happy camper

So we went camping in Bryce Canyon National Park. I'm going to pause here 

and allow those of you who know me to recover from that spontaneous bout of laughter that just overcame you. Because really? Me? Camping? Let's just say I can officially strike "camping" off my bucket list. Okay, let's be real. Camping was never on my bucket list. Camping wasn't even a stone's throw from my bucket list.

Here's what I have to say about camping. It is so much work. There's the initial packing, which takes a list a mile long. Sleeping pads and bags, towels, fifty bazillion layers of clothes, food that can be prepared and cooked without a kitchen, the tent, the tarps, the flashlights and headlamps. It never ends. Then there's the setting up. There's the keeping kids from tracking dirt into your tent. There's the convincing kids to eat camp food. And don't you forget the never sleeping and the smell. Seriously guys. The smell. What is it about about sleeping on the ground that causes one to smell much worse than sleeping in one's bed? Perhaps it's the dirt. I don't know.

I discovered I suffer from a mild case of claustrophobia while camping. Mummy bag = mild panic attack. Not being able to stand up = sudden bout of nausea. Oh, there was also a little rain storm. Jess dutifully scurried out into the rain at 2 a.m. to secure a tarp around us using found items in the car because Boy Scout that's why. And then the rain stopped only to be followed by some windy goodness that blew the tarp around for an hour. I was jazzed to be up for that hour, just thinking about my hip bone carving a nice groove into the ground.

For the record, the girls did awesome. Acted like sleeping on a foam pad in the middle of nowhere was en bee dee. Lou did keep crawling into corners of the tent in her sleep for who knows what reason, but other than that, they were no worse for the wear. Apparently they have absolutely no idea what real camping is. Real camping is not sleeping. 

I just don't get it guys. You save a couple bucks by camping. You get to commune with nature I suppose. But you smell and you don't sleep. And nature tries to destroy you. I say enjoy nature by day and retreat to the Marriott. Or the Super 8. Anywhere with walls. Done and done.

By the way, the reason for this camping? Someone decided he needed a picture of the Milky Way. And welp. He got it. 

I know, right? Almost makes up for the not sleeping. Almost. :)

And now a photo dump. 

This is the downhill portion of a hike that was entirely too long for those short little legs you see there.
But with only a little help, she made it. Bless her heart!

We pulled over to snap a few shots of this pronghorn deer, and suddenly it started running.
Turns out it was running to Mama. Below is Mama with three babies.

I'm not really taller than him. He just regularly stands on the down slope,
leaving me to play the role of giraffe. Happens all the time, I swear.