Crater Lake 2010

Lately, we've started feeling like adults. There are certain milestones in life that sometimes are significant enough that you stand back and say, "wow, I'm competent." Going camping by ourselves was one such milestone for Keegan and I. To cap off an awesome summer and as a delayed first anniversary celebration Keegan and I spent a few days camping at Crater Lake a few weeks ago. It was awesome. It was the first time we'd been the most experienced campers in our party, which means we were one step above the blind leading the blind.

We were greeted at Crater Lake National Park by less than friendly clouds, but didn't think anything of it. Our intention was to get a site at Lost Creek camp ground, though all 16 sites were taken by the time we got there. So, we drove a few miles around the lake and got a site at Mazama Village. Thunder rolled in as we got to our site and we got our tent set up and stuff loaded in just as it started to rain. It rained for about 25 minuets, pretty heavily, and as we were realizing that we might have water pooling around the edges of our tent the rain let up and it started to hail. HAIL. It hailed like we'd angered the gods. Hail an inch and a half in diameter. Angry, huge hail. It was like nothing I'd ever seen and briefly I wondered when the tornado was going to touch down. Our worries quickly went from a wet tent to a car with a cracked windshield.

Obviously, we survived. The tent did too. As did the car. We spend the first night at Mazama Village, then got up bright and early and drove over to Lost Creek, hoping for an empty site. We got lucky, set up camp and paid for three more nights. The remainder of the trip was fairly standard. Hiking, awesome views, campfires, booze, noisy squirrels, bug spray and swimming (for Keegan, I learned that lesson last year).

Some things I love about camping:

• wine in a box
• showering with baby wipes
• no one gives you grief about waking up early -- it's bright out! (And that damn squirrel on the log 3 feet from your tent has been screaming for 45 minuets)
• the quite (other than the squirrel)
• "doing the dishes" means swishing some water around and then wiping the pan with a paper towel

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer