I used to think I wasn’t a camper.  I didn’t like sleeping outside and being cold and uncomfortable.  I’m a creature of comfort.  I convinced my husband to buy a tent trailer a few years ago thinking I might finally be willing to go camping if I was a little more comfortable.  Up to this point we have taken the trailer out for a single night here and there and I did ok.  I wasn’t completely comfortable but it wasn’t terrible.  I liked the idea of camping… no media, bonding time, and seeing the beauty around us.  Not to mention I am on a mission to toughen up my kids, who by definition of our wealthy culture, aren’t used to roughing it.  But it still seemed like a daunting task to sleep away from home for so long with so many babies.  However, thanks to my assignment with the youth group in our local church, I experienced girls camp and a pioneer trek this summer.  I finally knew I was capable.  I mean I have done those things when I was a kid, but not with an older body that doesn’t handle things as well.  I did it, and I knew if I could do it for a church assignment, I could do it for my family.  So, with a little hope and ambition we planned a three night camping trip to a place my husband and I haven’t visited yet; Bear Lake.

It was incredible!

We camped at Rendezvous beach, which is on the south part of the Lake right on the beach.  It had a pavilion, electricity and water hookups, flushing toilets, and even showers.  I loved it.  We put the showers to good use and definitely liked the running water. 

The camping site wasn’t as beautiful as some spots we have found in the mountains, but you only had to walk about 20 steps to get to the lake, and that was beautiful.  The water was so clear and a brilliant color of turquoise.  We enjoyed watching the sunset and sunrise over the lake too.  There was plenty of room for the kids to run and play.  We set up some hammocks on the pavilion and the kids would swing and relax in those constantly.

 We went to the beach often.  The kids played in the sand or in the water.  We brought our inflatable raft and they drifted out a little bit further.   We also met up with some friends there which helped entertain the kids.  But we didn’t just stick to the camp site.  I love to see the sites of places we visit and enjoy the tourist attractions.  Our first full day there we went to visit the Minnetonka caves.  It is a short walk to one of the biggest caves I have ever seen.  There are 444 steps taking you through the mountain and then you have to come back the 444 steps to get back out.  Luckily the steps weren’t all down on the way in and all up on the way out.  It was a mixture, and the tour guide took lots of stops to tell us about things so we could rest.  There are incredible rock formations and fun stories about people in the caves in the past.  I am so glad we did it.  We learned a lot and all of my family felt so accomplished about walking all of those steps!  We also were reading a book together in the car on the way there all about a city built inside a mountain.  It really made the book come to life for the kids.  The book is called “Cove” but Jeffrey Savage.  We have really been enjoying it as a family.  (We found a microphone app for our phones that hooks into our car stereo.  I read to the kids over the microphone and the whole family enjoys the story together.  We can all hear well, and it passes the time in the car quickly!)

The next day of camping, when we weren’t at the beach, was spent in town trying the famous raspberry shakes that Bear Lake is known for.  We heard a lot of different opinions about the place to get the best shakes.  I didn’t try them all so I’ll have to give you an update about that sometime in the future.  Or maybe, one of you can leave a comment with your top picks.  We ended up at the Chevron (Really, the gas station was recommended as the best!).  The shakes were really good.  The kids thought they tasted like the homemade ice cream we make at home with the freshly picked raspberries from our garden.  Not bad at all!

 Cooking for nine people while camping can be a big task, but it worked out great.  I love crockpot cooking.  Since we had electricity hook ups I just brought my crockpot and did a few meals in it.  We had chili, and egg and hash brown casserole, and cobbler.  If you don’t have hookups, all crockpot recipes work in a dutch oven and that was our back up plan.  We also did some pizza pockets in foil in the fire and steak and hot dogs over the grill in the fire.  We certainly didn’t go hungry.  I have a lot of ideas for cooking while you are camping.  Feel free to comment and ask for more info.  There will be a post coming with some great ideas for cooking while camping for a large family.

We certainly loved our time together.  We wore out the kids and they really enjoyed each other’s company.

We would all do it again in a heartbeat.  We are already planning our next camping vacation for next year.  I think this old lady is morphing into a camper!