Family Car Camping Trip Report

“The story of this trip actually starts a week or so before it took place, as my wife and I began the planning for this trip way ahead of time. We didn't actually commit anything to paper until the Wednesday night before, however, when we sat down and actually made lists of what we wanted to take. My wife did the grocery shopping and some other shopping, and I visited Wal-Mart to pick up a few items that we wanted to get.

Thursday night we got most of the items located and checked off. Friday morning we began packing in earnest. I was a little worried about being able to get a spot at Monte Sano State Park, but a quick call to the office there alleviated my fears. It turned out that even though the weekend was beautiful all the way through, getting a site at the campground there would be no problem at all.

It took us a couple of hours to get everything packed up and us and the kids ready to go. We got everything inside our new (to us) Honda Odyssey minivan except the portable charcoal grill I bought for camping. That I secured to the top of the van with a cargo strap and some bungees. We pulled out of the driveway and headed down the road to Monte Sano.

After a short stop at my grandmother's to pick up our camera, we arrived at Monte Sano State Park at about 10:30AM. The campground was empty to the point that the woman taking care of signup didn't assign us a spot, she just told us to go ahead and go set up at one, then come back and tell her which one we were at, and pay. So we did just that. We picked a site on the edge of the campground with a view through the trees of the Chase area of Huntsville, separated from the rest of town by Monte Sano and Chapman mountains. Also, the site was a short walk from the bathhouse, which can be important when you have small children. The temps were perfect, with highs in the 70's and clear, slightly breezy skies.

It took us about an hour to completely set up the screen room and tent, and get everything moved into them. We have two bins and two baskets we use to transport our camping gear, plus of course the air mattresses, chairs, grill, stove, lantern, etc., etc. I let my wife set up the tent, since she had been planning to take her Brownie troop on an overnight camping trip and use our four-man Wenzel for one of the shelters, and she wanted to be absolutely sure she knew how to pitch it properly.

After all that was taken care of, we ate lunch, then decided to head over to the playground at the state park and let the kids play for a while. The North Plateau trail on Monte Sano circles the campground, so we headed out on it towards the picnic area where the playground is. It took us about 30 minutes or so to walk the 3/4 miles to the playground. They've improved the playground there a lot recently, upgrading the equipment, adding benches, and generally making it a safer and nicer area for kids to play in. My son found an old buddy from his preschool days there, and they played together, while my daughter did what she does best, find a new person and quickly make friends with them. We let the kids play for around an hour and a half, then we walked back to our campsite.

We lounged around there for awhile, then I started to gather wood for the fire. The area is pretty well picked over, but I managed to find enough firewood for a fire big enough to roast marshmallows over. I cooked hotdogs on the charcoal grill and we had dinner, then sat around the fire making S'mores. We enjoyed the view of Chase, and the stars, until about 9:00PM or so, when the kids went to bed. I found to my surprise that I was more tired than I thought, so instead of sitting around the fire and enjoying a cigar and a book, I decided to turn in too.”

“sounds wonderful bit.........did the kids enloy it??????”

“Nice trip!

We want pictures!”

“Wait, there's more to come!

Pics may take a while, I only took a few and I want to finish the roll.”

“don't leave us hangin man!!!!!”

“I'm still working on Saturday!”

“Saturday morning dawned bright and a little chilly. We got up late, around 7:30 or so, and started our day. This morning's breakfast plan was scrambled eggs and sausage, a favorite of my kids. I also got to try out a new piece of camping gear, my new stovetop coffee percolator. I fired up our Coleman two-burner DualFuel campstove and started the coffee, then proceeded to cut up the sausage into patties. Normally, I would have bought the pre-made patties, since when camping I definitely believe in spending a little extra for convenience, especially in food prep. But we already had a package of sausage that needed to be used, so we brought it instead. After slicing up the sausage into patties, I fired up the second burner, moved the percolator over to it, and put the skillet on the first burner. Within a few minutes, our campsite was filled with the smell of frying sausage, making it difficult to restrain our children. I finished the sausage, and decided the coffee was probably done. It was okay, but next time I'll either leave it on longer, or use more coffee. I was guessing at how much to use anyway. We had forgotten a bowl, so I used a ziploc bag to scramble the eggs. This worked really well! Within a few minutes, breakfast was completely ready, and we sat down and ate it.

