Camping Weekend: Rock Island

Mother's Day weekend was a camping weekend for our crew. This group of friends made 2020 (the year of covid) bearable for our family. Not just bearable – our camping weekends became a place where we could thrive together in spite of the world around us. And that's what we did.

It's 2021 and spring camping has commenced. This is actually our second meet-up of the year – the first being Tims Ford at the end of our trip west. And our time together didn't disappoint. It wasn't perfect, after all we are imperfect people doing life together, but it was good.

We sat around the campfire way too late (as usual). We shared silly inside jokes as well as really serious discussions. Our kids roamed wild forging their way through the woods and creating their own games. We ate delicious food and encouraged each other's kids. 

 

We celebrated another birthday and were treated to delicious breakfast's that we (the moms) didn't have to prepare. We hiked together and enjoyed the beauty of God's creation with each other and with our kids.

We were able to hike the Lollipop Loop down to Twin Falls and along the Caney River with lots of waterfalls. This was our 36th hike for 2021 (36/52). We knocked out 2.5 miles bringing us to 114 miles hiked this year.  

 

We set up outdoor movies for the kids to watch from hammocks, and we took the kids down to the river to fish. It was good weekend.

Before leaving the park, our family made a final pit stop to check out the old buildings next to the Great Falls Gorge including the Box House, Spring Castle and the Old Mill. All of which were there before the dam was built. The mill was eventually abandoned after flooding took out the paddle wheel. It was interesting to read the history about the location. This was our 37th hike for 2021 (37/52). We did a quick 1 mile out and back bringing us to 115 miles miles hiked this year.

Finally, I let Daniel know that the only thing I really wanted for Mother's Day was to not have to cook all day. Breakfast was taken care of at camp, and lunch was a stop at the Rock Island Ice Cream Trolly. This was a hopping place and we had to wait nearly 45 minutes for our treats. Thankfully Daniel and the boys were able to walk across the street to get fresh burgers and tots from the Rock Island Market restaurant. Our burgers were ready before our ice cream so we enjoyed them at the Trolly pavilion. The ice cream was excellent and worth the wait. Once we got home from camp, we unloaded the camper and opted for pizza and a movie. No cooking or dishes for me today, which is all I really wanted :)