Maiden Voyage

After a bumpy start to summer (I spent my first week on the couch with a nasty case of bronchitis), we decided to hit the road for our first camping trip.

Isn't she adorable? We are hoping to downsize the monster truck sometime soon, but for now, it works great.  I'm pretty sure we could haul the baby trailer right in the truck bed. With me being sick this week, it was all up to Sean to decide where we would be going and to make the arrangements. He did not disappoint. Perhaps I should put him in charge of the anniversary trip this year? No?

We landed at Cold Water Cove campground. It's up on the Mackenzie River Trail at Clear Lake. Wow, I'm in love. Sean wanted to show me the place from his 50k last year. I'm so glad he did. It was perfect. Very quiet, no motor boats (I'm feeling the need for kayaks!) and a perfect little spot for us. Friday was the first day of summer, and mother nature did it up right for us to celebrate.

The next day we got up, drank some french pressed coffee (so fancy us campers!) and I decided to give my lungs a try on the trail. Sean wanted to hike to some falls he had seen on the race course, but didn't have much of a chance to stop and admire. No worries there, we took plenty of time admiring them. It was a fantastic trail with so much beauty. No wonder he is a trail runner. I may have to convert myself.

I sure never get a view like this from any of the miles I ever log. Seriously. After the 6 mile hike, I was about done, so we headed back to the campsite to chill for the rest of the evening.

While we were hanging around the campfire, two of Sean's ultra buddies showed up after having run a 50k "training run" in the snow around the South Sister. Seriously? Where do these people come from? It was really fun to have guests pop in though and I could see that both Sean and Annie appreciated some extra folks around the campfire.

Poor Annie is going to take some practice to get the camping thing down. She was horrified at the tiny new house, the different food dish and the no familiar faces. She has fit in with our family so well since the day she joined us last summer, that we sometimes forget she is a rescue dog. Change is very hard for her. She spent most of the weekend pacing or wanting to be right next to us. Luckily the next trip scheduled is with Sarah and family including Porter dog so hopefully she will see that camping is fun and not permanent.

All in all it was a perfect first trip. I'm so excited to start planning the next 10 or 12! I forgot how much I love camping in this beautiful corner of the world we call Oregon.