Spring Break Camping

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It was a good little trip. Next time, maybe we'll try for two nights instead of just one. This was kind of a trial trip - the yurt was only available Monday night anyway, plus Lee has work on Wednesdays. Thing is, you pack close to the same amount of gear whether you're going for one day or five! It's just the amount of food & underclothes that changes!

In any case, we got all loaded up and drove all of 15 minutes to get to the campground. They only have two yurts, but lots of regular camping spaces. We were up on the hillside, and very close to the 'nice' bathrooms with flush toilets & hot showers :)

The actual camp site was great. Besides the convenience of the yurt, there was a water fountain for drinking, as well as a spigot for cooking & washing water, right next to the large picnic table. The fire ring had a 4-level barbeque grate. There was also our own trash can at the site. Between the two yurts was the dump station for water with stuff in it (soap, food bits, etc.). They even left us some big chunks of wood :)

I had to be a good Girl Scout & pick up all the little trash bits I found around the site from the prior visitors. However, Diana & I did NOT do our other regular Girl Scout things - we didn't use the buddy system for the restrooms (okay - she's considered an adult now anyway). We didn't back the truck in so we could leave quickly in an emergency. I had too many coals under the dutch oven so the chocolate cherry cake wound up a little burnt-tasting (Cool Whip covered that up though). I didn't put my polar fleece blanket inside the sleeping bag with me, so I got too cold during the night (everyone else had them inside & they were fine - my mummy bag is apparently no longer good till 0 degrees - maybe from washing it?). We didn't divvy up the chores & we didn't have GORP. We DID have s'mores.

As soon as we'd unpacked everything - Connor was ready to go exploring on his bike. Lee took his bike & the two of them went all through the campground & the park. While they were off doing that, Diana & I went to hunt for a geocache. I was happy there were two listed in the park. We had a bit of a steep hike up a hill behind the yurt, but it didn't take us too long to find the cache. Someone left a dollar bill, so I took that - you're not really supposed to leave money. I left a geocoin behind.

We got back to the yurt about the same time as Lee & Connor. We set up the fire then & started cooking the baked potatoes in the coals. Besides those, we had hot dogs & baked beans as well. And I made the chocolate cherry cake for dessert. Connor just kept riding his bike around the parking lot for the yurts when no one was available to ride further out with him. When it got too dark, he skidded a bit, fell & decided it was time for bed.

That's when I went looking for his melatonin. A lot of kids with autism don't produce enough melatonin on their own, so it really helps to use it as a regular supplement for Connor. If we weren't sure it was effective, we were positive last night. I knew I had put it in a baggie, but I could not find the dang thing for the life of me!! So even though we went to bed a good couple of hours after Connor was in his sleeping bag, he was still talking and singing in his bed. After we were all settled, he was still not able to calm himself and be quiet. We had him come down from his top bunk to snuggle with Diana, because she thought that had worked in the past. Then he just got really upset & was sniffling & crying. We had him go back to his bunk, and I went up to calm him down. He was quiet for a bit, but then started back up again with the singing & talking. It's like he has all this stuff going on in his head, and he just can't rein it in.

Eventually, Lee took Connor & they both just drove home to get him a dose. They were back within 1/2 hour and 10 minutes after he was in his bunk, Connor was asleep. So, yeah. Melatonin works on Connor!

Tuesday morning we got up once it was light out. It was pretty darn cold, so we got the fire going first thing. Then I heated water for hot drinks. Connor had requested pancakes & french toast for breakfast. That was easy enough - they have the same toppings :) When it got warmer, he was back on his bike. We took our time over breakfast & Diana sat next to the fire until the sun started shining, I think :) Lee & I rode bikes with Connor down by the other part of the campground. We also went & found the second geocache - it was a micro, which can be hard to find, but we did!

Then we packed up and swept out the yurt. The truck packed up better this time without all the wood & extra food & such. Fifteen minutes later, we were home again & unloading. I got a good hot shower & that's the end of that adventure!