Camping Kick-Off 2010 (Day One)

We kicked off our 2010 camping season at Bruneau Sand Dunes, April 17-18! This was Grayson's very first camping adventure, as we've been more inclined to head to the cabins in the past three years.... We are happy to be back, enjoying one of our favorite outdoor activities.

Our friends, the Rosti family, reserved the campsite right next to ours.
We had a great time camping together!

While Gary and I set up camp, Gordon and Grayson busied themselves with projects.

Then it was time to head over to the dunes for some climbing and digging fun! The boys ran ahead while I enjoyed some of the desert flora at the foot of a dune.

What a surprise to look up and see Gordon and Grayson over half way up the dune already! They are the two little dots, toward the top of the sand.
(Gary, Shawn, Alicia, Christopher, and Colin are preparing to climb).

I had to zoom in with my camera to capture these images of the boys reaching the top.

They were full of energy.

Ready to play!

When I reached the top of the dune, Grayson had already made a new friend - some kind of sand beetle. (He's a big fan of bugs!)

Abi and Gary enjoy the scenery.

Grayson and Christopher had so much fun playing together.

Grayson, all smiles.

Gordon taking a breather after running up and down the big sand hill.

He's going to sleep well tonight!

This is Grayson shortly after taking a face plant in the sand. It was a good sign that it was time to head back to camp, clean up, and fill our tummies with dinner.

And a delicious dinner it was! Here's Gary, handing me a grilled burrito ~ one of his traditional camping specialties - amazingly tasty!

Here's a panoramic view of our campsite at dusk. Gary has a new iphone application that takes cool panoramic photos - pretty awesome.

Tired, but eager to enjoy the full camping experience, the boys watch Gary build a campfire.

Two happy campers!

Roasting marshmallows

Yummy s'mores!

Winding down in the camper before bedtime - drawing and coloring

Grayson exclaimed, "Hey! I drawed a mouse!"

And this is the vehicle Gordy drew.

And that's how we wrapped up Day One of our camping trip. The boys were pretty worn out from a full day. I don't think Gordy moved at all during the night, sleeping so soundly. Grayson only woke up twice, very briefly when his blankets needed arranging. It was a surprisingly restful night for all of us. ☺ Coming soon - Day Two of our camping adventure!