After breakfast, I helped my wife with the dishes while the kids played. Then I changed into my hiking clothes and we got ready to go on a hike. Because of the amount of complaining that had taken place on the short walk to the playground the day before, I was hesitant to take them on the hike that I had originally planned, through the Stone Cuts and over Logan Point. But my wife pointed out that she had really been looking forward to doing this hike, and since there are multiple bail-out spots on the route I intended to take, I decided to go ahead with the original plan.

We set out on the North Plateau trail again, headed for the Sinks trail. They intersect near the Hiker's and Biker's parking lot in the park, and we reached there with my son in front. He thought we were going on another trail, and I had to tell him to stop. Then, we turned down the Sinks trail, and headed down into the Sinks. On the way, I explained to my kids what a "sink" was, and when we reached the benches just before the Stone Cuts trail, I was able to show them an example of a couple of small sinks that are close to the trail. We sat and rested at the benches for awhile and had a drink. Then we headed down the trail a little further, then left the Sinks trail and headed up the Stone Cuts trail.

My son and I were in the lead, but I soon was waiting for them all to catch up every 20 steps or so. Going this slowly up the hill was easy for me, even with the daypack that had all our snacks and water in it, but more difficult for my wife and kids. We could only keep the kids moving by saying that we would rest when we reached the top.

We got to the top, and I led them to a couple of large rocks that are perfect for sitting on and resting, and we had a little more water. After that rest, we descended a little, and were in the Stone Cuts. The kids loved being in the middle of what seemed like large piles of flat rocks piled on one another, and they loved the coolness of the two caves that one passes through on the trail. I noticed that a rock barely being held against the ceiling in one of the caves had dropped a little, and looked like it might be closer to falling. The kids passed underneath it quickly, asking if it was going to fall on us. After assuring them that we weren't in any danger, I pointed out on the ceiling where stalactites were beginning to form around a fissure that was allowing water to pass from the surface above into the cave below. We would have stayed in the caves a little longer, because they were so cool (around 60F or cooler) but the kids didn't like the musty smell of them.

We left the Stone Cuts and continued down the trail, allowing a large group of dayhikers going the opposite direction to pass us. When we got to the trail that goes over Logan Pt. I asked if they were ready to climb a little more, then rest and have a snack. They said they were (after a little coaxing) and so we climbed just a little more, and went to the top of Logan Pt., a large flat-topped boulder I call "Lunch Rock".

We sat on Lunch Rock and had our snack, some more water, and relaxed. The foliage was down (unlike in the pic I linked to above), so we could see over into Gurley, and possibly even further from there. A lone hiker passed by, and at about that time I decided we should get back. I had originally planned to continue down that path and show the kids some more cool rock formations, but since doing that would add about a mile or more to our trip back to camp, I decided to go back the way we came, and return via a shorter route.

We hiked back down to the Stone Cuts trail, and continued on it to where it re-intersects with the Sinks trail. From there, it's a gentle hike up to the Mountain Mist trail, but we still took a short rest, sitting on some rocks and tree sections that were cut from a huge hickory that fell there a few years ago and was cut up by the park rangers. Then, we continued up the Sinks trail, which is steeper and heavily switchbacked at that point. Again, I was hiking at a faster pace than my family could keep up with, even though I had slowed my normal pace to about half what I would normally be going. I got to a good spot to rest, and waited for them to catch up. Then I let them rest awhile before we continued up the hill.

During this rest, I cautioned my kids not to fall down the hill, since we would have to leave them there with the other kids who have fallen down that hill. I regaled them with stories about how those children lived under rocks and trees, and had to eat squirrels and nuts to live. These tales were met with the typical cries of disbelief when I tell them stories like that (Daddy!) and I chuckled and continued to tell them more lies. After we had all had enough, we continued up the hill, and soon reached the closed section of Bankhead Parkway. We walked up this disused road to a short path that lead back to the North Plateau trail, and we hiked on that trail back to our campsite.

