Letchworth Camping

 Last week we camped at Letchworth State Park for FIVE nights!  We have camped a couple times this summer but this was our longest trip yet.  

When you are going to live outside for 6 days you have to bring a lot of stuff with you!  

Now that we are seasoned campers, we really have this whole thing down and our tent is SUPER cozy!

Our site was beautiful!

Claire loved her new hammock!

Oliver was so exhausted after all of that packing and unpacking that he didn't make it very long on our first night.  He was the first man down.

The next morning Mark and Oliver went fishing (which Oliver would have done the entire trip if he could) and Claire and I hung out and relaxed.  We read our books, played some games, and had some great conversations.  That is my favorite part of camping!

Then friends of our got there!  After they set up their stuff we headed out for a quick trail hike and some geocaching.  These rocks were everywhere and still have yet to check out their youtube channel.

Letchworth was just gorgeous!

The Marks were the map masters.

Grandma and Grandpa stopped up for the day to visit and came on our hike with us.  It was their friends that hid the geocaching so that made it even more fun.

Mac was the big winner!!!

We all loved reading the little notes inside and checking out the treats.  Oliver left a little rock that he wrote on that said "Oliver, 2020, year of the rona" with a sad face.

After our little hike we just hung out for a bit.  The kids painted more rocks.

And played some games.

Mark made his famous "Camping Chinese Food" for dinner. 

The kids loved their hammocks!

The second day was total success!

The next morning the boys did some more fishing!

Poor Oliver, the fished a ton and didn't catch anything!

After the boys got back from fishing, we decided to ride our bikes up to the pool.  Now if you have ever been to Letchworth you know that it is HUGE and most people would drive over there.  But our fearless leader (Mark) told us it was not that far.  5 miles UP HILL later we all finally made it to the pool!

We did make a quick stop to check out the overlook.

We were all VERY happy to finally have made it!

On the way back from the pool we took a short cut through some trails and cut our time in half and that was MUCH better.  

That night I was able to bust out my dutch oven for the first time to boil up the corn!  

I was so excited to use this thing and it is pretty much my favorite part about camping!

After a delicious sausage dinner we enjoyed some banana boats by the fire!

The next morning the kids loved the hammock, again!

Then we headed out for another hike to see the falls. 

There were just so many different  beautiful places!

Even though this guy makes me bike five miles UP hill, go for crazy long hikes, and camp in a tent I have to say that I love him for making me do all this stuff!  

My favorite people. There is  no one I would rather live in a tent with than these guys.  Even when they us Clorox wipes on their feet and leave the tent door open.

We decided to go down a VERY steep area to "get a better look" at the falls.  As you can see, we did NOT get a better look lol!  While it was still beautiful, I am not sure the climb up the hill was worth it!

These kids had a blast together!  They really are a great group of kids and we had a ton of fun!

Another rock!

After our long hike, we headed back to camp to make Nachos in the dutch oven!!!

They were absolutely amazing!!!!

Then later on we used the dutch oven again to make beef stew.  To me, camping is all about the food!!!!

Even the adults snuggled up in the hammock!

Bandit and Finn were such great dogs the whole trip.  

Oliver was madly in love with them and has been researching dogs ever since we got home.

The beef stew was delicious!  The biscuits on the top could have been smoothed around a bit more but hey, it was our first time! It was even a bit chilly out which made the meal even better!  I swear I want to use this thing at home and make this in the fall!  Thank you Amanda and Jessica for the recipe!!!

Mmmmmm!!!!

After we were all stuffed beyond belief we played some games.  I learned how to play Rummy and I will be doing some practicing before our next camping trip.

The next morning the Marks made us a delicious breakfast!

And we headed back out for another hike!

The lean to was super cool.  I love how people leave supplies there and share things.  Although, I don't know that I have the guts to actually sleep in one!

Everything in the whole park was just gorgeous!

This picture does not do the spot any justice! The drop off was sooo steep but sooo gorgeous!

On the way back to camp, we stopped to see the damn!

Then the storm rolled in! Hurricane Laura wasn't going to miss us.Thank God the Privateers have a camper!  The kids hunkered down in there and we took shelter under their awning and played some more Rummy to wait to wait it out!

With a little Fireball we made it through!

Finn was so excited when it cleared up that he was dancing on the tables lol.  The storm ended just in time for us to make some delicious pizzas, have a campfire and make smores, and hang out to enjoy our last night!

Overall, it was a great trip!  Camping is a lot of work but it is so fun to get outside and take a break for awhile.  Especially before we head back to the craziness that is going to be this school year!