Camping at the Metolius River

As we drive towards Central Oregon, I begin to wonder why it seems so odd to me to leave our perfectly air conditioned home with a huge costco King size mattress, a fridge full of food, a T.V., and running water---to go sleep on the ground in a tent the thickness of a piece of paper, and deny my body (and those around me) a shower for 4 days. Why? Why would normal people do such a thing? Well, Josh said he didn't remember camping (I think we pretty much didn't camp last year and he's only 4). So, that was like saying--he's never had a life. So, we packed up the van and headed out to the Metolius River campground 2 1/2 hours away. It's brett's favorite. The metolius is known for the way it originates, not from melting snow but rather from ice cold springs that come up and instantly create a huge river. I have to admit that camping on the other side of the mountains does have one good thing going for it, the smell. Over on this side you have fir trees that don't really smell unless you cut them and put them in your house at christmas. But pine trees---it's a great smell to wake up to. That and the smell of bacon and eggs on the propane stove. S'mores are another good reason for camping. This year there was an abundance of tiny, baby chipmunks that were born recently. They were the size of your thumb and zipped around the campground. They were too small to hold peanuts we had brought, so they got the sunflower seeds instead.

Flashlight trips to a stinky outhouse is a reason to stay home--but now we can all rest easier knowing that josh has camped and will remember it. Hopefully!