Sunday, August 11, 2013

Rasar State Park - Fun in the Outdoors

How does a weekend camping trip turn into 27 loads of laundry?  Actually, I'm only up to four, fun I haven't started on clothes yet.  Since it's our last (planned) trip of the year I wash all the sleeping bags, pillows, bags and any other cloth we use before storing it away for the season.  I also rotate out all our emergency food stash to make sure it's all unexpired and fresh for next year.

Now, back to the actual camping trip...we had a wonderful time.  There is a burn ban going on because of the drought, so of course it rained all weekend.  The days were beautiful, but the nights were rainy with a touch of thunder and lightning tossed in for good measure.  We did some hiking, some geocaching, a bit of wading in the glacial cold water, some science lessons and even watched a movie.

This particular park ran their version of the Junior Ranger program.  Kendra learned what her spirit animal and clan were (Woodpecker and Frog) based on her birthday.  The kids then made decoder rings to use to decode clues hidden around the park to some interesting sights.  If they found, and deciphered, enough clues, they got a special prize.  Kendra chose a 3-D horse puzzle.  They also learned how to use a compass, and made one using a needle.  All in all, very cool stuff.

At the end of the day, the camp hosts hooked up a projector to a VHS machine (those are still in use?) and did an outdoor showing of Beauty and the Beast.  Turns out it was an interactive experience - when it rained on screen it rained on us!

I am now looking forward to sleeping in my dry, soft, non-deflating bed.  After another load of laundry.