Garden Break

Just so you know, it's been too long since I posted and WAY too long since I visited your blogs.

I suppose you think this is a pine cone;





It's not a pinecone, it's a cat toy;




Kim and I went camping over the weekend and took our new kitten, Jessie. He had a great time and stayed close to camp all day. We put him in the tent at dusk and he slept under the sleeping bag with us at night.

He isn't the first cat we've taken camping. Two previous cats were also great campers.

Vanessa, Chris and Casey all came up to enjoy the camp out. We hiked, we went to the hot springs, we sat and talked around the campfire. It was great.






























































































Chelsea came with us, of course.






The Hot Springs;



The REALLY hot pool;





























































I'm hoping we can do it again next year.

Boiling Springs

Kim and I managed to fit in one camping trip this summer and it was a lot of fun. We went to Boiling Springs with our daughter Vanessa and her boyfriend Chris.

You can see the steam off the hot springs in the early morning. Maybe that's why it's named Boiling Springs.




Here we are enjoying those hot springs.






We indulged in the usual camping activities.

Sitting around doing nothing;












































Taking some mini-hikes;















Seeing some butterflies and taking pics.

































































Smelling trees because Vanessa told us some of them smell like vanilla. (And some do!)

















For one of our dinners we made campfire meals. They were a big hit. In case you've never had them here's what you do.

Step One: Lay out some aluminum foil and put together your personal meal from a variety of foods such as potatoes, corn, peppers, onions, meats, cheese, tomatoes, etc. Add olive oil and seasonings to taste.
(I had par-boiled most of the veggies.)
















Step Two: Wrap them up nice and tight in 4 to 5 layers of foil.















Step Three: Arrange them around the campfire, turning occasionally.











Step Four: Play a few games of Blongo while they cook. (For about one hour.)

(This is a great game, especially since I could play it with one hand while still holding a glass of wine in the other.)









Then enjoy!





Great time.

Camping Finale

By trading days at work I managed to have a three day weekend......glorious! Kim and I spent it going on one last camping trip. Back to Burgdorf, of course. This time we hiked to a new lake; Loon Lake. At five miles (10 mile round trip), it was a bit longer than we're used to but we enjoyed it.

Short version:

Loon Lake -



Crashed bomber on the lake (see long version for this interesting story, or read about it here) -



Flowers -



Wine -



And of course, my long version;

Camping

With my new work schedule Kim and I managed to go camping this past week. It was great.

Short version:

Hiking.





Flowers.




































Hot Springs.




And, if you're interested, the longer version: