The last time our family went camping it looked a
lot different.
For starters, we were one
child fewer and eldest daughter was 6 months instead of almost 6 years old, but
hey, life can get hectic and hopefully now we’re back on track for more outdoor
adventures. Another difference was that
the last time we went camping we went with my sister-in-law and then future
brother-in-law, and there was a wealth of camping know-how between them and
husband dear. (I know that I enjoy camping—I was just never in charge of putting
up the tent or starting the fire, or well, you get the picture.) Also the last time we went camping was in the
middle of a green forest and this time we were in the middle of the rocky,
SANDY desert.
But all differences aside, we loved our last-minute
camping trip! We had been talking about
going camping here for a while and finally decided to go for it the last two
days of our holiday break. So we ran
out and grabbed all the essential things we could think of that we didn’t
already have (like sleeping bags and lighter fluid--and no, we did not use them
together) and borrowed a few more, and then we were off. Camping here is easy-going, after all this
area was largely Bedouin for centuries, so you can set up camp almost wherever
you like. Gathering wood is also easy
(easier if you have a chainsaw we discovered, but nonetheless): pick a dead
tree and go to work.
The children loved running up and down the dunes and
following little animal tracks in the sand.
They did NOT love eating crunchy/sandy
hot dogs and mac and cheese =( . But now
we know meals cooked in closed foil packets are the way to go in the evening
when the wind picks up—live and learn.
The setting was so beautiful—open but secluded. The only other people we saw were some locals
out gathering firewood (with a chainsaw =)).
The sunset and sunrise were both gorgeous and we got to watch a beautiful
orange moon rise between them. Husband
dear even saw a couple of shooting stars.
Aside from the sandy meal, and being kicked in the
face by Imp while she slept (that girl did somersaults in her sleep and still
managed to keep her sleeping bag on!), it was a great family trip, and I hope
we can go again soon.
Husband dear hard at work procuring firewood. He only had a small hand saw and was going to try to use the car to help pull the upper part of the tree down. However the rope was not very thick/strong, so in the end my man sawed through and broke the tree down all by himself. =)
