Mick and Dahlia wanted to take Jason camping for Father's Day. Which works out great, because it's absolutely no work and extremely relaxing for Jason. Our first adventure was trying to pack four people, four sleeping bags, four camping mats, four pillows, two tents, two lanterns, 24 Pepsi's, and one propane stove into one Honda Civic. We would have taken a partridge in a pear tree, but there was literally no room.
Our second adventure was trying to find a campsite. There are thousands of campsites outside of Kamas. The Torgerson's have been camping there for decades and have never made a reservation. However, it's early in the season and Mirror Lake is exceptionally high. So 980 of those 1,000 campsites are closed temporarily and 955 people were fighting over the remaining 20 spots. It was not ideal. But we did finally triumph and snagged the last remaining spot at Pine Valley.
Things got better from there. We cooked hot dogs and marshmallows and Jason popped a Jiffy Pop over the fire (which I've never really seen done successfully before). We explored the nearby river and told jokes around the campfire. And we all slept really well that night, even though Dahlia's feet were a little cold (note for next time: bring Dahlia long socks) and Mickey may have ended up wearing my pajama pants.
Did I mention we forgot the pancake mix? Which was the one thing the kids had been talking most about, was their Dad's camping pancakes. So Jason got up early (Happy Father's Day Weekend, sweet pea) and drove back to Kamas for pancake mix. He really is a gem and his camping pancakes really are divine.
Off to Lily Lake, where we went fishing. I bought my first fishing license in, well, forever, and sat in my chair and ate cookies while Jason helped the kids fish. We were all perfectly content.
Correction. We were all perfectly content until a couple of hours in when Mickey caught a fish and Dahlia didn't. Cue the tears. But I took my favorite photo of the weekend, which I think captures the moment perfectly. I call it, "The Thrill of Victory - The Agony of Defeat."
At that point, the best thing to do was leave. So we drove back to Kamas and had hamburgers and ice cream at Dick's, which is another Torgerson family tradition. Dick's is one of those great places that's been there forever and where 14 year-old boys serve hamburgers in questionable conditions to the townsfolk who gather there. And, of course, large dogs are welcome, indoors and out.
All in all, a great camping trip. We'll do it again. In about a year. Or maybe two... But we are the proud owners of a car-top carrier now. Jason ordered himself a Father's Day present right when we got back. And it was very well-deserved.
