Camping Howard Prairie Lake

Finally, the first camping trip. Pablo couldn't stop talking about camping for days before the trip. Antonio just repeated what big brother said not really knowing what the trip would be all about. Less than an hour away from home, Howard Prairie Lake sits in the Cascade Mountains just on the border of Jackson and Klamath counties.

Sleeping bags ... Pablo had a sleeping bag but Antonio didn't, until we went to Goodwill the day before the trip and found a small Thomas the Train sleeping bag: Antonio's favorite character. For a while we were concerned that Pablo would want the much newer Thomas sleeping bag, but when we laid them both down in our living room, Pablo immediately pointed out that the Thomas sleeping bag had to be Antonio's because it was his favorite movie.

Driving ... The boys are really good in their distance driving mode. I don't remember any of them complaining. They have a bag of toys between their seats so they keep entertained. The road winded through Dead Indian Memorial Road into the Cascade's. Here's how the road got its name. The pine and fir forests were amazing although pretty monotonous for a 4 year-old-boy so he went on pointing out the road signs: "crazy turn", "careful with the dear", "careful with bicycles"-depending on the sharp turn sign, dear crossing and bikes warnings, etc.

Camp ... Pablo helped with the tent poles and Antonio hammered the hooks into the ground with his orange hammer. Pablo picked up sticks for the fire and Antonio broke the thin ones in half. They ate hotdogs and roast, ran up and down the designated area ... careful not to trip on Grandma's dog Alex. Although Grandma's trailer was a steps away, the boys liked to keep outside where all of us were. Best of all they loved going for walks, so we took frequent trips to the bathroom walking around the forest.

Swimming ... The lake shore was fairly shallow so it was easy to walk in the water. But the bottom was sticky dirt, so it felt strange for the boys to walk up to Daddy a few yards into the lake. With a little help they got waist deep and began building a relationship of trust with the water. Their favorite activity was to lay their bellies on their floating board and have Daddy pull them in circles. They played in the water for about 30 - 45 min until it got too cold. Then they went for a towel with Mommy, Grandma and Grandpa. But Daddy stayed in the water so they always came for seconds into the lake. Then back out for the towel.