Hyleson Camping 2010: Part 1

Here we go! First Hyleson (Hynes/Wilson) camping trip of the year! Usually we all go to Idaho City or Deadwood Lake, but thanks to Mikey, we got creative and decided to try something new--STANLEY! It was a bit scary because we didn't know what to expect, and we went to Redfish Lake--full; we went to Stanely Lake--full. But, we adventured up the mountain and found a BEAUTIFUL spot away from the crowds and amenities, and it was perfect. Here is a picture story of our adventures together.

I like to take pictures of the kids on the way up because they are actually clean! It was a 3 hour drive, but they were troupers. We read Little Town on the Prairie to keep us busy.

Being the awesome mom that I am, I forgot the kids' coats! Luckily, it wasn't that cold, and the oversized Mom and Dad coats made for some cute pics.

Here is Lucy in Daddy's jacket. I always loved wearing my Dad's shirts when I was little because it reminded me how small I was and how big and strong he was. Fun. Thanks for the butterfly nets gramma and pappa....we actaully caught some!

Elliott looking like Opie with his paper airplane paper for Dad to fold.

The view of the Sawtooth mountains and Lake Stanley. Lovely.

One morning we woke up to a dear in our camp and Mikey grabbed this shot. It is just eating up something, completely oblivious to the 8 humans within 15 feet of it!

We went on a hike---another first for a Hyleson camping trip. We wanted to make it to a waterfall, and we didn't really know how far, or how difficult so we set off! It ended up being over 3 miles I think. See how it went:

Of course we had to geo cache on the way!

Meadow shot of the Wilsons.
Meadow shot of the Hynes.
Kimo stopped on the way to teach us about edible flowers. We ate the roots of this wild flower and it was FUN! Thanks winter survival class and Kimo!

Elliott is not one who likes to push his limits. After about a mile and a half, Mikey gave in and carried him for a bit. It just happens that this last little leg of the hike was the only part uphill. YOUCH!

Again, not knowing how long the hike was, and how warm it would get, we only packed two water bottles for all of us! We were dying...it was like Survivor Man or something! The second we told the kids to go easy on the water, they were DYING of thirst. Too funny. So, instead of the waterfall, our new goal was a stream near the middle of the mountain. Kimo was busy purifying water while the girls cooled their aching feet, and Heather and I splashed our hair to cool us off!

Kimo and the kids loved the walking sticks--official hikers ( and Eddie the dog!).

The hike was a bit of a drama-fest with the tired kids, but it turned out to be such a fun adventure! Even Joy said she was happy! There were wild strawberries we ate on the trail (again, total Survivor Man! They were our only source of water for a while!) Very fun...it will have to become another camping tradition for sure.

I wanted to post too many pics from this trip, so there will be a part 2 coming tomorrow...stay tuned for some hot springs action!