Grove of the Patriarchs

 When we woke up, it was COLD!  If my memory serves me correctly, our second night was the coldest of them all but still not miserable, just "crisp!" So in the morning I dug out the boys' snow hats.  Let me correct myself, I dug out the boys touques. (Can't hide my heritage! Ha ha. And yes, that is one of the accepted spellings of the word.)  Every night I dressed the boys in their pajamas with a long sleeved thermal over top and then fleece Halo sleep sacks.  Oliver's is a larger size that has openings for his feet.  They are like wearable sleeping bags and keep little kids SO warm!  I highly suggest them for boat camping or camping at high elevations like we were.

 Here The Mr. and Little Mr. were making plans for the day.  This is one of my favorite action shots from the trip, simply because it shows my boys' personalities.  Little Mr. loves to be active (hence the bike) and LOVES maps.  Little Brother, who is hiding at the bottom of this photo, is my independent one.  He loves to wander off and do his own thing, all while making cute little sounds with his mouth.  Like raspberry sounds, rolling his tongue sounds, brrr sounds, woof sounds etc.  It cracks me up.  Often I'll hear him make the sound of an animal (sort of grrr sound, or "woof") and look up to see a stuffed animal peeking out of a basket, or a squirrel hanging out nearby or someone walking a dog.  He is almost always the first to spot that sort of thing.

 I brought a few cars and buckets on the trip with us, but next time I think I'll leave them behind and let the boys play solely with what they find around the camp site.  Really, nothing more is needed when you're camping and there's so much to explore.

 We made plans to visit the Grove of the Patriarchs along with L&P and crew, as well as P's parents who were in the area visiting.  They all came up for the afternoon and it was really nice to see them, we were so glad they joined us.  This is the Ohanapecosh River, which you cross on your way to the Grove of the Patriarchs.

 A very bouncy suspension bridge leads to an island on the Ohanapecosh River.  Since it is an island, the trees have been protected from wildfires.

 

 The Grove of the Patriarchs is an old growth forest and they say there are trees in this grove that are 1000 years old. Some of the trees are 25 feet in circumference and I read that there is at least one that is reaching 50 feet around.  Amazing!

 My boys eating their PB&J's for lunch.  This is what Little Mr. calls "walk and eat."  (When he doesn't have to sit down at a table.)

 A squirrel's perspective. ;)

 Throwing rocks.

 My little towhead.

 That afternoon I took the boys back to the campsite for a nap, but after a short "rest" this one decided he'd rather be kamikaze on the balance bike.  He took this route over and over until he had "mastered" it, but really there is no mastering a route that is littered with small trees, tree roots and rocks!  It made for a crazy ride!

 Check out the cool decor in Sallad and Grace's campsite, a huge overturned stump!

 Cute little L!

 My independent one gathering pine cones.  Ever since he could sit up and play with toys, he has loved putting things into any sort of vessel and then dumping them out again.  This makes meal time harder, but toy clean up time easier!

 This little dogwood was growing beside a tree between our two campsites. It is called Bunchberry, or Canadian Dogwood.

 Sallad and Grace made us the yummiest steak dinner complete with all the fixings!

I don't know why, but when I look at this photo, I just start singing "We're off to see the Wizard!"

Roasting marshmallows before bed! MMM!