camping trip to Hidden Lake

Saturday we woke up a little early and piled into the truck headed for the Kenai Peninsula to go camping with my family. We drove about three and a half hours from Butte, to Anchorage, to Cooper Landing, to the Skilak Lake Road, finally arriving at Hidden Lake Campground around 9:45am. Cinnamon rolls in my parents camper tasted perfect and brought back a flood of memories from all our camping trips over the years. I was so glad to be there, squeezed into the little dinette, chatting with my mom, while my little sis iced the hot rolls and my dad read quietly on the couch. 

After we got our tent set up, we all went to Kenai for my dad's Geocaching event. Riggs followed my dad around calling out "gampa!" and eating all his baked beans. We took a little walk to look out over the Kenai River, where my adventurous boy kept getting so close to the edge, making me hold my breath and keep a very close eye on him.

Our little family left the event early and cozied up in the tent for a little afternoon siesta. My goodness it was hot, but it felt good to just lay in the heat and alternately stare out the window at the sky or watch Riggs play. Once he tired of playing with his cars, he read and cuddled with daddy. Seeing them together makes my heart melt, or maybe it was the heat? 

When 'gampa', 'mah-ma', and 'bek' got back, it was time for dinner around the campfire. I stayed close to the fire and smoke to keep the mosquitoes at bay, despite the heat. I also kept my sweatshirt on, hood-up and I think that helped a bit too. Riggs didn't seemed bothered at all, and played around the campsite, with his car and his ball. After dinner, there was the remote control car. Riggs was so intrigued by this, and had the best time chasing it around as grandpa drove it. 

Soon it was bedtime, and we were happy to find that the tent had cooled down enough for us to want to snuggle into our sleeping bags and get cozy. There was reading before bed, and then there was a little playing, and then there was sleep. I just love watching Riggs while he sleeps, I miss that so much from when he was in bed with us. But I don't think he misses it very much, because he really needed his own space and did not want to be snuggled up next to me for very long. Poor mama.

In the morning there were more cinnamon rolls, and talking, and laughter, and a walk down to the lake. Then we packed up and headed home. A lovely summer weekend spent with family, my favorite.