hot dogs over the fire and the kids enjoyed eating those and some chips. After eating dinner we just sat around the fire and talked (about owls, fires, camping, etc.). We then made Jiffy-pop popcorn and Sarah and Nathan were quite impressed at how it grew as it was cooked and popped. They enjoyed the popcorn. They were both really excited about eating roasted marshmallows and Nathan, especially, had talked about this all week. However, when they were actually cooked he only had one. Sarah had a couple and then they wanted to go in the tent as it was dark, the fire wasn’t really providing much warmth and it was getting much cooler. They wanted to put on their jammies and get in their sleeping bags. So we went in the tent and we had brought a little fan/heater and that came in handy and took some of the edge off of the cold during the night. We kept it on all night! We played around in the tent a little bit and got them ready for bed. We brought two books to read: The Bernstein Bears “Bear Scouts” and Mercer Mayer’s “My Dad and Me” camping trip book. The kids enjoyed these stories. We then read the Book of Mormon and then we talked for a while. Before they went to sleep, I had them come out of the tent briefly and look at the stars. Unfortunately the Observatory here was closed. After I left I just walked around the camp a bit and cleaned up our stuff and then I joined them in bed. It’s so fun to sleep between your kids while camping. I had enough light to see their sweet little faces sleeping comfortably (and I hoped that they were warm enough with a sleeping bag and blankets). They both slept well – better then me I think… I never sleep good when camping/hiking.
In the morning it was cold and windy as the sun started to come up. They were both tired of being in the tent and wanted to get outside, but I knew they would be very cold as there was frost on the windshield and due to how windy it was. Thankfully, Mary had sent us with some doughnuts so we didn’t have to make pancakes right away for breakfast. So we got in the car and drove about 25 mins to Bruneau Canyon, which is amazing and very deep. It was still windy and cool, but the sun was up which provided some warmth. The kids enjoyed throwing rocks over the fence at the lookout and trying to listen to hear it hit the ground or canyon face below. We probably spent about 45 minutes there and then traveled back. This worked out good because even though it was windy, the sun made the campsite much warmer. I made pancakes on an electric griddle, but it was still so cold and windy that by the time that they ate them they were very cold pancakes and they ate very little, and I didn’t blame them. The syrup was cold and the pancakes were cold. Luckily they had eaten the doughnuts. To get something else in their stomachs we decided to cook the last couple hot dogs, so they had hot dogs and doughnuts for breakfast – what a healthy breakfast!
After “breakfast” we went in the tent and got them dressed for the day and packed up some of our stuff in the tent. Then we got ready to go to the actual Sand Dunes to play. Here’s a funny story. So, apparently on Friday morning while Mary was shopping for stuff for us to go camping at a local grocery store (Paul’s) the kids were telling everybody that they were going camping with their daddy to the sand dunes. When they were checking out of the store, the cashier told Sarah and Nathan to “be careful, last time I was there I saw a rattle snake!” This apparently stuck with Nathan.
When we parked at the bottom of one of the dunes, he refused to come out because he was scared of rattle snakes. I assured him that we wouldn’t see any this time of year and that I would stay with him. He would have none of it! He chose to stay in the car, but it was close enough where he could see us from the car go up and down the dunes. So he stayed behind in the car. Sarah and I walked to the end of the dune and then climbed up it’s spine, rather then hike straight up. The sand was cold on our feet underneath. We got to the top and Sarah enjoyed repeatedly jumping down [“like a bunny – hop hop”] the dune and then climbing back up. She also said that she felt like she was walking on the moon… she seemed to really enjoy this.
After about 30-45 minutes of us playing on the dunes (I jumped down them several times with her as well). I went down to check on Nathan. He was fairly distraught and it looked like he had been crying/upset for a little while. Poor kid! He still did not want to come out and go on the dunes, he just wanted to go back to the campsite. So we went back there when Sarah was done playing on the dunes.
