Camp Zarahemla

Over Memorial Day Weekend, we took a trip to Camp Zarahemla, which is located in the mountains near White Pass, with our wonderful friends, the Huillets.  We rented the lodge for the weekend, which was a fabulous way to camp, especially this early in the season when it is still pretty chilly.

Camp Zarahemla is where I went to Girls Camp when I was a teenager, so it was fun to come back.  Of course, as a youth, I did not have the luxury of staying in the lodge--we slept in tents and cooked all our meals over a fire.  It was much nicer this time around.

We slept well and ate well. The first night we got in, got settled, made dinner, and baked cookies. 

The next morning we went out to explore our surroundings.  William found some rocks to throw into the lake.

 It was beautiful with the mist rising off the water,

 and new spring growth on the trees with snow-capped mountains in the distance.

 Grandma came to join us for the day on Saturday.  She came along on a canoe ride.

William just couldn't stay awake.  The life jacket gave his neck perfect support and he had a great little nap.

 We all had fun canoeing on the lake.

 Some of the kids worked at building forts,

 and we had a serious collection of pine cones and other treasures gathered by the little ones.

 We brought bikes and the kids had fun riding around the camp.

After lunch we decided to go on a bigger adventure.  We loaded up all the people and bikes and drove up a forest service road in search of some hiking.  However, we ran into obstacle after obstacle and weren't sure this adventure was meant to be. 

First obstacle:  The road was washed out.  What to do?  We all got out of the cars and analyzed the situation.

But the men were not to be deterred, so we drove through the creek bed, trailer and all, and continued on our way. 

Second obstacle:  A tree had fallen and blocked the road.  What to do?  Once again, we all piled out of the car and assessed the situation.  Perhaps driving to our adventure was going to be more adventurous than the actual adventure. 

The men and boys got out the hatchet, chopped off some branches and we were able to push the tree just enough so that we could--barely--get by.  

 

Third obstacle:  Big boulders in the road.  Luckily, we could drive past these.

We finally made it to the top.  The kids were delighted to find some snow, and a snowball fight quickly ensued.

The hike was beautiful, and we hiked for a while, but unfortunately we couldn't make it as far as we wanted because there was too much snow on the trail. 

When we got back to the trail head, the boys got on their bikes to bike back down the forest service road. 

They had a fun ride, with lots of beautiful scenery.  David was nice and waited for me at each of the obstacles, so I didn't have to drive his car and trailer through the creek and next to the fallen tree. 

 We had great views of Rim Rock Lake and Clear Lake.

After dinner, we got the kids all bathed in anticipation of church the next day.  William had a fun bath in the extra large sink.

Sunday was David's birthday.  The big 4-0.  We started the morning with our traditional strawberry waffles. 

Then it was off to church.  We drove about 45 minutes to a small branch in Naches.  I ended up accidentally sitting next to the one person I knew in that ward (someone who is a friend of my parents).  It was fun visiting with him.

After church we drove back to Camp Zarahemla, had lunch and spent the afternoon and evening visiting and playing games.  We had a really fun game of kick the can. 

Even the adults got in on the action.

The little kids played nearby.  I'm always amazed at how entertained they can be in nature.

Little Anna is about as cute as they come!

The two Rachels and Sarah had fun hanging out.

Rachel Huillet, Sarah, and Rachel

The boys showed off their rope climbing skills.

We had some fun games inside the lodge as well.  I love this Ticket to Ride game, although I lose every time. 

Here's the bunk area in the loft where we slept,

and a picture of the main room from the loft above.
That night we grilled some burgers and celebrated David's birthday.  It was a nice, quiet, low-key day.  Just the way he likes it.

The kids made him this fun candy bar card. 

On Monday we played around the camp some more, and then headed home.  On the way we stopped at Clear Creek Falls.

It was beautiful!

Thanks to the Huillets for a fun weekend!