Sequoia Camping

 Two years ago, K and M came out and we camped for one night in Angeles National Forest. This time, we drove 5 hours north to Sequoia National Forest/Park for 3 nights. We upgraded this time for flushing toilets and sinks with running water, but took just one- for pay ($4) shower in the four days. It was super fun, and I hope to camp more. Anyone else game?

 These pictures are a bit out of sequence for the four days. There were days in the park, days in the forest, days on trails, days up hills, days on horses. But all the days were beautiful, clear and crisp.

 This hike was in King's Canyon. We drove 45 minutes to get there and then Milo complained the whole time. After we had enough, we turned back only to see a bear- very close. K had us do a Bear drill earlier in the day which everyone implemented after getting their wits at seeing a black bear bigger then any one of us.With a bit of persuasion, rock throwing near it and shouting, it ambled off after a kind of dramatic attempt at jumping into a tree. That was the full experience, or so I thought, but there would be more to come.

 We  spent a lot of time in hollowed out trees, climbing rocks, asking where Milo was, craning our necks skyward, crawling through hollowed out trees, scanning the area for bears and deer, asking Milo to keep going, posing for pictures, reminding each other to stop and smell, asking Milo to watch out for the fire grate, getting drinks from the cooler and food from the bear box and being dirty. It was really fun.

At Camp

 Milo called this, "My rock."  Whenever I couldn't find him, I would look here first and there he was perched on top fighting something with a tree branch.

 We saw so many deer up close- more than 15. They came so close to our campsite!

 We took a hike to Crystal Cave which is made of marble and shone bright and sparkly inside. Funny thing was, K and M had been there before but didn't realize it until we were there! As a bonus, the trail had a waterfall on it.

 Tent night were, well, ok. We roughed it. We had an insulation mat, but other than that just bags on the ground. It was wonderfully cold though, and than makes sleeping easier. Milo loved the tent, sleeping bag, flashlights, fire, rocks, and, well, everything except the long hikes. One night a bear came in the camp. Another camper spotted it and blew an air horn and banged pots. K and M were brave and went out with a flashlight to get the scoop, but M and I cozied in the tent knowing we had nothing it wanted and M went back to sleep. He's a natural camper I think.

Last Day

 On the last day, we planned to leave after lunch, but there was a long horse ride (next post) and this amazing grove that distracted us. We just had to stay longer to look at more- and climb in more-

 because once you're this dirty, climbing hands and knees through a hollowed tree just make sense. Milo kept asking, "Who's going to climb that rock... crawl in that tree, stand in that stump?" and then he would say almost in resignation, "I guess I will."  And he did.

 Can you spot K in this picture?

Last Day- First Horse Ride

 By our campsite, there was a sign for the horse stables. So, the last morning we were there, Milo and I hopped in the car to go take an hour horse ride. Hours later, we returned. While the sign for the horse stables looked simple enough, but it was miles down a dirt road, single lanes at time, rock slide areas with rocks scattered all over the road and certain death off the edge of the cliff. I was so anxious and tense by the time we got there, it's a good thing all the ranch people were super nice and horses and mules so beautiful.

 Mine was a mule called Candy and Milo had a horse called Tigerlilly.

 These pictures absolutely do not do the landscape justice. We did not ride a dirt track around a pen, but a trail up into the forest with that delicious Sequoia smell. Milo loved the ride. It was well worth the stress of the ride there, and a great bookend to our outdoor vacation.

 When we got back to the campsite, we ate a lunch of odds and ends from the cooler and bear box. With the leftover marshmallows, we each had a guess at how many marshmallows were left in the bag and a guess of how many we could eat. K, M and M all ate more then they thought they could. K made the best guess of how many were in the bag, but it was only Milo who puked them up on the side of the road on the way home. FYI, if you're going to let your 7 year old eat 10 marshmallows for lunch, you shouldn't drive him home 5000 feet down a windy mountain road and expect him not to throw up. K and M were such rock stars about it. Having no children, they handle a kid vomiting really well.

Back to Civilization

As much fun as camping was, it was so nice to be home with my pillow top mattress, shower and husband. With our last two days with Auntie and Uncle Mike, we had to cram in more hours of video games, Project Runway, Ninja Turtle Movie, manicures and a dinner out with old friends.

End of Summer

 As always, our summer break flew by. Every cliche about having fun, being busy and kids growing so fast is true-- and heartbreaking. The weather was hot, but not scorching. Even in mild heat, we can't stand the zoo with bees everywhere, so we were there just one day. Here is Milo perched as a California condor.

 Milo was the target audience for the summer movies it seemed. He and Daddy had a few fun afternoons at these flicks- Uncle Mike was here for the Turtle one too!

 Milo earned his yellow belt this summer after a bit of hard work, The orange belt is next if he wants to learn the vocabulary and practice his skills.

 Our pass to Universal is earning it's worth. In a brave move, Milo even rode the Mummy ride after our pals S and LB said it was the best and not that scary.

Gymnastics Camp

Milo went to two weeks of Summer camp at a gymnastics gym with a buddy of his from preschool and elementary school. He had a great time!