OMG the flies!

JD and I at Kings Canyon - of course wearing fly nets!

This weekend we decided to try something new, we went camping. For the past year our neighbors and friends have told me over and over how much fun it would be. So with all those conversations in mind and in an effort to make my husband and kids happy, I agreed to camp. You see, I have never camped in my life unless you count girl scout camp one year, which mostly involved sleeping in cabins, swimming and cookie sales training. JD actually enjoys telling everyone that my idea of camping is a 3 star hotel and that being said, he was actually a little worried about me going this weekend, between the heat and the fact that the flies are worse than they have been in years - he was concerned it may not be a great first time experience.......

Me and my fly net, pretty much had it on from dawn to dusk!

So after spending the entire morning preparing food, getting bedding ready, packing coolers and then packing the car we headed off caravan style with our friends to Kings Creek Station near Kings Canyon. We would be camping with 6 families for 2 nights. We spent 3 1/2 hours getting there, on some paved and about 100 kilometers of gravel roads. Now it was time to make camp. Our campsite had a grassy area with trees, a covered table with a counter and sink, a built in fire pit and a bathroom and showers about 50 yards away. As soon as we got out of the car we all immediately reached for our fly nets, what is a fly net you ask- why a screen you put over your head to hopefully keep the flies off your face. Add a little fly and mosquito spray to your arms and legs and you are now ready to enjoy the great outdoors! We spent 2 hours unloading the cars, putting up tents, blowing up air mattresses and setting up the kitchen. At least now the sun was going down which means the flies go away, so off went the fly nets- yeah we can eat! We had burgers and hot dogs and a campfire going and after a long day, we could finally sit down and relax. While checking out the amazing night sky where the stars were plentiful, we also managed to spot the flying beetles, they were a mere 4" long, hanging around our campfire- believe it or not, of all the insects this weekend, these were the least bothersome.

The fire pit.

The tent in the middle, with the blue shade cover is ours.

So after this first day of "fun" the boys and I decide to go to bed. I am laying on an air mattress (24" high) in our tent and the boys are laying on the floor in sleeping bags beside me. We are all just staring at the ceiling for quite a while as Dillon is saying he is nervous that a dingo will come into the camp (did I mention we were camping about an hour away from where "that dingo ate my baby" happened!) They finally fell asleep when Jake awoke with an allergy attack, so needing medicine from the car, I unzip the tent, exit, put on shoes, zip tent, use flashlight to go to car, go back to tent, take off shoes, unzip tent, enter, zip tent back up. Of course this is also the procedure when you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. So after Jake's allergies calmed down he then said he was afraid of the howling wind so I told him to get in bed with me- JD was still out by the fire. Finally we fall asleep but then wake up about an hour later, the air mattress was leaking. At this point, my butt is on the floor but my feet are in the air- Jake and I look like we are on an adjustable bed gone bad! So I exit the tent (following procedure) to go get JD who is still by the fire, hanging out with Kevin and Captain Morgan! JD inflates the mattress again, it is now 2:30, so I can sleep.

If you look closely at the middle of the pic, you can see people - Jake is one of those people.

Steve helping make breakfast.

I made it through my first night of camping, even in the "little tent of horrors", of course my mattress is close to flat again at this point. The sun has risen and we are up and out- and the flies are back! It is our families turn to make a meal, but with my kitchen assistant sleeping it off I enlisted help from Steve and Ian. Soon we are dressed and heading to Kings Canyon for a hike. Half the group went for the 6 km canyon rim walk (starts off with a steep climb to the top on Heart Attack hill) and the other half did the 2k walk into the canyon. I chose the latter for a few reasons, namely the heat, flies and the fact that during set up I dropped our 10 x 10 shade structure on my shin,getting it out of the car, and now had a baseball sized knot just below my knee. Jake went on the long walk with Steve and his kids and Dillon went with us. I asked Jake what he thought and he said "it was long", no appreciation of beauty from him.

Heart Attack Hill

Inside the canyon.

Another canyon view

Jamie and Dillon always staying in front.

Heather and the boys taking a rest.

The scorpion in the bathroom.

After our walk we headed back to camp for lunch and a swim in the campground pool. The water felt amazing, nice and chilly. The kids and adults played games and splashed for a few hours- everyone enjoyed the pool time. We were all soon back under the shade, just relaxing while the kids played until dinner time. The star gazing was once again plentiful, JD even spotted a satellite and many saw falling stars. Heather and I headed off to the bathroom, this time though we were greeted with a scorpion between stalls 3 and 4. Of course we had to bring everyone from camp to come check it out. The second night in the tent was much better, everyone was sooo tired falling asleep was pretty easy (I took Tylenol PM just to be sure). Of course, we woke up around 1:30 so JD could re-inflate the mattress.

One of the beautiful sunsets.

When we woke Sunday morning, it was a quick shower, a quick breakfast (the flies were so bad this morning I actually told Jake he could have cheese balls for breakfast) and then time to pack up and head home. While I will say camping just might not be my thing, spending time with good friends is always nice. The boys loved it and it makes me smile seeing them be able to run around so freely.  I can actually laugh about the flies now that I am home and about to sleep in my own bed.  So here comes the million dollar question- will I ever camp again? And the answer: only time will tell!