Labor Day campout

Where to even begin describing our great camping trip... We decided to take a chance and head out on Labor Day weekend without reservations (big risk takers that we are...). To improve our odds, we thought we'd try a more primitive camping experience off the beaten track a bit, so we headed to the Teanaway valley outside of Cle Elum. All the campgrounds up there are less developed (i.e., pit toilets, no running water, etc.) and accessible only by dirt roads. We lucked out and scored a BEAUTIFUL spot right next to the river and set up camp on Friday afternoon for a wonderful weekend that ended up being the most relaxing and yet fun-filled camping trip we've ever had as a family.



The girls played for hours in and around the river, making fishing poles (complete with homemade fish hooks carved from sticks), washing clothes the Laura Ingalls Wilder way, building forts, and just exploring up and down the river.







We ate well! A couple gourmet breakfasts (not counting the Captain Crunchberries), and Margaret cooked dinner for the family using her newfound skills and stew recipe from her Girl Scout camping trip earlier this summer. Caroline helped bake the brownies in the dutch oven--who wants to have to eat s'mores for dessert EVERY night? :-)




(yes, Jeff is babysitting the dollies while the girls drink their hot chocolate and warm their toes by the morning fire...)







Margaret tried out our "sunshower" which worked pretty well although it was still too cold for Jeff and I to use it. The girls did really well handling the pit toilet experience, even in the dark of night. But we also took the opportunity to learn how to set-up the high-tech porta potty that came with our camper that we'd never used. Yeah! No more tiptoeing through the wilderness in the middle of the night!



We took a short hike one day, part way up a trail not too far from our campground, and had lunch in a pretty spot along the way. The trail is part of a much longer loop that is usually used by trail riders on horseback. Because it's a horse trail, it crosses the river a lot, which made it a bit more exciting and challenging for us since we forgot to bring waterproof shoes (apparently the horses don't mind this because they don't have to stop and take off their shoes each time!).







There were lots of other fun highlights, including exploring further up the other forks of the Teanaway in search of future camping spots. This is an area we will definitely be coming back to!


After jealously watching the horse campers at the other end of the campground all weekend, Margaret and Caroline got a happy surprise on our last evening. The group rode through camp and invited them to hop on for a quick ride. Margaret got to ride down to and into the river to let "Doc" get a drink, and Caroline got to ride back to the horses' campsite.



I can't be certain, but I think the girls had a good time...