ROOSEVELT NATIONAL FOREST - MOUNTAIN PARK (August 5, 2006) |
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Our first trip in
August was to Mountain Park, a National Forest campground with electric
sites (the first time we have ever had that combination). National
Forest Service campgrounds are typically dry. We were in site 11, and
except for site 54 that is not reservable, we were very happy with our
choice. We had excellent separation from our neighbors on both sides.
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We did not arrive
until 9 PM, so we had to set up in the dark (only done that once before).
Luckily the site was long and fairly level, requiring only two leveling
boards.
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The site 11
backyard is grassy and open. The fence and red sign in the background
warns you of a cliff that leads to the Cache la Poudre river. |
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We took a hike
along the river and stopped to cool off along a shallow bank. Mountain
Park is at 6,300 feet so it can get hot on summer days. Since we
usually camp above 8,000 feet, the warm mornings and hot afternoons
surprised us.
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Courtney performs a
delicate balancing act near the river edge.
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Randy and Lea on
the banks of the Poudre river. Right after this photo was taken Randy
through Lea into the river. Or not.
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The paved
campground road was a great place for Cameron and Dad to play some football.
Here you see Cameron throwing a long one back to Dad.
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Cameron is on a
football team this year. He wants to play wide receiver or tight end.
He is a big kid for his age, so he eat's 'em up at practice. The
football Cameron is about to catch is visible in the upper right hand corner
of this picture.
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Courtney turned the
blank canvas of the tent pad into an Etch-a-sketch. I'm sure the next
people to arrive at site 11 will appreciate her work.
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Saturday night was
BBQ with Dad grilling some fine pork chops. We also had Rice-a-Roni,
green beans, and French bread. For dessert we had two choices of Cold
Stone Creamery ice cream, including German Chocolate Cake and Cherry Loves
Cheesecake. |
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The kids got
creative and made some very cool decorative pine-cones. We left them
on display for the next inhabitants of our site.
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Here you see Mom
and the kids doing Summer bridge activities to get them fired up and ready
for school to start in mid-August. All three kids do really well in
school. Courtney has had straight A's since starting school and Kendal
and Cameron rarely bring home more than two B's for a quarter. Kendal
even got straight A's for fourth quarter 6th grade.
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Mountain Park is a
little far at about 2 3/4 hours drive time from our home, but once there we
enjoyed it.
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