Fourth of July Camping

After wondering if we were even going to go camping at all, it turned out to be one of the best trips we’ve had. The weather forecast called for rain, rain, rain the entire length of our stay, so we decided to postpone our departure by one day. We left Friday at noon and were surprised by the perfectly sunny and dry conditions we found when we arrived at Hawn State Park. It was absolutely perfect for Mr. H’s first camping trip.

After we set up and had a late lunch, the kids explored the creek. They wanted to see if the water levels were good for fishing, swimming, hiking, or all of the above. They reported back that “all of the above” would be on the agenda for Saturday. The rest of Friday was spent in Ste. Genevieve for the Fourth of July fair and fireworks.

Fishing was fun, even if it didn’t yield a huge catch. The kids caught nothing, while Dad caught 2 little guys. We had a picnic lunch and hiked Pickle Creek, which is not a nice smooth trail by the way. It was a tad difficult for me to maneuver over all the rocks and roots with a baby in a front carrier. Banana made the treacherous hike all by herself, although she went very S-L-O-W-L-Y.

The kids had a great time swimming. Their adventurous father climbed up the cliff to hang a rope swing around a tree for the kids to play with in the water.

The boys made friends with a fellow camper and they had a massive water gun fight.

The naturalist at the park gave an informative demonstration on Missouri snakes and even had a real live snack for the kids to touch. Mr. H and the Banana fell asleep, but the rest of us found it quite interesting. We sat around the fire until way past our bedtime and enjoyed some fireside snacks. No, we didn’t roast marshmallows. Try pizza rolls and soft pretzels. Isn’t that what everyone cooks over the fire?

Sunday morning we packed up and headed home. It was just starting to get really hot, so we weren’t all that upset that we were leaving. We took TONS of pictures. If you’re in the mood to browse through more than 100 of them, click here for the set.