We did it again! Another night of primative winter camping. This time most all the cousins went. Six kids between 8 and 15, with Rex, Jay, and myself. We arrived around noon on Satruday and set up camp. We went on a 2 mile hike up the Stinking River and back, it was a very nice hike through the woods. The Stinking River takes its name from the turn of the century when a tannery operated up stream and all sorts of gross stuff got pitched into the river, but it does not stink now and is actually very pretty. We then took some time to target shoot with the 22's and some skeet shooting. It was Abbie's first time shooting and she put 12 out of 12 in the target wtih the 22. The boys and I went hunting for squirrel till around dark, while Jay and Rex prepared camp. We cooked hamburgers and baked potatoes over the fire for supper.
Later that night we had 3 campfires, the younger kids had thiers, the teenagers had thiers, and then we had the main fire. The temperature when we called it a night was a cool 34, I was itching to see how our new 0 degree sleeping bags would perform. We slept pretty good as the temps. keep dropping to 24 when we woke up. Rex's equipment was not quite ready and he got pretty cold in a sleeping bad that woudl not zip up. We re-built the nights campfire and cooked bacon, eggs, and potatoes over the fire again take a look at Jays improvised camp stove set up.
Breakfast was good, but it was so cold the soft drinks would freeze when opened. No need for a cooler at all! I will post some more pics. in my album later. Winter camping is a challenge no doubt, but when its all said and done I feel a sense of accomplishment, in that we made it. We may try one more trip before the weather warms up enough to de-winterize the RV and get back to luxury camping! I will post some more pics in my album later.
