Car Camping

Last weekend Christine and I headed up the Poudre Canyon for some time away and to do something fun for Christine's birthday. Christine's dog is old enough that long hikes aren't a good idea, but we still wanted to bring him camping with us. The solution: car camping. Car camping is fun because you easily bring luxuries like pillows, cold drinks, and really big tents. We rented a rather large tent from REI because neither of us have a tent that's big enough to hold both of us and our two large dogs. I'm really glad we didn't haul this tent backpacking; I swear it got heavier since last year's model.

We found a nice little campsite that may not have had the most level ground, but it was next to a river that provided some nice background sounds. The river also quickly proved to be too irresistible for Bucket. Within minutes of getting out of the car he was in the water chasing sticks. I hope Kuzca learns how to swim from him, because as it is right now, she only likes to wade in the water. After collecting firewood and setting up the tent (which was brand spankin' new), we settled down for some beer and Subway sandwiches (more car camping luxuries). It was really nice to be able to have a fire, because usually it's too dry around here for such activities. Makes me wish I had some marshmallows or something.

It got pretty chilly at night, and Bucket got really cold due to his fur still being a little wet. He kept Christine up most of the night, and she eventually ended up wrapping a sleeping bag around him and partially laying on him until he woke up. Kuzca also decided that she really "needed" to go out multiple times throughout the night. All in all it was a pretty restless night, but I was still glad to be there.

The next morning we broke camp and did a really short hike followed up by a riverside lunch while the dogs (mostly Bucket) fetch sticks from the water. Man, that dog just can't get enough of the water. All good things must come to an end, so we headed back to Fort Collins and finished moving Christine's stuff into my house.