Cundick Family: Colorado camping 2013

Camping is something I didn't do much growing up until I was twelve or so. But from then until I left home for school, I'd pack up each summer for a 3-4 day camping trip with the young women of my church ward and stake groups and our leaders. We learned how to pitch our tents, sometimes even digging a trench around it in case we had rain. We cooked our meals, fought with mosquitoes, and cooled off in streams. We'd pass of various certification skills during the day and share stories, songs, and testimonies by the fire at night. One year, our leaders managed to evacuate all of us girls without too much panic when a bear found its way into our camp. I remember exhilarating hikes in the Uintahs, backpacking and canoeing trips. I remember a particular trip with a smaller group of girls and one leader to the San Rafael Swell area of south central Utah, where we camped and then hiked the amazing trail through Horseshoe Canyon in 112 degree temperatures. I had never been so sweaty in my life.

I loved these camping trips. One of my first experiences up at the University of Puget Sound was a camping trip with the incoming freshman class as part of our campus orientation. Much to my surprise, I was surrounded by many who had never camped before. Eighteen year-olds who had grown up in the Pacific Northwest, where I imagined camping would be as natural as anything, but who had never slept in a tent. It made me so very thankful for the experiences of my youth and for the many leaders that helped provide me with them.

TEC also grew up camping. Most years we've managed to plan a camping trip with his family, either close by, up one of our amazing canyons, or as far away as Capitol Reef and Yellowstone. We haven't ever been backpacking as a family--maybe some day. It's a lot of work to camp with little kids. So many items to pack for what you imagine is going to be a "simpler" few days out in nature. This summer we decided it was time to see how we did camping with just our "little" family. It was even more work, especially once we realized that we were the only ones bringing food for the trip, but it was such a great time.

Green Ridge Campground on Lake Granby, Colorado. Just outside Rocky Mountain National Park.

My kids are now better at making s'mores than I am.

We drove into the Park each day and one of the evenings. The kids became certified Junior Park Rangers while we were there. We saw several moose (mostly cows with their babies, but I did see a bull one morning near our camp), elk herds, bald eagles, coyotes...

We even saw this strangely familiar-looking pioneer family at an old ranch.