Last week I thought about taking the boys on a "Guys Only" camping trip (Kelly had a wedding). With plans filling up and a forecast that didn't look too great, I had just scrapped the idea altogether. After a particularly rough day at work on Friday, Kelly texted me that the forecast was looking much better on Saturday and Sunday. The race to prep a camping trip was on. I needed to get away and was looking forward to some much-needed guy time with the boys!
I always wanted to try Wappapello State Park. There are usually spots open when we get a chance to last minute book, so I thought it was worth trying when its just one night and just the boys! I must say we were pleasantly surprised!
When we pulled up to our spot I was totally impressed by the view. That is a panorama of our campsite (it is a little squished in the middle, it was almost a 360-degree view). We were immediately greeted by a family of geese, complete with goslings. It is kind of hard to see them #camoflauge. Here are some of the views we saw when we first pulled in.
It had been raining a lot the day and night before. We had a small gully of water running off the hills through our spot...it was actually nice to hear a "babbling brook" while outside.
After getting all set up and unhooked, (I did all the work. The boys rode their bikes, which is honestly why we love the state parks so much, the campgrounds are all paved!) we went up to the park office to pay for our spot.
We love our state parks. It is totally worth the Soils and Water Sales Tax (click here to read)!
Our spot was right next to the Asher Creek Trail Head. So off we went. 2.2 miles of adventure!
Make sure you stay on the red trail! We worked on reading trail maps and what the topography lines mean. Paxton is a nerd like me and just likes to learn new things. Camden was very interested in this. He is a visual and kinesthetic learner #teachertalk
A little trip off the trail down to the water. Pax's favorite past-time is throwing stuff into water...sticks, rocks, pinecones...doesn't matter.
At the bottom of the hills, there are lots of gullies to cross. Proud to say there were no wet shoes!
When you go down on a trail, you must go up. After climbing about 150-200 feet up a rocky path we need a break and enjoy the suckers the park ranger gave us at the park office.
On the north part of the trail, there was SO MUCH MOSS! It was very pretty to see and the boys wanted to nap on it. They probably would have too, but it was sprinkling on us.
As we were walking, Paxton saw this and said, "Hey Daddy, is that a mommy tree? Do you think a baby tree is inside?" #discussionforanotherday
After a lengthy discussion on whether or not Native Americans used moss for mattresses, we kept on truckin' down the trail.
Silly faces...who knows? #raisingboys #boylife
After some Powerade, we went up to the Visitor Center. It wasn't set up for the season yet, but the ranger let us in and showed the boys all kinds of stuff. Paxton was in his element asking a zillion questions. Camden was getting annoyed with how many he was asking.
He showed them the cool magnet thing they use to clean the inside of the fish tank. Once again...Paxton loved it!
Back to the campsite for some fire and some cooking. The boys spent a lot of time playing baseball. Camden was coaching Paxton up on his throwing and catching.
Pax was concerned about getting hit in the head tonight (who knows why). This was Cam's solution...it worked!
Our only neighbors were some college kids further down the campsite. They were very chill and spent most of their time in their kayaks.
I couldn't get enough of this view. After a whole weekend of clouds, the sun decided to peek out for about 5 minutes.
After sundown, the goose family showed back up and the kids grabbed their iPads and when on a nature-picture-taking session. They made me turn the radio off as not to scare the animals.
Well...in the rush of packing for the trip, I forgot to grab the pancake syrup. They opted for a turkey sandwich with their bacon, instead of no-syrup pancakes.
All packed up and ready to head home. Nothing says "end of camping trip" like a trip through the dump station. I do have to say, the state parks do make the chore of messing with your waste very easy. Every dump station I have been through is clean and easy to use!
I don't want to end this post with a picture of dumping our black tank. So here is to hopefully a lot more camping posts to come!
What a great camping trip--great great fun and super memories! You are awesome! And I will say you have this blogging thing down. I have one that I have tried to start for 2 years. I may be coming to you for some help!
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