Our most recent adventure took us to Strawberry Lake. My parents invited us out with the family to go camping for the Memorial Day weekend. This was our first campout together! It was freezing. Up in the higher elevation, the nice spring weather felt in Provo turned to frigidity. It was much better at our campsite than on the lake, as well. We were one of the few sites sheltered by trees.
There was much fighting about who would light and build the fires while we were there. Turns out, every one of the Stone family is a pyro. Guess that is stating the obvious.
Nathanael and I came up Saturday, after work and a short nap. By the time we were all packed and grabbed a few things requested by the family, it an hour until sundown. By the time we hit Heber, the half-way point, it was getting dark. For those who don't know what it is like trying to navigate a mountainside/lakeside in the middle of the night, it is like walking around your house without the lights on. Even with brights, you feel like you might hit some critter in the road or slip into another lane at any time. It is very grueling, and quite scary. But we made it alive, although we got lost a few times before we thought to use the GPS in our phones. (Thanks dad!) Saturday ended with falling asleep in the back of the Yukon on a mattress built from left over sleeping bags. I loved the adventure, until I got cold in the middle of the night, but this was quickly solved by stealing one of the mummy bags from under Nathanael and using it for its intended purpose.
Sunday was amazing. Frankly, any day that begins with the sun coming over the mountains and a bonfire is amazing in my opinion. After a quick breakfast with the late-risers in the family, we headed off to church in our partially completed Sunday attire. By this, I mean some of us lacked a shoe, so had to go in sandals or tennis shoes instead, or wore pants under skirts. All of us smelled of camp smoke, which on top of our appearance made mom a little embarrassed. After Sacrament Meeting, we left back to the campsite and played Munchkins with the family. Those who weren't playing with us ended up playing Angry Birds on the new phones. Later that night, we had a flag burning ceremony, which was amazing for half of us, and boring for the other half. But, nonetheless, I think we all felt the spirit and pride of America at one point or another. We had to abandon the fire pit afterwards. The fumes from the flags were very nasty, and the smoke was thick and black. We had dinner, then went to bed. Mom surprised us with a mattress in the back of the car which literally filled half the trunk and two rows of seats. It was a very warm night.
Monday, Nathanael left early with Jennifer to go to work. I stayed behind to fish. We used the fish finder, but still found nothing and after a few hours had to leave to go home.
It was a fun trip, and I loved being with my family once again. I missed Elizabeth (she is in England at the moment), and Nathanael and Jennifer when they left. But I needed a break and I can think of no better way to spend it than outdoors with family around a fire. It was marvelous.
