Tuesday, August 24, 2010

campfire...

About three or four miles down the trail we headed across a large meadow and chose a camp, nestled into the trees, with the river nearby.

I will tell you though, the night before we left Jason and I wondered if we were really going to be able to do this as a backpacking trip. The alternative being to go somewhere we could drive into, with warm blankets and extra food in the car. It just seemed like we might not be able to carry everything we needed for a two night trip. We decided we might be crazy, we laughed at ourselves a lot. Glad we decided to try...

Our girls are such good little campers, even after hiking all that way. We had to get started on camp chores right away. Gathering firewood, filtering water. And Chessa was the cutest little campfire helper!


She was so pleased to be helping with this important task.

And then daddy started the fire.

And the girls rested and watched. It can sometimes take a while to start a fire when you aren't using matches. (But don't worry, we had some matches just in case.)

Little tiny coal.

Little bundle of tinder.

Hands that work so hard to take care of us!

And fire to keep us warm during the chilly evening,

to cook our yummy dinner of carrots and potatoes,

and to dance for us in the dark forest night.

Next morning, back to camp chores, you want to get that fire going again quickly!


(It seems there is going to be a camping theme here this week...)


...

17 comments:

Kelly said...

lovely ~

Linda said...

How wonderful to live so near to the river Renee... Such wonderful photos...
xo
Linda

kendra said...

this is so awesome, renee! we would love to pack it all in and camp more remotely. but the extra camping blankets and luxury of the car have got hold of us for now. thanks for sharing that you did it! it's so inspirational to me!

Tonya Gunn said...

This is so wonderful Renee - such great skills to be passing on and then to respect and enjoy nature as well.
Thanks for sharing.
Warm wishes, Tonya

momma rae said...

so magical! just you and your sweet fam in that majestic setting. really love seeing photos with jason, too. maybe mom will make an appearance, too. ;)

W-S Wanderings said...

Oh, wow! What a tree-mendous (ha) experience. And so wonderful to be by a river. I love rivers -- how they are *going* somewhere. I always want to see what's up ahead, beyond the bend. Such gifts you have given your beautiful children :-)

princess pin said...

yes, more mom appearences please.

gardenmama said...

what a beautiful experience with your family!
it is so neat to see this post, my children have been gathering twigs each day adding them to our fire-pit... they have been taking joy in being the ones to contribute to the fire. we once were shown how to start a fire without matches and my oldest asked me about this just today hoping we could start our fire this way. (My goodness it is alot harder than it looks!) i'm impressed : )

Tahara said...

I love this Renee!...This post is so inspiring...I love the times you have with your family and where you live is gorgeous...

Heather said...

Being outside this time of year is so wonderful and teaching children the joys of campfires is something that thy will never forget.

suzanne said...

Dear Renee

Today has been my day of envy..I have visited a few blogs today and have thought how wonderful..wish I could live there, visit that fair, live in a cottage like that. Its so funny how content I am with all I have but when i see posts like this one, I yearn..What a glorious place you live in. What a beautiful campsite you found. My children would jump for joy..What a wonderful daddy starting a fire from scratch. An adventurous lot you are..~

Have a wonderful day Renee..thank you for popping by .

Lots of love
Suzanne
X

Mama Ash Grove said...

What a wonderful experience- for you all to share together! The girls will grow up always remembering moments like this that you all had together. :)
And now I see how much Chloe looks like Jason!
hugs <3

Hullabaloo Homestead said...

What fun! Those backpacking trips are the best and are always worth any challenges to get there! I love the pic of your girls watching their Daddy light the fire. Definitely a great skill to know...and it made me remember when I first met you and you mentioned the Tom Brown school. I think I stumbled to your blog for the first time, while Jason was over there. Have a great weekend!

:)Lisa

(V.Kerr) School Time Adventures said...

I love the bow drill set! My husband and I both used to work wilderness but our sets have been sitting in our stuff packed away for a while. I think we should find our old sets or make a new one.
We love to go camping often and am always amazed at the amount of physical activity small kids are able to do!
First time stopping by.
-Vanessa

Anonymous said...

HI! From another waldorf inspired homescooling mama! I love the camping theme, my children would love to be camping at the moment but its far too cold here yet.

Kelly said...

What a memorable trip, Renee.

softearthart said...

Lovely, I am nice and warm. cheers Marie