Every August our church gathers for a huge camp out at Crooked River in eastern Oregon. Some of us go for just the weekend, some for the entire week and others even longer! This past August marked our 13th year going. We started before we had our first child. Our boys have grown to absolutely love this week spent with good friends and family swimming, frog hunting, hiking, eating and playing games. It is one of our most treasured family memories together.
Here we are getting the truck and trailer packed. This takes us all day, but thankfully the boys are at an age to help quite a bit.
We stopped in Madras at the new Sonic that opened. You order and eat outside or order from your car and the waitress brings you your food while on rollerskates! We ran into friends who stopped on their way to the campout too.
I love this view of Crooked River. Near the campground there is a lookout tower and this is the view from there. It is an amazing view of God’s creation and so peaceful. Isn’t it breathtaking?
There is a trail that leads down to the river. Here is our family just before we hiked down. We went with another family and took a bunch of youth kids with us to hike and swim in the river.
Coming back up…several of the kids chose to add a little rock climbing in as well.
The Ranch campground is fabulous! There is a nice pool that we used everyday.
This church is right next to our campground and they let us use it every year for a special Saturday service. This is one of my most favorite parts of our church campout. Fabulous music with a breathtaking view of the canyon followed by great preaching and sharing and ending with communion.
These two pictures give a small view of how much our church takes over the campground. lol
Boy #3 all smiles.
Boy #1 just weeks before starting high school.
Boy #2 chillin’ in the air conditioned trailer.
Frog hunting is probably the boys’ favorite memory of all at Crooked River. We go at night to a pond to look for bull frogs and catch little tree frogs. Aren’t they cute?
Hubby and Caden playing games. There is a Risk tournament at our trailer every year with a few of the boys plus many, many card games. The choice game this year was poker, Texas Hold ‘em. Even Caden learned to play. ( no money tho!) The cage on the table is a frog habitat. In it lives JoJo…the pet frog that Caden caught.
Our first years were spent tent camping, but one year we were able to borrow an RV from my brother-in-law and….the rest, as they say, was history! Not only did I love the convenience of a kitchen, bathroom and bed, but the air conditioning was heaven. In previous years, I would feel ill from the heat and this was the first year headache free. We were hooked and purchased our first little trailer for the following summer.
My hubby, being the handyman he is, made a few upgrades and we were able to sell it the following year for a small profit. We then purchased our current trailer….a bit newer and bigger than the last. We have used this one for the past 3 summers and hubby once again made improvements, like a new floor. It has served us well, but we are ready to go BIGGER again!
We are on the hunt for a 5th wheel now for our year long US tour. More on this story coming soon!
What about you and your family? Any favorite camping spots and memories?
Have a blessed day!
Claire