We finished cleaning up our campsite and had a snack. We put the fire out with our remaining water. In the midst of cleaning up the camp, Sarah had apparently been talking to Nathan about how fun the dunes were and that she didn’t see any snakes. She had been so sweet and gently encouraging him to go on the dunes. What a great big sister she is for her little brother (and sisters!). She is so kind and sweet and is such a great example to her siblings. So after we had cleaned everything up, Nathan said he wanted to go back to the dunes. This time we picked a smaller dune that wouldn’t be difficult for Nathan to walk up. He was insistent that I hold his hand while we walked to and then up the smaller sand dune. Sarah ran ahead and we caught up to her at the top. Nathan didn’t want to do any jumping off of the backside of the dune, but enjoyed watching Sarah and I do it (Sarah had to hold his hand while I jumped down). We really praised him for being brave even though he was worried about rattle snakes.
We then drove home. The kids had a great time! I was really glad that we had decided to go even if they were pretty cold at times. It is so fun to see them so happy and excited about things like campfires, tents, sticks, bugs, animals, stars, marshmallows, hot dogs, sleeping bags, etc. Time and money well-spent!
*on a side note, I didn't find the camera in my bag until after our trip to Bruneau Canyon in the morning :(
After we got the tent all set-up, we sat down and had some pizza that Mary had cooked for us before we left. The kids enjoyed the food and while they did so I got a picture of them in front of our tent with the river in the background.
The Idaho lifestyle is a decent house with lot's of recreational equipment (campers/RV's, ATV's and/or snowmobiles), so many people have motorcycles and stuff. Anyway, some friends from church brought their four-wheelers and let me take Sarah and Nathan for a ride on some of the trails. The kids loved it and Sarah was just belting out songs at the top of her lungs as we cruised along, it was cute. We got it up to about 35 mph in some spots and Sarah and Nathan kept asking me to go faster. Don't worry, I was safe, even if I had to hold Nathan with one hand and steer with the other.
Nathan played at the river all evening. When it got dark I finally had to put the hammer down and drag him away (kicking and screaming).
This glow-stick has a story. Sarah got two of them over a year ago and used one of them when we slept out in the backyard last summer and just LOVED it. I had no clue that we still had the other unused one. As soon as I mentioned that we were going camping about a week ago, she instantly ran into her room and brought it out and had it out all week, talking about how she was going to use it and asking me how and why it glows. She was pretty excited about it. She had it all evening and at night and all day on Saturday.
Here's the kiddos in bed. I didn't realize Sarah had so much pizza sauce on her cheeks! It actually got pretty cold at night (I could see my breath at times and I was wishing I had more warmth with a sweater on and a windbreaker) but I think that the kids stayed warm enough. 
Nathan was toast by the time bedtime rolled around at 10:30 (typical bed-time is before 8), but then once I got them in bed and read stories, the kid got a second wind and thought it was the funniest thing to get out of the sleeping bag only to have me wrestle him back in there. I finally just got him in there, told him to stay and left for adult time, knowing that he would get out. When I came to bed later, he was laying on top of his pillow with his bear and blanket next to him. He stayed asleep while I got him in his sleeping bag with his bear and blanket.
Sarah enjoyed roasted marshmallows on the trip and yes, she is in her jammies so, yes, this is in the morning... but it is after breakfast.
Just a cute picture of Nathan drinking his water in the morning.
Nathan was right back at the water in the morning, throwing rocks and loving it. I tried to keep him away as long as possible as it was pretty cold in the morning but I had to relent once the sun started warming the camp up.
There was a hot-springs that had a pool (drained each night and re-filled each morning) near our campground. So it was a perfect end to our trip as it allowed the kids to get all that dust off before we hopped in the car. It was the perfect depth (at Nathans shoulders) to allow both kids to play in it. I didn't think they'd get in when I felt the temp, but I think the desire to get in the water outweighed the hotness of the water and their bodies quickly adjusted and they were jumping off the sides to me in no time. It was a great time and I hope that we can do this some more this summer.
