Diablo's Den

The plan was to go camping on Friday night with Maitlyn at Lost Valley, out near the Buffalo River. Currently, our family camping outings just involve me and Maitlyn since Elspeth is still sleeping in a crib and probably not quite ready for the tent experience. Therefore, Elise has to stay home with her. Well, Friday rolled around and it was quite rainy with severe t-storms forecast for the evening. So, we decided to improvise and camp on Saturday night. After working through the details, we decided the whole family would go to Devil's Den to hike, then Maitlyn and I would stay the night while Elise and Elspeth would drive back home.

We started out our hiking experience with a tasty burrito at our favorite local burrito haunt, The Flying Burrito, Co. for lunch. Then we drove down to Devil's Den and snagged a campsite. It was actually the last one that they had - it was a gorgeous day and the rest of the weekend promised good weather, so I guess lots of people had the camping bug as well. After setting up our tent, we all drove over to the Yellow Rock Trailhead and hiked for a few hours, enjoying the warm day and the changing leaves.

After our hike, we headed back down to our campsite to get dinner ready. The first time I took Maitlyn camping, we made Ramen Noodles (her favorite dinner at home or in camp) and hot dogs for dinner, s'mores for a snack, and pancakes for breakfast. I guess she assumes that you always eat those things when you go camping, because that was exactly what she had requested for the trip. So we cooked up the Ramen and the girls went to town on the noodles. In the meantime, I tried my best to get a fire going so we could cook the hot dogs and s'mores. Unfortunately, our wood was absolutely soaked from the previous night's downpour and I didn't really have very much kindling. So, after several frustrating attempts, I gave up on the fire. Very disappointed, I cooked the hot dogs in a pan on my stove and we roasted marshmallows over the flame of the stove. While everything tasted fine, I think my pride was wounded a bit because that was the first time that I can remember not being able to start a fire.

As we wrapped up dinner, it was already dark, so we quickly cleaned up our stuff and Elise and Elspeth took off for home. With no fire to stand around for warmth, Maitlyn and I dove into the tent to warm up in our sleeping bags. I read her a couple of books, said prayers with her and tucked her in. I then proceeded to read my "camping book" (I'm re-reading A Wrinkle In Time

I heard a few interesting things in the middle of the night. The first was a pack of coyotes. They were quite far away, but I hoped Maitlyn wouldn't wake up and get scared. Then at around 2:00 a.m., I woke up to a very loud hoot owl that seemed to be about 6.5 inches away from my head. Before I knew it, this owl was having a very lively conversation with about 3 other hoot owls who were having a rockin' party about 7 inches from my head. I was sure Maitlyn would wake up to the "hoot owl party of the year", but surprisingly, she slept right through. I considered waking her up just so she could marvel at them, but then the better part of wisdom took over and I realized that I didn't want to pack up a tent at two o'clock in the morning if she got scared by the party animals. Around 7:00 a.m., I heard a strange series of dog whines/yelps. At least that's what I thought they were at first. Then immediately after, I heard a loud buzz of conversation from the Girl Scout troop/pack/den/herd/whateverthey'recalled. After some thoughtful (or just sleepy) musings, I realized that the dog whines/yelps were probably some strange and secret Girl Scout wake up call. I felt privileged to have experienced this hidden ritual firsthand.

Maitlyn woke up with a big smile and was very stretchy and cuddly. I just had to throw that in there because she wakes up that way every morning and I think it is very endearing. Morning is one of my favorite times with the girls because they are so excited to see us and love to snuggle, tickle and play.

After a little play time, I drove her up to the visitor's center to use the bathroom. Maitlyn is scared of "pit toilets" (you know, those glorified outhouses at places like camping sites where you look down about 10 feet to a pit of human waste). I think she feels like she is going to fall in. A healthy fear, probably. On the drive over to the visitor's center, I noticed on the car thermometer that it was 43 degrees. Still quite warmer than when Elise and I were in Colorado a few weeks ago, but cold enough to make Maitlyn cold. We got back to our campsite and whipped up the pancakes quickly. Since Maitlyn was cold, we ate fast and packed up our stuff in the car. Then we took off for home.

By the time we arrived home, it had warmed up to a balmy 65 degrees.

All in all a great time. A little stressful with the fire (or lack of one) and having to pack up quickly (read: throw it all in the car as fast as possible) because of a cold 3.5 year old, but fun nonetheless. Elise and I really want our family to enjoy and appreciate the outdoors, and I think camping with them at this age really makes that a reality. Maitlyn is already asking when we can go camping again. It's also great time for me to build on my relationship with my daughter and help her know that she is special and cherished by her daddy.
by Madeline L'Engle, a classic kid's book). Maitlyn was pretty excited so she kept giggling and playing instead of sleeping, so we talked and laughed for a while. Then around 9:30, we both fell asleep (which is ridiculously early for me).