The Camping Trip That Almost Wasn't

Dr. Daddy had been wanting to go hiking and camping for quite a while. We were originally thinking of going to Big Bend Forest but the drive and the overwhelming reality of backpacking with three children (and carrying all their stuff) whittled the idea down to some where a little closer by. So we settled on Dinosaur Valley State Park. Being the weekend before Thanksgiving we thought we might have the park to ourselves.

Unfortunately, the week of the trip and especially the day before I got sick with a nasty cold that left me with three kinds of headaches all at the same time. We wondered whether or not we should go. But we forged on.

Saturday dawned and we looked at the weather report. Rain forecasted. Really? Here? It has been dry for months! We wondered whether or not we should go. But we forged on.

We drove through fascinating towns such as Crawford... yes, THE Crawford, home to the former President. As well as oddly named towns such as Eulogy and Fairy and Nix.
So we arrived at Dinosaur Valley State Park and as we approached the ranger station there was a nice little notice saying that the park was full. There was even a waiting list! We were really starting to wonder about our decision at this point, but figured that we might as well look at the famed dinosaur tracks and let the kids burn some energy while we were there.

there's nothing quite like chillin' on an old dinosaur footprint

So we saw the tracks and had the brilliant idea of calling a nearby park to see if we could camp there. No such luck, apparently other people are equally brilliant. At this point we were really quite seriously wondering if we should be heeding all the seeming signs point away from the choice to camp. But we're stubborn folks. So we called one more park and they actually had space. Well, it was a two hour drive from where we were, so we didn't get to stop at:

Dr. Daddy would appreciate it if you would please notice the giraffe included in with the dinosaur models

We thought it would be fun to stop in here, but we really had to drive on to get to the park before dark, so sadly all we got was a picture of Dr. Daddy next to the sign.

Finally we got to the park. It was about 8/10ths of a mile walk in. That night Eskil tumbled over Dr. Daddy and I all night long and stole our sleeping spots. Eirena woke up randomly at 5AM and thought it would be a good time to chat. And Eskil climbed all over Dr. Daddy and I (again).

The next day we went on a hike. It was supposed to be an easy 4.2 mile walk. Thanks to a couple of missed junctions and wrong turns, it ended up being more like a 7 mile hike. Eirena had done the 8/10ths of a mile walk to the parking lot and back with Dr. Daddy in the morning and then in the evening to get to our tent. So in all she walked close to 10 miles! Adisu and I walked about 8.5 and Eskil nearly 2 miles. Awesome. We were really impressed with how well they hiked.

sneaking water from his sister's Camelbak even though he has a cup right there

The park that we were at is known for the Gorman Falls. So we felt we ought to see them. It was a 3 mile walk round trip and well worth it.

In the end it was a good time and we're glad we ignored the ominous clouds and other things.
Dr. Daddy wanted to get a family picture. (After two days of camping and hiking.) Not quite how they shoot the models in an REI catalog... nor is it the "ideal" holiday family picture. But then... it is us.