We sat down and rested, and I gave Father Goose a call, since we had planned to meet up there at the campsite for dinner that evening. He told me that he and Mother G were on their way. I told Jan this, and she quickly gathered up her and Frances' stuff so they could get a shower, after which my son Walter and I would have one.

While Frances and Jan were in the bathhouse, Walter took a nap in the tent, and I read a little, and amused myself by watching the people in the site across from us attempt to take down their pop-up camper. One side of the camper would crank down, but the other stubbornly refused to move. They worked on it for about 30 minutes, until I heard the husband say "Oh, it won't crank down with the door up". They then unfolded the camper a little, folded the top entry door down into the camper, and then successfully cranked the top down onto the camper body.

They left, and shortly thereafter, Father Goose and Mother G pulled up in their van. We talked a bit, and they decided to take the site across from us. They left to take care of that, and Jan and Frances came back from the bathhouse, somewhat cleaner than they had been. Jan was a little bothered that Walt had fallen asleep, meaning he and I would be unable to take a shower immediately, but she got over it and let him nap a little longer.

Father Goose and Mother G came back and pulled into their site. As they began to set up, I wandered over and distracted Father Goose so he would have an excuse to do nothing while Mother G did all the work. We sat and talked and drank beer, while Mother G set up their campsite and my wife took our kids back to the playground to play some more. As we did, my arms got redder and redder from the sun. I tried to hide them to no avail, and one of the things we had forgotten to pack was sunblock. Oh well, we'll be sure to remember it next time. I will, anyway.

My wife and kids came back, and Walt and I, along with Father Goose and Mother G, started collecting wood for the campfires that evening. Walt was having a good time with Father Goose, helping to bring firewood back, and generally talking and telling Father Goose everything there is to know about Yu-gi-oh cards.

In the meantime, my daughter managed to make another new friend, and was playing with her either at the little playground behind the bathhouse, our campsite, or her new friend's campsite. She is really good at making new friends, something I totally suck at, so I'm happy for her.

At about 5:30, I decided it was time to start the fire. Jan suggested that Walt and I go take a shower while she got the fire going. I agreed, and Walt and I went to the bathhouse and got a little cleaner.

When we got back, the fire was going well, with several large logs already burning on it. I got to work immediately on dinner, wrapping some large potatoes in aluminum foil, and setting them next to the fire. More on this later. I also prepared the grill for the steaks, but waited to light it until the potatoes were closer to being done. I looked for the steaks to go ahead and get them to marinating, but found that Jan had already gotten them in a ziploc and soaking in Dale's sauce.

The kids were out playing, and the Gooses were busy getting their dinner together, so I busied myself doing other things. Jan wanted the kids to eat before we did, but we still had to wait on the potatoes. To be honest, I was so busy getting stuff together during this period, I can't quite remember exactly what I was doing. No doubt the three beers I had with Father Goose had something to do with that. I think mostly I concentrated on making sure the potatoes didn't burn. I know that I started the charcoal sometime during this hour. Also, Katie's parents came down to our campsite to meet us, so they would know what kind of parents the ruffians playing with their daughter had. They were very pleasant people, and Katie is a very sweet girl.

After about 45 minutes on the fire, I checked one of the potatoes. They weren't anywhere near done. I set them closer to the fire, actually in the coals, hoping they would cook faster that way. Father Goose asked if we were still planning on eating together, and I told him that since our potatoes weren't going to be done anytime soon, that he and Mother G should go ahead and eat when they were ready. He expressed optimism that the potatoes would get done fast enough now that they were closer to the fire, and went back over to his site. I got started on the kids' dinner.

About half an hour later, the potatoes were done enough, and we called the kids in. My daughter brought over her new friend, a nice little girl named Katie, and we served up mac and cheese, baked potato, and Cheese-its to the kids for dinner. Being kids and being excited about having S'mores for dessert, of course, they hardly ate anything. We cleared the kids plates, and I went over to the Gooses' to see how they were doing. The kids left to go play until we were ready to make the S'mores.

