Camping at Calaveras Big Trees

^^ That's our little camping spot in between those two trees.

We took the kids tent camping in Calaveras Big Trees for two nights last week. We arrived and the kids were really excited. They wanted to help set things up…i.e. make it way more difficult to set up the tent while they run over it, etc. After setting up, I took a nap (hey, I'm pregnant!) while Ian and the kids went exploring. Then we made dinner. After dinner we went exploring some more, before heading back to our site to build a fire and get some smores made. Would you believe that neither of my kids would eat smores?! This has happened in past camping trips though, so not too shocking. But, Isla was game to eat uncooked marshmallows. In fact, that is practically all she asked for the whole time we were camping! That night, though we put the kids to bed around 9pm, they were playing and talking in the tent until 11pm. 

The next morning, Connor got up early, as usual. Isla slept until 9:15. We made breakfast, then headed down to the Ranger Cubs class the park offered. It was specifically for 2-6 year olds. And that day it was on ants. I thought the ranger was a little ambitious in what she wanted to teach the kids about ants, but it was fun never the less…even if Isla crawled over and started going through the rangers stuff about halfway through the lesson. 

 

^^ Checking out the home of some insect that eats ants (yeah, I wasn't paying close enough attention to remember it's name). And Connor sporting his ant antenna. 

^^ This seems to be their new way to pose together. I promise Connor isn't trying to choke Isla, but merely put his arm around her. 

After Ranger Cubs, we went to the lodge and explored it a bit. There is a small museum in it and a little documentary to watch. The kids were pretty into it. Then we headed back to our campsite for a quick lunch. After lunch, we headed down to the creek for a critter exploration with the rangers. Isla wasn't so much into looking for the critters as she was getting wet and playing in the creek. Connor was into finding the critters. But really, he was into Ian and I finding them. Then he would happily accompany us (not getting too close to said critters) to look at them under a microscope. 

After that, we went back to the campsite and got Isla all cleaned up. Then we headed out for a little hike. The hike was supposed to be pretty easy. It was only 1.6 miles, which sounded doable. The problem was, kids quickly loose interest…then they want to be carried. We had a carrier for Isla, but not Connor. So, I spent a bunch of time trying to distract him with games, looking at things and racing him.

 After the hike, we went to town in search of ice cream. We then headed back to our campsite to make dinner. After dinner, Connor showered and on his way back into the campsite he lost his second tooth. Kind of fun that he lost it while we were camping. The second night went about as well as the first, except the kids weren't quite as in good of moods. Connor ended up wanting to "sleep" in the tent (i.e.play in it) and Isla wanted to chill by the fire. This time they fell asleep about 10:30.

^^ Who doesn't want two cookies for breakfast when camping?!

The last morning we were a little more slow going…probably because of all the restful sleep we got ;) We ate breakfast, then slowly packed up the campsite. We headed home about lunch time. It really was a fun time. The kids love tent camping. The hard part is, they just don't sleep well (especially Isla) in a tent. I'm not sure how to rectify that…but I'm trying to convince Ian a trailer would help! 

You can also find me on:

bloglovin // instagram // pinterest