Jen and I and all our kids left Friday morning to head up and find a camping spot. The plan was for Andy and Greg to drive together and meet up with us after work. We had a plan A and a plan B (should have had a plan C). Plan A was to go to Merrill Lake up in WA. Blake and Lindsay love it there, but there are no reservations, so you just never know if spots will be available. We got there around 10:30am, only to find that two jerk guys had taken 4 of the 8 campsites (for the two of them--no camp host there this year to resolve these things) and made it clear that we were not welcome there. So, we piled our kids back into our vans and attempted to find cell reception to let the guys know Merrill Lake was a no-go. We found a gas station with a tiny wifi room and were able to get a message to Greg and Andy that let them know we were heading to our Plan B spot--Lower Falls Campground.
An hour later, we made it to Lower Falls, only to find out that there were no available spots there either! A campground worker saw us circling and trying to figure out what to do, and he suggested going 2.4 miles further north to Lewis River Horse Camp. He said he'd just been there and saw three bigger sites still available. We got back in our cars and made it to Lewis River, but the people just ahead of us claimed two of the three sites. We were so frustrated and didn't know what to do. We decided the last site was big enough for both our tents. It was a spacious campground with only 9 sites. We had no idea what was nearby, if there really was a river or anything to do there, but we didn't have any other options really, so we stayed.
The kids helped us set up our tents and unload all our gear. We went on a walk to explore and were delighted to find a big creek not far from our campsite. We hiked the trails around, made our way back to our camp, and got a fire going. We played card games, had some snacks, and just relaxed for a while. About 5pm, the kids started asking when the dads would be there. Jen got out a piece of paper and wrote down the times everyone guessed they'd arrive. The earliest one was 5:45pm; the latest was 7:15pm. We figured they might encounter Friday traffic, and if they left around 4:30, it could take a little longer than two hours to get there. The guys were bringing pizza for all of us, which the kids were very much looking forward to. No one wanted to eat too much, even though they were hungry, because they knew pizza was coming.
Ken and I drove back down to Lower Falls Campground to leave a note for Greg and Andy, letting them know where we were. We made it as conspicuous as possible, attaching it to a red camp chair with the unique quilt my great grandma made draped over the back of the chair. I knew Greg would recognize the quilt right away, if he saw it. We left the chair and note right next to the camp message board, where others had left notes for people, too. No cell reception is really a pain! (We would have had to drive over an hour to get reception.) Before we left the campground, Ken and I drove around and talked with some of the people there, asking them to keep an eye out for two guys in a white Toyota Camry, looking for their families. We told them where we were and that we left a note. The camp host wasn't there, but we did our best to get the word out, then headed back to everyone else at our campsite.
Well, 6pm rolled around, then 7pm, then 7:30pm. And that's when we started to worry. We all thought of explanations and reasons for their tardiness. Maybe there was an accident, and they were stuck? Maybe they left later than they planned? Maybe the car broke down? Maybe the pizza place was super busy, and they had to wait a long time for the pizza? Maybe they were lost?
We became less and less certain that they would see our note at the other campground, so at 7:30, Jen, Aidan, and Joel drove back down to sit and wait for them. They came back half an hour later, just to check in, then Jen and Ken went back to sit and wait. At 8:45pm, Jen and Ken came back, convinced that we should pack up and head home. While they were gone, though, I had been thinking, too, and I was equally convinced that we should stay, reasoning that WE were safe where we were and that our husbands would make every effort to find us, if they were still able-bodied, no matter how long it took. If they made it to where we said we would be and didn't find us there, then THEY would worry! Jen and I chatted, away from the kids, who were all very worried as well, and decided to stay put until morning. We knew we weren't going to sleep a wink if our men didn't show up, but it was smarter to wait until daylight to pack up and leave. It was getting dark, and the roads weren't great. It wouldn't have been a safe drive. We told the kids the plan, and then at 9pm, Ken and I drove back down to the other campground to put a glow stick on our chair with the note. It was completely dark by then. I had told Jen we would wait there until 10pm, and then call it a night. Ken and I sat in silence at the entrance of the campground, getting our hopes up every time headlights appeared. At 9:45pm, we saw another set of headlights but decided it couldn't be them, because it looked more like an SUV's headlights in the dark. Well, we were wrong! It was Greg and Andy! We were so, so happy to see them. I jumped out, screamed, "You're not dead!" and kissed Greg through the rolled down window. It was a joyous reunion back at our campsite. We ate cold pizza together at 10pm and swapped stories of the day.
Turns out, the text message we'd sent the men after leaving Merrill Lake had a picture of the campground we'd planned on staying at, but the address with it was the forestry center's address, not the campground address. The forestry center was far away from the campground, so they went to the wrong place. Then they found a different address for Lower Falls, which was also the wrong one (a different "Lower Falls"), taking them past where we were in the opposite direction, adding hours to the trip. They ended up on forest service roads and going through rough terrain. They were totally frustrated. They finally headed our way after stopping at a little country store and getting the right directions. In all, they spent 6 hours trying to get to us. Not the best start to our camping venture, but it made for a good story!
The rest of our weekend was great. We got up the next morning and explored the Ape Caves and The Trail of Two Forests Interpretive Site. Pretty amazing to see the holes where trees used to be before the lava burned them up. That afternoon we walked down to the creek and found the perfect swimming hole and place to play--a beautiful spot. We had a great weekend together and made lots of memories.