Mother G had fixed a marvelous repast for the evening, which included smoked salmon on a plank, roasted garlic, and a few other dishes. I sampled a bit of the salmon, which had been marinated in a sauce of Father Goose's design, and it was delicious. Mother G let me have a couple of the roasted garlic heads for our steaks, and I thanked her and took them over to our campsite.

Finally, our dinner was ready. My wife and I were having large ribeye steaks I had grilled on our charcoal grill, baked potatoes, and some of the roasted garlic Mother G had given us. It was all unbelievable. The only thing that could have made it better would have been a good Cabernet Sauvignon. My steak was huge, and grilled to perfection. I could barely finish it.

After that, we called the kids back and we roasted marshmallows around the fire and made S'mores, which the kids gobbled down like wolves. Around 9:00, Katie's mom came down to collect her for the evening, and we got our kids into their beds as well. The Gooses came over, and we enjoyed cigars, libations, and conversation until about 10:30 or so, then we also turned in.”

“slacker”

“lovely stories there, bit!”

“Ya mean the lies I tell my kids? lol...they're used to it.”

“Sunday was also a beautiful day. I woke up and took my kids to the bathhouse for their morning pee break, then came back and got them changed into play clothes. I let them go play on the little playground while I started doing a little packing up, and a little working on breakfast. Jan asked me to let her lie in her bag a little late, so I did. Meanwhile, I packed up the stuff we wouldn't be needing for breakfast that day.

About 30 minutes later, she got up, and I started fixing breakfast, which was to be pancakes. True to my ease-of-use-while-camping nature, I made the batter with a boxed mix and water, heated up our griddle on the camp stove, and started frying the pancakes. Katie came back with Frances and Walter, and when the pancakes were finished, she ate with us again. For a first time, the pancakes worked out well. I still need to work on how hot to get the griddle on that camp stove, but a couple more times and I'll have it down.

The kids went to play some more, except for Walt, who felt liking going over to the Goose's campsite and talking to Father Goose for awhile. I'm sure Father Goose learned even more about Yu-gi-oh cards. Walt seemed to be acting pretty good, and I went over to make sure Father Goose didn't mind, so I left him there. Walt did eventually leave and go play with another boy on the playground though.

Jan and did the dishes, then started packing up. We got everything packed and in the van in about 45 minutes, much to the surprise of Father Goose, who didn't think all that crap would fit in our Honda. We collected the kids, let them say good bye to their friends, and we left to go home.

It was a pretty good trip, and the kids are already asking when we are going camping again. We just about have the lists down, we only forgot a few minor items this time. I'm hoping to get things a lot more organized, hopefully to the point that we just put all the bins in the van, pack some clothes, stop by the grocery store on the way to the campsite, and go camping. My wife is skeptical, but I keep telling her to please let me have my dreams.”

“Thanks for the GREAT reports, bit!
Enjoyed reading them!”

“You're welcome!

Join my cult! The Car-Camping Cult!”

“awesome report : )”

“.
Wow!”

“I just wish I had taken my family camping more. They had a few bad experiences and didn't want to do it any more. Too cold, too crowded, noisy, etc. At least not the girls. My son and I used to go on a fishing and camping trip every year when we could. Now the kids are 18 and 20 and my wife's idea of camping is staying at a motel!”

“So far my family loves it. They might change their mind the first time it rains, but I try and make sure the weather forecast is clear before I go on a trip with them. Last weekend, the weather was perfect...”

“My sister tells a story about an attempted camping trip. She remembered the family camping trips while growing up with great fondness. So her family, hubby & two kids started a camping trip. It rained. They packed up all their gear, shipped it home and 'moteled it.' Never been camping since! lol”

“Good report Bit !

Woot Woot !!”

“Car camping was how I got started camping. My Mom & Dad had a giant 10 by 16 foot canvas tent and we would all load up and go camping. As a kid, I loved it!”

“Yeah, when I was a kid my family spent all the summer weekends camping, fishing, and waterskiing. We had both a large tent and a popup we took all over the eastern part of the country. We camped at several beaches up and down the eastern seaboard and in the Appalachian mtns too. My parents sure did make it all look easy...from a kids point of view.”