You might question why I chose this picture to use for this posting. The simple truth is I was stressed out of my mind about backing the trailer into a campsite! It was such a huge relief to arrive at camp and back in with no problems. I had Lori, Jason and Braden on two-way radios so they could watch both sides of the back plus the trailer at the hitch! The best idea I had was to take off the sway bars for backing! That made it a lot easier than what I had done in the past - the sway bars don't give much for turning!
We left on Wednesday for a trip camping at Soapstone campground. I was amazed at the time it took to get ready for this adventure. I was tired before we even left. We had to plan the meals, buy the food, load the trailer with clothes, fishing gear, camp chairs, etc. I had to load it up with water. It took some time to get the gas working - turned out the problem was being caused by a spider web in the regulator! Also, I had to get all the antifreeze out and get the hot water hooked back up.
I was also concerned about how the Suburban would do pulling that much weight. It ended up doing fine - it sure ate up the gas, and the transmission got fairly hot climbing up by Jordanelle reservoir. But all in all, the trip went smooth.
We arrived and set up camp. We then enjoyed an evening around the campfire. I had made tin foil dinners before hand to cook up there, and it turned out to taste great. We had smores (of course), then turned in for the evening. The hot water heater worked like a charm, and the furnace kept us nice and toasty.
Thursday morning, I made some sausage and french toast. Next time, I need to cook the sausage outdoors! Kaylee had stayed back home for drivers ed, but Braden, Jason, Alyssa and I drove up to Trial Lake to fish. Lori slept back in the trailer!
The kids and I spent about two hours fishing, and hauled in a BUNCH of fish! It was so much fun. I helped Alyssa, and we caught 10 just as our "team". We let them all go, including the biggest one that I ally let swim off with my rope fish holder!
We had some sandwiches back at camp, then drove down to Kamas to get some supplies. We then went to see the Provo River falls, Bald Mountain overlook and Mirror Lake. We fished some more at Mirror Lake, and caught a BUNCH more fish. I was really in the zone this time, calling my catch time after time. Man, I love fishing!
I made some burgers for dinner, and was smart enough to cook them outdoors this time. We did note we were almost out of water at this point, which seemed odd since I thought I had topped it off at home. However, I finally came up with a way to use my 6 gallon jug to put water in, and managed to get 24 more gallons in. I did have to let some gray water out, but no harm there. We watched a movie, then played some games. Another great day!
Friday morning was pancakes for breakfast. I had bought a grill before this trip, and this was the 3rd time I used it. It was a good investment. Also, the horseshoes game I picked up was a big hit.
The kids and I hit Trial Lake again, and this time kept 8 fish to take back to Showgrens. We then went back for lunch, where I made some awesome tacos and burritos. We drove up to the Crystal Lake trailhead, and hiked into Wall Lake. It was a short, but rocky climb. It was a lot of fun, though! We then went to Kamas to fill up the Suburban with gas, and had Braden ask where the closest waste station was. It turns out there is one about a mile from Soapstone campground. The park service just doesn't bother publishing anything about it or even putting up signs to say where it is!
We roasted hot dogs around the campfire, then decided to head back late Friday rather than early Saturday. This was a good decision, as it took me about 4 hours to clean up the trailer and Suburban Saturday morning.
All in all, it was a great camping trip. I was exhausted, as I really don't let anyone else do anything while camping! I like to do it all - cook, clean, entertain, etc. I think I need to involve others more next time so I can relax more!
The batteries were at 2/3 when we were done, so I think we can stay longer next time. Also, I'll just fill up the water at the station next time - no sense hauling all that weight when they have fresh water right there at the waste station. I think the only concern then would be dumping the gray water, but I think it's fine to let a bit out when needed.
Oh, the fish were really taking a bit of night crawler topped off with a salmon egg. I think we ended up catching around 60 fish! We ran out of night crawlers and split shot, so I need to bring more fishing supplies next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment