Camping Fail and Success

We decided to be spontaneous and adventurous and take the kids camping up on Mt Hood somewhere. We had nothing reserved, so it was going to be walk-up only for us. We found a great spot at McNeil Campground and had just gotten our tent set up when we got word that we were going to be evacuated due to a nearby wildfire. We were SO bummed. We could see the smoke, though, and watched the helicopter fly over and dump water. We were pretty close to the fire. We packed up and drove to a couple other nearby campgrounds, but there was nothing open, and it was getting later, so we just drove home. The kids were NOT happy, and we were disappointed, but what could we do? Our friends, the Wilsons, had planned to meet us up at the campground the next morning, so we made a Plan B. It was supposed to rain the next day, so things weren't looking so hot for our camping venture. They met us at our house early the next morning, and we ventured back up the mountain (after a stop at Joe's Donuts--decided that's where we went wrong the day before, didn't stop at Joe's!). We drove through a few campsites that were open and OK but not great, so we kept driving. We drove up and over to hwy 35 towards Hood River and found Nottingham Campground. We found an amazing site right on the river (and away from other peolple) and set up camp. The weather was beautiful. The only rain we had was a bit of a mist/spray that felt pretty good while we were exploring by the river. It was pretty windy, so we had a nice layer of dust on us and everything else, but we were just happy that our day 2 attempt was successful. Because we got there early Saturday morning, it felt like we were there longer than just one night. We all just had a great time together. Couldn't have asked for better.

We explored along the river. The kids played in the river, threw rocks, and got nice and dirty. We chatted, relaxed, and ate well. We discovered a new favorite s'more variation--lemon curd with marshmallow. Yum! It's like eating lemon meringue pie. 

The next morning we took our time packing up and enjoyed our last bit of time there and then headed on to Hood River. We walked along the water front and watched the kite borders, then spent a little time at the park near the water. Our last stop was for ice cream in Cascade Locks. A great end to a great trip.