August Adventures part II

We are feeling the crunch of time, as our kids get older; their free time (without having to report to a job/boss) is shrinking and we want to get in as much family time this summer as we can. So we decided to go camping. We took 3 days and headed to central Oregon to Tumalo State Park. It was the first time we have camped here, and we might try it again. When we first arrived we didn't know if our tent would even fit in the space. The campsites were a little cozier that we were used to. We've had too many family group camps! which are roomier, and set away from the other campers.

 But we fit the tent in; we had green grass for the kids to frolic on, and we had plenty of room for all 7 of us to eat, sleep, and play games. The smoke and haze from the forest fires was a grim reminder of what was happening in other parts of the state. We couldn't have a campfire, but we still had marshmallows and chocolate striped cookies for dessert.

We decided to do some spelunking one of those days. Down into Boyd Cave - where it felt like a refrigerator compared to the heat up above.

We went hiking up at Paulina Lake, and checked out the Obsidian Flow. And we managed to find a Dairy Queen on the way back to camp for an appetizer before supper.

On our last day at the campground we took the kids out to wade in the river. It was so hot that week, but thankfully the nights were cool. They splashed around for awhile until it was time to go. We loaded up and left the area stopping long enough on the way home to eat my celebratory birthday ice cream at a lovely little place in Sisters.