Gone Camping

It's been so long since Mr. R&R and I have gone camping that I actually had to look back through my blog archives to see when the last time was (it was April 2013 if you're curious).  Fortunately Mr. R&R and I were able to take a few days off and remedy that!

We packed up on a Sunday afternoon and headed for our favorite state park - and our favorite campsite in that park.  Usually we go camping on weekends in much colder weather, so we really had no idea what to expect in terms of how many other campers would be around.  We were both hoping for 'not a lot' since we were both seeking peace and quiet - and we got our wish.  We set up our tent on the top level of our multi-level site to keep it away from campfire smoke and cooking smells - and to keep it in near-constant shade since the temperatures were predicted to soar into the upper 80's on Monday and Tuesday and neither of us wanted to sleep in a superheated sweatbox.

Tent. Sweet Tent.

After getting our tent all set up, we took a quick walk around the surrounding loops of campsites and confirmed that there were only a handful of other campers in the area.  YES!!!!  We filled up our water containers on the way back to our site and when we arrived, Mr. R&R set to work building a fire and I made a quick dinner (burgers and mashed potatoes).  Once our bellies were full, we plopped ourselves into our lounge chairs with our Kindles.  We also tried something we've never tried before while camping:

Now THAT's a juice box!

Our usual camping beverage of choice, besides water, is beer because it's easy to transport, keep cold, etc.  Move over beer...boxed wine just replaced you on camping trips!  There's about 3 glasses of wine in each little box and they're easy to re-cap, so there was no pressure to drink the whole thing in one go. And don't worry, the glasses are plastic, not actual glass!

We both slept surprisingly well (the temperatures were in the low 60's) and after a quick breakfast, we headed off to explore part of the Ice Age trail.

Follow the Yellow Blaze Trail

The trailhead was about a mile from our campsite and we almost missed it because the yellow blaze was nearly obliterated by the trees.  We headed North along the trail and were both instantly drenched in sweat from a combination of the rising temperatures and the hills.  The wooded section offered some relief from the heat, but had swarms of mosquitos.  The prairie sections were blessedly free of bugs, but it was so hot without tree cover that it left us almost looking forward to another bout with the mosquitos.

After a few miles, and questions about why we don't hike more, we turned around and found a side trail back to the campground. We both chugged lots of water and did our best to stay cool for the rest of the afternoon.  Finally, neither of us could take it any more.  We both made our way to the campground's shower building.  I'm not a fan of showering at campgrounds (or at gyms, pools, etc.), but between the sweat, bug spray, sunscreen, and campfire smell, it was worth it.  There's something to be said for camping in cool weather...where 3 of those factors really don't come into play!

Since Mr. R&R had built the previous night's fire (and all the fires on all of our previous trips), it was my turn to attempt to make a fire.  I always mean to try, but then it never ends up happening.  It took a little doing, but eventually I managed to make fire...

And Mr. R&R made this absolutely delicious dinner:

More wine and Kindle time ensued (I read 2 books and started a third over the course of the weekend) and eventually neither of us could keep our eyes open any more.

This morning we were awakened by some pissed off crows squawking overhead, but didn't mind too much because we'd both slept really well...again!  It was already pretty warm, so we skipped breakfast in favor of packing up and heading home.  All in all, it was a great trip and I really hope it's not another two years before we get out again.

Sunny Days. Frigid Nights.

The title sums up our first camping trip of the year.  Aside from a small threat of rain on Friday afternoon, the weather was beautiful - during the day.  Nights were another story.  But, let's back up a bit.

Luckily, The Husband and I both had Friday off, so we took our time doing a few last minute errands, making sure everything was set for the bunny sitter, and packing the car.  We arrived at our rather secluded (surrounded by steep hills on three sides) campsite around 4:00pm on Friday afternoon and immediately set about setting up our tent since there were some gray, ominous looking clouds in the sky and the wind was pretty gusty.  After one minor snafu, we went from this:

To this:

As soon as we got the tent up, the sun came out and the wind died down.  Go figure!

The Husband got our campfire started while I blew up our air mattress and topped it with no less than 5 layers of blankets!  We've learned that camping in cool weather requires some extra insulation and, since the temperature was predicted to be near or below freezing on both nights of our trip, we brought an arsenal of blankets and sleeping bags!

After the fire was going it was definitely time to eat. I'm not a fan of attempting to cook on a campfire, so I fired up our trusty camp stove and in no time at all, we were scarfing down burgers and beans.

If you want food styling - find a food blog!

After dinner, I wandered off to find the ladies room and discovered that the nearest one had met an unfortunate demise since our last trip up here! 

