Camping above that very important 'above 8000 feet' level

Friday afternoon we threw a camping trip together. We went up to Dock Flat and set up camp. I was a little worried about the weather, but it turned out to be a nice afternoon and evening. I had to come back down to Heber City to pick Matt up after he got home from work at 7:00. Mark, Amanda's husband helped me and Jen, who was also husbandless on Friday, set up our tents. Matt asked me if Mark felt like he was living in some high mountain FLDS compound with all the ladies and poor Mark helping us get our little weekend homes ready! I didn't take any pictures on Friday, darn it, but here is one of the crew. Brian and Jen Rowser, Mark and Amanda Jones, and Matt and I. We also had 8 children ages 6 and younger with us.


After a wonderful evening of marshmallows we went to bed and this is what we woke up to on Saturday morning! Yes, that is Jen's dome tent weighed down with snow. Nobody slept in there thankfully. Jen is 8 months pregnant and late Friday night she decided to load her 3 boys up and sleep in their own beds. Mark's GPS said we were at 8200 or 8600 feet, I can't remember but the weather forecast must have been - SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 8000 FEET and we just didn't know it!

Here is Matt looking at our tent at 8:30 am and wondering what in the world are we going to do until it melts. The firewood situation wasn't the best. I had made Kelsey and the kids wander around for firewood on Friday but what they gathered didn't last too long. I am used to having a chainsaw available when camping so firewood is no big deal. I had a hatchet and so did Mark, that was about it. Matt made the decision that we would leave camp for the morning, go to town and get a saw and then come back and everything would be just fine since we had a stove inside our tent.

This is the Jone's pop up trailer.

We went back to camp around noon on Saturday with a little bow saw we bought at the hardware store. I was really looking for a chainsaw, but they were all over $200.00 in town and that would totally kill my Father's Day budget I had planned for Matt.

So most of Saturday afternoon was spent getting enough wood to burn in our tent that coming night and some for the big campfire. Amanda brought up some firewood they had bought at the gas station. I had always wondered who in the world buys firewood bundles at the gas station when I see it there. Now I know! I guess that ends the 'don't have a saw' issue.

Kendal loved to "tut tut" with the saw. She slowed things down a little, but I was amazed at how strong she is.

Here is Kelsey and Kendal on one 4 wheeler and Lydia and William I think on the other. It is hard to tellwho it is, the boys were playing Darth Vader with the helmet. Mark and Amanda brought 4 wheelers and the kids loved them, stationary and moving. Thanks Amanda and Mark for taking my little girls for all the rides you took them on!

Kelsey and Thomas loved the hammock. Amanda, what a great entertainment item to bring! The kids seriously played on the hammock for hours. Jen and her family came back up Saturday afternoon and most of these pictures were taken Saturday when they were still gone, sorry Jen!

Amanda braided Kelsey's hair Saturday night and she wanted to see how cute it was so she had me take a picture so she could see it. She loved her princess hairdo.

Amanda also braided Jen's hair and so Kelsey took a picture of it so Jen could see how cute her hair was too! Jen, this is the only picture I got of you beside the group picture, sorry!

Sunday morning we got up and got cleaned up so we could make it to church. Sacrament Meeting started at 1:00 and we made it to the rest of church at 2:00. It was a good try. Matt made a yummy breakfast for us. There is something about sausage in the mountains, so delicious.

Thanks friends for such a fun weekend! My friend Amanda made a cute video on her blog with some of the pictures and footage. At the very end of the video she says something like "Thanks Rowsers and Cranes for a fun weekend. Thanks to Matt Crane for teaching my Thomas a new bad word." Matt's farmer mouth seems to take over in the mountains while camping, not just on the farm. So sorry Jones!!