Father & Sons Campout (revised edition)

Josh was a great helper building a log-cabin style fire on the first evening.

Three very tired boys after a 3 mile very steep incline/decline hike.

Adam and the boys on Chimney rock.

Before arriving Chimney Rock we passed Wolf Rock.

The old saw mill at Owen's Creek

Ok, so Adam said he would finally post something on my blog, but seeing as how we're leaving on a cruise soon and he's busy with tests and things like work, it seems I'll have to post again, even though I wasn't even there for this particular occasion.

The short of it, the boys all went on a campout during the Father and Sons annual campout time frame. I don't know where, but Adam says it's close to Gettysburg. There's an old saw mill, um...lots of rocks...fire building...tired hiked out kids...gorgeous views...I think there might be tents involved?

I really know nothing about camping, but they had a blast. Enjoy the pictures. Maybe one day Adam will fill in the gaps. :)

So here are the gaps...

We arrived at Catoctin National Park on Friday evening after a very long "are we there yet?", bumper to bumper, "how come those cars are going faster than us?" All the boys helped gather fire wood, while I unloaded all the equipment. We set up the tent and the rest of camp and had foil dinners to eat. The first night was perfect weather, no jackets required and the boys stayed up unitl about ten waving flashights and glowsticks as if they were Obi-wan and Luke, or Anakin.

At the break of dawn, Josh whispers to me that he has to go potty, I tell him he knows where the bathroom is or that he can simply step outside and relieve himself in the trees next to our tent. I thought that the morning air would have been chilly, but it was perfect. We had a fast breakfast and headed off in search of a good fishing hole. Fishing started out with all boys carrying their own fishing pole. I had a lot of frustration helping them all fish and not being able to cast my own line into those fish filled waters. Oh well, teach a man to fish, feed him for the rest of his life. After a couple hours of tired boys and no fish, we returned to the campsite.

We had a fun nature hike that trails Owen's creek. Josh and Bryson found a fallen tree stump that resembled the "Boogey Man", I guess you have to know what he looks like to find a stump that looks like him. (sorry no picture Mr. Boogey Man) The saw mill is always a must to visit. This mill was built sometime in the 1800's. The boys had lots a energy right about now and it really shows in their faces with them sitting on the log.

After lunch, I really wanted to take the boys on a hike to test their limits. I thought a 3 mile roundtrip hike would be a good trial run... little did I know that the hike to Chimney Rock was mostly uphill. When we arrived Chimney Rock, Josh saw some rocks and says,"that's it, just rocks, we came all this way for this?!" We rounded the corner and this amazing view was revealed to us. The boys loved jumping around the rocks and getting close to the edge of a 30 foot drop off. On the return trip we had plenty of water breaks and time to rest those weary legs ("I'm too heavy to carry myself").

Of course camping at a creek we got some play time in the water, freezing water. There were other junior campers about the same ages as Bryson and Grant that joined in the fun. As we left the creek and went back to our site a park ranger drove by and reported a lighting storm was going to hit the area all night. We picked up camp and tried to dry off wet clothes before the rain started. The boys started playing kickball and Bryson kept running into the undergrowth to retreive the ball. I'm guessing that's how he got poison oak this year. That boy, I think that we could go camping anywhere that has no poison plants of any kind, and he would find those plants just to say hi and that he misses them so much and that they can play together and have so much fun and when it's time to go they can give him something to remember them, a nice big rash all over the face and one ear.

Finally the rain and lightning arrived. We sat in our tent and watched the walls light up with each crash of lightning. Josh was a little scared after we discovered that the lightning was getting closer, we were counting the time between the sounds of the lightning, but it finally left us alone. But the rain came down as hard as the drummer from your favorite rock band. I wore earplugs to keep out the sound. All the boys fell asleep fast, they we tired from a long day.

Sunday morning we woke early to a wet campground and slightly cold air and ate mountainman breakfast (hash browns, sausage, and eggs all cooked together). We broke camp and packed everything up. Catoctin National Park is only one hour from our home, so if your looking for a good camping trip for the family, this is the place to go. Next year we are going to see the Cunningham Falls, supposedly the biggest water fall in the state (for Maryland it may be pretty small).

Happy camping!