Heading West!

Sorry to be away for so long!  We've been busy with the usual - track, dance recitals, trying to finish up school even though the beautiful outdoors call us, etc.  I've been planning two big events - next year's school (which will be an upcoming LONG post), and our big trip out west.

We're all very excited to be heading to Colorado where my husband's sister lives.  We'll be camping so that makes it even more fun.  Our trip will involve a stay in South Dakota, a stay in Colorado and a stay in Indiana with lots of driving in between!  I've recently discovered that there are bear alerts in Colorado so that adds a little discomfort to things.  We camp every year, several times if possible, but we've never been in a situation where there are "bear alerts".  Hopefully it's not as bad as it sounds!

The biggest part of the planning is figuring out what to pack in the way of food and clothing.  The clothing will have to make it for two weeks (I'm hoping I find a Laundromat somewhere!) and the food will have to be purchased as we go.  We'll take enough for the first week then find a grocery store.


Some things that will be different for us this time:

• We usually take kayaks, a canoe, and bikes.  None of those will be coming with us this time because they wont fit.
• We usually camp for 4-7 days.  This will be a 14 day trip.
• We usually camp in sites with electricity.  Our stay in Colorado will be non-electric.
• We usually all stay in our one huge tent.  The addition of PJ means Night Owl and maybe one of the other boys will be in a small pup tent.
• The lack of electricity and space to pack will mean leaving behind some things we've grown accustomed to:  the electric cooler, the coffee maker (horrors!) and the electric skillet.  The coffee maker was the biggest worry, but we've discovered a wonderful invention - the "French Press coffee maker!

I think this will work best as a series of posts, one for camp menus, recipes, and packing lists, one for our itinerary and all the fun things we hope to do, and one for the camping tips we have learned over the years. I'll throw in a few pictures of previous camping trips to make it interesting. I'll post pictures when we return from this big adventure too!