Our {extra}ordinary Life: Finally Camping!!

I love camping. I really do. I’m pretty sure. Which is why I was willing, excited even, to come home from my three week Seattle trip, spend one night in my bed and then set out on some camping fun at nearby Eklutna Lake.

With 3 kids, we are very blessed to have our super dee duper white trash motor home for our camping needs. It matters not that it has pink shag carpeting, a broken refrigerator and a colossal plumbing leak somewhere. It also matters not that he often needs some mechanical work done or that something weird leaks antifreeze onto the floor in the passenger seat.

We call him Rory and he is a member of our family slash fantastic yard art.

Rory has been broken for over a year though. Being a measly woman, I have no idea what was actually wrong with him, only that he sounded like an old man dying of a wasting disease whenever we fired him up. At the beginning of this summer though, we finally got that fixed thanks to our trusty new mechanic named Steve.

I thought all I ever needed from Rory was for him to drive us from point A to point B without dying. I don’t need a refrigerator or a shower, just engine reliability. As it turns out thought, there is one other thing I need.

Leak resistance.

I’m not even asking for leak proof. Just resistance. That way, when we start driving up the hill from our house, the flooded upper bunk doesn’t cascade rusty, nasty, foul water on all the unsuspecting passengers riding at the dining room table. It would also keep me from getting viciously motion sick as I flittered from one side to the other mopping up waterfalls and stuffing ENTIRE paper towel rolls into cracks and crevices to contain the deluge.

I’m just saying.

Anyhoo, back to camping.

We drove out about an hour to Eklutna Lake to meet friends. We camped, we canoed, we chatted, laughed and yelled at our kids. We made S’mores (with peanut butter cups, hello) we roasted hot dogs, caught inch worms, saw bears and sat around the campfire in the rain.

The lake was a short drive across the campground from our site.

It was beautiful!

The water level was extremely low so there was a bit of a hike from the truck to the shore.

My Bubba.

Exploring through marsh grass.

Finding rocks on the beach.

Seriously? Awesome Sauce.

My Doobie Baby.

This is my friend Lucy. She just had a baby. She’s just out camping. Lucy is the incredibly talented force behind LUMA Threads and she makes all the fantabulous hats for my photography business.