Treehouse camping

We made family history this weekend with our first camping trip. We stayed at a cool little campground in Maryland, just off the Appalachian Trail.  

The Treehouse Camp offers a range of accommodations. With two little guys in tow and chilly October air in the forecast, we chose the more refined cottages.  We had a wood stove to stay warm, and bunk beds with mattresses to sleep on.  

When we arrived Friday afternoon, the weather was cool and windy so we went for a long walk and then cooked dinner together outside on our one-burner coleman stove.  I made bread and applesauce the day before, and we cooked up griller sausages and buttered broccoli. At night we built a roaring fire and soaked up the heat over adult conversation. 

The rain started late Friday night and didn't let up.  There were no hikes, or outdoor play, beyond the slippery jaunt down the hill and back again from our cottage to my parents' across the way.  Instead, we made art, colored, played with puzzles, made believe, napped, cooked and ate, and caught up with each other as we tended the kids, trading them back and forth. 

We had our battles with the wood-burning stove--too cold, then too hot, then cold again--keeping the fire stoked through the night was a challenge, and keeping the kids comfortable was ongoing.  Last night Roscoe and Merritt started out bundled in layers, and by 3 am I had them stripped down to their diapers, only to turn around and layer them up again in time for breakfast. Grandma and Grandpa were good sports keeping up with our early rise and kid-centered routines.  

sad to leave the fun for bed

 marshmallows at breakfast

I grew up tent camping throughout California and Arizona. I like the contrast of waking up in the morning all warm and snuggled inside my sleeping bag, feeling the sharp cold of the early air with just my face and loathing the thought of climbing out of the thermal heat and into a dewy tent. Campfires, s'mores.  Comfy clothes, and trees and dirt, and peeing in the woods.  Showers under a night sky, or no showers for three days. Breakfast and dinner fireside.  It's all good to me, and I really look forward to continuing the tradition with our kids as they grow older.