I don't know if this was caused by lightening, an uncontrolled campfire, or arson, but whatever it is...it's definitely not good!  Fortunately there are other facilities available in the area.

When I returned to our site, I was pleased to see that you really couldn't see much from the main road.

Our tent is behind the stand of trees to the right.

And the high hills around us did a nice job of (mostly) protecting us from the wind.

The trail leads up to a seldom-used service road

Although it had been pretty pleasant out during the day, by the time we were ready for bed IT. WAS. FREEZING.  To give you an idea of how cold it was, I slept in: Under Armour pants (that I usually wear if running in freezing temps), a long-sleeved technical shirt, an Under Armour Cold Gear hoodie (with the hood up), a fleece pullover, a hat, gloves, and the thickest pair of Wigwam socks I own - and I was still cold!  Fortunately, with all those layers and all the covers around and over us, we were actually pretty cozy and warm by the time we woke up on Saturday morning.

After breakfast and a couple of cups of coffee, we set off on our mini-adventure for the day.

I wasn't kidding when I said that coffee is a food group in the Rabbits & Runs houe

We wandered down past the lake.

Over a wooden bridge.

And onto the Ice Age Trail.  We've camped in this state park over half a dozen times and never noticed that there was a trailhead there!

The Ice Age Trail is a 1,200 mile footpath that winds through the state of Wisconsin, highlighting natural features left by the last glacier to cover the state.

(source)

It's also one of only 11 trails in the country to be designated as a National Scenic Trail.  Its more famous sisters include the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail.

We hiked approximately a mile out to one of the backpack shelters, turned around, and headed back - and passed a herd of slow-moving Boy Scouts on the way!

 Once back at our campsite, we made our fire, had dinner (chicken and mashed potatoes), and settled down to read by the fire until the light faded.  By midnight, we were ready for bed, so we piled on our layers and crawled into the tent.  It was definitely cold, but not as brutal as the night before.

This morning we had breakfast, packed up all our gear, and sat around a small fire made with our remaining wood to read for a bit before heading back to reality.  It was great to unplug for a weekend (no tv, cell phones, computers), but it's also great to be home (HOT running water, indoor plumbing, etc.)!

Gone Camping

The Husband and I love to go camping, especially in early spring and late fall (minimal crowds, no sweating to death in a tent, the campfire actually feels good).  We weren't able to get out in early spring due to my marathon training.  I may love to camp, but I do not love the idea of a long run after sleeping outside the night before!  We had planned a trip in mid-November, but that got derailed after our bunny sitter (aka My Mom) let us know that she would be out of town that weekend on a much needed and much deserved vacation of her own.  Between work, weddings, birthday parties and about 800 other obligations it looked like our only chance to go camping in 2011 was a 1 night trip this weekend (i.e. get there late afternoon on Saturday, bail out by noon-ish on Sunday). Thanks to The Husband (and my mom for watching the bunnies for an extra night), it turned into a two night trip! 

I got home from work on Friday night (around 5:00) to find the house pretty much cleaned/bunny-sitter ready and was told to start packing because we were leaving in an hour!  It was on!  I tossed some clothes in a backpack and we started packing up the car (yes, we cheat and go car camping).  By 6pm we were on the road.

We pulled into the campground and discovered that our favorite campsite was available.  We registered ourselves and then set about the business of pitching a tent in the glow of the car's headlights.  After that was done, we got a fire going and spent the remainder of the night relaxing around the fire.  When we finally headed for bed IT WAS FREEZING!  We've camped in cool weather before, but Friday night's low was in the high 20's-low 30's!  Fortunately, several layers of clothes, sleeping bags and a hat made it manageable.

On Saturday morning we drove into town to pick up supplies (food, beer, firewood) since we'd gotten in so late on Friday night.  The rest of the day was spent hanging out on our multi-level campsite (tent was on one level and the fire pit/eating area was on the lower level)...

...wandering down to the lake:

...and making a short foray onto the trail around the lake before realizing that the woods were full of hunters and we weren't wearing blaze orange:

After we got back to our site, we spent the remainder of the afternoon basking in the (relatively) warm sun and reading.

Before long, the light began to fade and the temperature began to drop.  The Husband set to work building our fire for the night...

...while I set to work making dinner (cheesesteaks) since I don't love cooking by lantern/firelight.  After dinner we sat around our fire, which we made larger as the temperature dropped.

By midnight, it was bed time.

This morning we tore down our camp in about 30 minutes and headed home.  The weekend away did wonders for my stress level and I'm ready to tackle the week ahead!