Camping Trip

Our camping trip last weekend was F U N.  The weather was hot and dry but a nice breeze kept it from being too uncomfortable.  We left on Thursday around 11:30 in the morning.  There was a lot of traffic getting out of town but we still managed to get to Bishop around 4:30 and had a nice early dinner.  After our meal, we stopped at a gas station for fuel and to pick up ice for our cooler and a few bundles of fire wood.  It was a 30 minute drive up the grade to the lake.

As we entered the camp ground, it was easy to spot Bryan's trailer.  It'd 30' long and takes up a lot of room.  We had to drive around the loop and come back because all the drive thru-ways are one way streets.  As we turned up the street where they were parked, Nathan and Megan were at the end of their site waving at us.  That brought smiles to our faces.

 

         

Trailer                          Inside Kitchen               Inside rear

    

  Two pictures above are our camp site.

We still had a few hours of daylight which was nice.  We unpacked out things and had some fun with the kids outside before dark.  When the sun finally went down, we built a nice fire and relaxed with them for an hour or so before it was time for them to go to bed. 

The next day was sunny and very warm.  We decided that since it was so warm the fish would not be biting so we drove up to Mammoth Lakes which is about a 20 minute drive north.  We had a nice lunch and then went to the main lodge.  Dennis, Bryan, Megan, Nathan and Andrew went up in the gondola while Shannon and I stayed back with baby, Matthew. 

After about an hour at the top, they came down and the kids got to do the Zip Line.  What fun for them.  See the pictures below:

   Megan & Nathan in Zip Line gear               

     

They had to climb up the ladder to this platform.

                                                                                                           

Megan Zipping             Nathan Zipping

They didn't have trouble climbing the ladder because they had a line clipped to their belts and as they climbed up, they knew if they fell, the rope would catch them.  When they got on top of the platform, they were clipped to a line with a rope that was only about 4 or 5 feet long so they could not walk anywhere near the edge.  The person in charge took one at a time up the taller platform that they would launch from and they were tethered up there, too.  Each time they changed positions, they were clipped to a safety line so there was no chance they could fall and get hurt.  I was very impressed with the safety measures they have in place to protect the children.

Megan went first.  It takes at least three or four minutes for the equipment to be fastened, checked and re checked.  Once everything is OK, they face the instructor and she counted to three.  At three, they pushed off backwards and zipped back down the line about 300 yards.  There was another person waiting for them at the other end.  They unclipped them and then gave them the rope to run back to the platform so the next kid could use it for their turn. 

Nathan wanted to go down a shorter line that was about 20 feet lower but his dad had told the lady in charge not to let him get out of doing the big one.  She told him the smaller one wasn't working right then so he'd have to do the big one.  He said, "Well, OK."  She talked him through the whole thing as he was trying to talk her into letting him 'off the hook'.  She just kept gently moving him forward in the process and before you knew it, he was zipping down that line.  When it was over, he was so excited and proud of himself.  He wanted to go again!  Not bad for 5 1/2 years old.

Next summer, they are going to have a huge zip line for adults that comes down the big mountain.  Dennis and I can't wait to go on that!

The next morning, Dennis and Bryan took the 3 kids fishing.  They caught two good sized trout.  Andrew was into throwing rocks and digging in the sand by the lake but when an older gentleman fishing nearby caught a trout, Andrew went running into the water after it announcing, "My fish!  My fish!"  Bryan had to go in after him while the fisherman netted his catch.  The guy thought it was so funny but Andrew's dad didn't see much humor in it.  LOL

  The kids with their trout. 

  Cooking it on the grill the next day for lunch.

We saw several deer near our camp site and lots of chipmunks.  They are so cute!  We tossed a few peanuts out for them and the kids really enjoyed watching them open the shells and pulling the peanut out. 

They kids were great.  We were awake early every morning but we loved that!  Hope we can go again sometime soon.