While the threat of COVID-19 has certainly not gone away, our summer trudges on, and, thankful to be in a low-density remote area with not too many cases, we have felt safe enough to venture out to do some small getaways in our county and to spend some quality time in the great outdoors (check out the recent NY Times article about Nature Deficit Disorder, which affects adults and kids alike).
We haven't done any family camping in the last few years, mainly because of the logistics of and energy required for traveling/packing/camping with two little kids (one of whom has historically been a very poor sleeper, but who now sleeps fine although he tends to wake early, and another one who is a dream crib-sleeper and who has been in diapers [but who is now pretty reliably day-toilet-trained]). Iver has been asking to go camping for a while, and after weighing the risks/benefits (as we all have to do with harm avoidance... we can't stay inside/at home forever, but can follow state and local guidelines and distancing recommendations), we didn't think it was the worst idea in the world to give it a try, as some of the nearby State and National Parks have just recently opened some campgrounds.
This is another reason that it's hard to camp as a family with little kids: SO.MUCH.STUFF to bring! It is a lot of work.
After Niall's nap on Saturday, we drove the ~1 hour southeast of us to Grizzy Creek Redwoods State Park, which we've visited a couple of times. Iver and Kelvin camped there once overnight with friends (last summer, I believe), but I'd never overnighted there, just hiked and hung out. The great thing about this State Park is its access to the Van Duzen River, which is not super warm, but at least it's shallow. There were several other campers and people using the park for day use, but there was plenty of space for physical distancing and, while we did use the public bathroom, we also brought a tiny potty for the kids, lots of hand sanitizer and Lysol wipes and felt safe doing so.
While Kelvin set up our tent, the kids splashed around a bit, before they got too cold and hungry.
Only staying one night, we brought in (rather than having to cook it) dinner from Chipotle and enjoyed it on our private picnic bench.
Pepper seemed happy, too!
The 6-person tent we purchased last year was plenty spacious, including for a couple of air mattresses (might as well when car-camping!), four people, and a dog.
After dinner, we took a little stroll on one of the forest paths (unfortunately, dogs are allowed at the campgrounds but not on the park's trails or at the beach).
(Sticks were acquired in order to fend off mountain lions).
Niall's expression in this pose is the best.
We had brought ingredients and attempted to make some s'mores (Iver was soooo excited. "This will be only the third time in my life I've ever had s'mores!), but had a hard time keeping our fire log lit and they ended up being room-temperature s'mores (which were still a hit with the kids. We made a solar oven version at home later).
(Niall just wanted the Hershey's chocolate)
Solar s'mores oven (tinfoil and saran wrap-covered box)
While family camping seems cozy, sleep wasn't the best in the tent (which doesn't surpirse me as I'm a very light sleeper, and never sleep well while camping). Niall, who's very easy to put down at home or in a crib, was rolling around a bunch and talking for over an hour, until about 9 p.m. We finally got him to sleep by telling him that a mountain lion might get him if he could hear him or see him outside his sleeping bag. I slept next to Iver, who did really well (out like a light at 8 p.m.!) until he was up at 5 a.m. sneezing about 10 times and asking if it was time to get up (yet). The noises of the woods, other campers and their dogs, nearby road traffic, rooming in with children who cry out in their sleep as well as a dog who kept jumping on me to keep warm kept me tossing much of the night. Kelvin said that his back was sore and he was a bit cold in his sleeping bag, which we should upgrade, especially if we plan to go on future camping trips.
We ate breakfast at our campsite before packing up and heading back north for some beach time prior to returning home. Despite the less-than-optimal adult sleep, all in all, it was a nice less-than-24-hour first family camping expedition which the kids loved, and which we all (technically) survived!
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