Last Camping Trip of the Year

I love getting away for the weekend. It's not that I don't love my home or the people around but there is something refreshing about breathing in that nice clean mountain air.
This past weekend we went camping with some friends of ours. Our last camping for the year and I was a little nervous with it dropping below 0*C in the evenings. The plan was to leave late afternoon Friday but some complications came up and we got a pretty late start to our trip. We left Airdrie just before dark with some very excited children in the back seat. We had never driven the winding gravel road up the mountain at night before and the headlights kept playing tricks on me, making me think there was something in the trees as the shadows from our beams as we passed by. At one point Ryan mentioned that he thought something was just ahead of us but because of the turns in the road we couldn't see far enough ahead. I brushed it off saying it was just the lights from the truck and just as I finished saying the words there was something in front of us kicking up some dust. As we got a little close we could see that it was massive and had a huge antlers. We were chasing a moose in our truck and it was keeping a steady lead in front of us as we were going about 25/30km/hour. It was so amazing. The kids were "oh and ah" - ing and I was shocked at the speed this thing was going along with his size. The moose finally found a spot clear enough on the side of the road and darted off to the left ending the chase. It was the coolest thing.
We arrived well past bedtime and quickly got the kids settled in bed before relaxing by the fire.

Thankfully we stayed warm enough in the trailer and woke up to minimal frost. After breakfast the boys went out for a dirt bike ride while us women stayed with the kids and let them play in the creek and explore the area. With it being so late in the season there weren't any other campers near by and Banks didn't have anything tempting him to wander so he stayed relatively close by without us having to worry about him bothering anyone else. Banks likes to stay close to the kids for the most part anyway so he followed them wherever they went exploring.
Brayden and Sydney each took turns riding on their little dirt bikes. We had the perfect spot for it, there was a little clearing with some little hills to ride on and some tire tracks left in the mud that acted as a trail.
One thing I love about camping is the food. I love making snacks and so we came ready with puffed wheat squares, rice crispy squares, and other treats. We pigged out on the snacks enough that no one was really hungry for lunch so because we were camping we just decided to skip that meal and went for a nice walk up the road. We kept plenty warm enough as we kept moving and urging the kids along. It was so beautiful with all the fall colours and the calm weather. We found a nice bridge where the kids spent quite a bit of time just throwing rocks into the creek and I enjoyed how quiet it was. They collected sticks on the way back to camp which Brayden used a hatchet to make us a little fire wood.

After our walk the dog was exhausted and let the girls crawl all over him while I got dinner started. For my birthday I got a cast iron dutch over from Ry and the kids and I was excited to use it for the first time. Other then when Ryan and I were Ma's and Pa's on trek I had never used a dutch oven before. I've seen other people using them but only observed. I was set on making my family a real meal without using the kitchen in the trailer. I had cajon seasoned chicken, potatoes and green beans and so I placed the chicken and potatoes in my dutch oven and let them cook. As soon as my chicken was done and the potatoes were almost done I threw in the green beans and let them cook in all the juices. It was delicious! We couldn't get enough. I love it when the kids want seconds!

The next morning I made cinnamon buns cooked to perfection using my dutch oven and put the rest of the day in motion. We went for a nice joint family walk exploring the area. It was so nice and quiet and a great way to spend a Sunday morning. After our walk we relaxed around camp before cooking lunch and packing up camp. I will definitely be doing some more fall camping next year!