Ain't life grand?

No electricity, no running water, no toilet…ain’t life grand! We were without the “necessities of life” over the weekend…and had a total blast! We went camping! And I don’t mean “sissy camping” on an asphalt pad with full hookups for water and electical. I mean real rustic camping. In a National forest. We even had a meadow right across from our campsite. It was truly beautiful.




On Saturday, we hiked up a nearby trail. We would stop along the way to collect little flowers and pinecones and leaves. Got to sneak a peek at squirrels and prairie dogs (or whatever you call them in this area). And it was a perfect day, temperature-wise. Not too hot or too cool. It was maybe a half a mile or so until we got to the end of the trail. And the end meant the top of a ridge. OMG! What a beautiful view. We could see trees everywhere! (We were in a forest, remember!) It’s too bad we didn’t bring a picnic lunch with us. We were the only ones up there and it would have been fun to stay a little longer.

On our way back down, Samantha noticed a butterfly sitting on a flower. When she bent down to take a closer look, that precious piece of nature fluttered right onto her hand! She called us over and, sure enough, it was perched right there! Sometimes, I am completely amazed at the wonders of this world.

When we got back to our campsite, Samantha decided to use all the fun things she'd collected to create a nature picture. She pulled out a sheet of typing paper for the background. Then I saw her grab a piece of dirt and start to "color" the paper. "It's too white. It needs to be browner." I guess she DID inherit some of my scrapbooking genes! Anyway, she started to create a scene on the paper and even let me help her. What fun! This is the finished product. Though we couldn't bring it home, we got this photo and a great memory!







Later, we headed over to nearby Jubilee Lake for a picnic and some fishing. Again, no one caught anything. But that doesn't matter. We had a great time and worked up an appetite for steak, mashed potatoes, corn...and S'MORES! Yummm! Ain't life grand?