Back at Backbone

It was a weekend of perfect weather for camping at Backbone State Park; upper 70s during the day and low of 60 at night and lots of sun. This was our first camping trip of the summer, but we're going to try to get in one or two more camping trips on decent weekends.

After picking our campsite and setting up the tent, we went down to the lake to play in the water for the day:

The water was super cold, so we weren't planning to swim, but Rose fell in. Her braces make her do that a lot. Cynthia caught the moment she hit the water. Nice timing!

We stepped on some lost toys as we were wading:

Paddle boats!

The playground near our campsite:

Later in the afternoon the Conrads drove out to hang out with us for a while. They brought the girls' 4th of July parade candy which the girls had forgotten at their house and I helped them eat it.

We played Ghost in the Graveyard after dark and then walked around and saw some deer nearby. Then we roasted marshmallows to make s'mores and went to sleep. The next morning we went hiking:

Bill the Snail!

Backbone State Park

We spent the weekend at Backbone State Park, hiking, exploring caves, and swimming. We forgot the pump for the air mattresses – d'oh! – so we had to make a quick trip to Strawberry Point to grab a DC pump that can run off of the car's power. Luckily, it worked better than our old one. The weather was perfect; warm during the day, but almost cold at night. Rose caught lots of fireflies in a bottle, although apparently their lights don't blink as much in captivity.

Lookout, Emily!

The girls were excited to have their own tent.

Got a couple phone pics of rays of sun shining through the campfire smoke.

Backbone Trail:

Some fierce weather was on its way, so we took off before it caught up to us. Posting the pictures soon...