Lost River Valley Camping Trip

This weekend we had another camping adventure with friends. This time, we went to the Lost River Valley in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. And lucky for us, the Fall foliage was pre-peak and we got to see lots of the gorgeous colors of Fall in New England.

We were supposed to go up on Friday afternoon, but sadly Joe got held up in North Carolina for work and didn't make it home until late Friday so we opted to go up bright and early Saturday morning (we left at 6a). As luck would have it, it rained all night Friday and so it was better to be home in our dry house. Our friends were dry in their cabins, but we waited to the last minute to make our reservations and got a tent site instead. While our tent is supposed to be weather proof, we'd rather not test it.

Hannah was very excited to bring her guitar along (to show Matt) and carried it around for quite a while when we first got there. Hannah and Anna.
Maddie!

Sophie and Emme!
And poor Thomas who was bored and had to wait for all of us to get situated before we could go fishing!
Especially when all of the adults are just hanging out chatting...
OK, we finally made it to fishing at a nearby pond. Emme fell asleep in the car so I stayed with her while the others went ahead. By the time I got there, most of the kids were more interested in the worms than fishing. Unfortunately/fortunately, no fish were caught.
Emme's first time fishing.
The kids having a dance party for the worms! Even little Ryan wants in on the action.
After coming back to the campsite and eating lunch, most of the kids went over to the playground to play. Hannah demonstrating her new found skill of the monkey bars (she 'mastered' the skill within the first few days of school). While she already had blisters/calluses from her school monkey bars, these were wood and left her with open blisters on the palms of her hand (which proved to be quite painful the rest of the weekend).
Sophie playing on the wooden train
Hannah and Anna.
Peek a boo.
Paddle boats. They do know it's not bumper boats, right?
And then it was time for a hike. But not before a quick family photo.
We went to Flume Gorge. A mile and 1/4 walk that seemed to take forever, but was mostly really fun! Walking up. Those in front.
And those behind. There were 10 adults and 12 children total.
The scenery was just beautiful!
Exploring bear cave.
Katie and Elsie bringing up the rear!
It's a long way down!
Emme finally walked on her own for a bit...although not for long. With just a half hour early nap, she was quite tired by this time of day.


And a family photo with the view behind.
Such strong kids!
Home for a quick dinner cooked over the fire! Joe surprised the girls with head lamps for this trip. They were a hit and much needed as it got dark early and it was dark! The lights from the cabins helped but it was still dark.
The girls were so tired that they went to bed before everyone had s'mores and they didn't even care. That is a good day of camping!

In the morning, Joe made pancakes and sausages on our new camp stove and we packed up to go home. Joe and I had a work event to attend and needed to get back early (a work event that we ended up not going to because Joe was sick the entire weekend and his body had finally had enough).

Another successful camping trip! Hannah's favorite part - the monkey bars. Emme's - playing on the train. Funny how they both liked the playground as their favorite part. Joe's favorite part was cooking on the camp fire (followed by a close second to coming home to rest!!) and my favorite part was hiking the gorge.