We finally did it. We went camping. Landon and I don't really see the point in camping. With the lake only minutes away up the hill, the river only minutes away down the hill, and plenty of open spaces for us to enjoy right here in Fort Peck, we've decided we really like coming home to showers and real beds after a day in God's country. Plus, it's WAY less work for a day trip. We both grew up camping and thought when the day came, we would take our kids camping. That day came on Friday. I packed everything up and had it all waiting when Landon got home from work on Friday. He had just spent two weeks camping for work but was willing to go again for us. We headed to The Pines, just 33 miles from home. This is the view from the main road at The Pines.
The Pines is basically a peninsula of mountains (and I use that term lightly) and trees with Fort Peck Lake on each side. I'm not sure what direction I was facing when I took these, so I'll just say the left side and right side of the road.
Home Sweet Home
There weren't many people camping, maybe because we had two days of thunderstorms fore casted, so we didn't have close neighbors.
On Saturday morning Landon and Carter went fishing while Henry and I hung out at camp and explored the area.
No wonder he was so dirty. No shoes and playing under the table.
We also played at the park. Our campsite was just to the left of this park and shelter house.
We had big juicy strawberries for a snack. Another reason he was so dirty.
Strawberry juice + outdoor fun = one sticky dirty boy.
We went for a walk down to the lake and then back up to the main road. At the top of the road we started getting attacked by this pretty little bird...
Henry really likes birds so he didn't mind the attack. The bird kept going back to this sign. I think she must have had eggs or babies in the box on the post and was worried we were going to get them.
We picked Landon and Carter up after lunch and spent what seemed like an hour cleaning fish.
Their big catch.
Landon was trying to get Carter to hold the big stringer of fish, but he just wanted to hold what he caught all by himself. He was pretty proud of his fish.
These little fish he can land in the boat himself. Even if he reels a big fish up to the boat he doesn't claim that he caught it because he had to have help with lifting it onto the boat or netting it.
Have I mentioned that Henry doesn't like fish?
I thought I'd better stop him before the fish ended up in the truck.
After naps we all went fishing, even Abby got to go.
Then back to camp to play in the dirt.
On Sunday morning Landon took both the boys fishing so I could take a walk and get camp packed up.
Their morning ended a little earlier than expected due to the wind, but they still brought home fish.
Carter was pretty proud of this drum they caught.
Not quite sure how I got this one of the four of us, and on the first try. The battery light was blinking, the kids were running wild, the tri-pod (aka boat) was wet and slippery, and no one was real sure how many blinks we'd see before the timer went off.
After lunch on Sunday Henry was asking for his car seat and was ready to buckle up and head home. I think the boys were pretty tired. I know Landon and I are. I'm sure we'll be doing more camping now that the boys are a little older.
We had fish tonight and it was goooood!
Sprinkle fillets with cumin. Put them in a foil pan. Saute onion, green pepper, and garlic in some butter. Add a little salsa. Put that on the fish. Throw some shredded cheese on top. Cover with foil and grill.
Cut old stale corn tortillas (it's what we had) in strips. Mix with some oil, lime juice, and Mexican type seasonings. Bake at 400 til they are crispy like chips.
Top the fish with the chips and fresh cilantro and serve with a can of doctored re-fried beans and fresh tortilla chips. Oooh, and some sort of fizzy drink, like a Mike's or a Dr. Pepper.
