Camping with the Bears

This past weekend was our first camping excursion with our new, pre-owned pop-up trailer.

We went all out.

Oh yeah.

We went to Woodstock. Well technically, Mt. Tremper, but Woodstock was only minutes away.

The campground, Kenneth Wilson Campground was a whopping 35 minutes from our house. We were living dangerously folks. Real dangerously.

Actually, I kid you not.

Lowlights:
Realizing this was bear country just as we were checking in. This was a tiny detail I had completely overlooked, which is surprising, considering that tiny detail caused me to change plans last minute last year. There are over 7,000 black bears in the Catskill Mountains and when you get to the campground, like any others in the Catskills, they read you the riot act about not feeding the bears and keeping practically everything edible or drinkable locked up in your car.

Having to tell Cole not to touch the bears. We also overemphasized the fact that bears were not nice, nor were they friendly, nor were they dogs (which they tend to look like from far away). I know - way to kill his innocence. But since he's been watching a few television shows that have animals (namely bears) as central characters, I felt he needed to understand this. As we told him this he whimpered
"Oooh" like he was gravely disappointed. I felt bad - for a nano-second.

Trying to hike on the nature trail only to realize it was overgrown with poison ivy. Don't even get me started on the Poison Ivy around our campsite. And this was for reals this time, folks.

Highlights:
Getting a site right by the bathroom - again! Yay for convenience camping.  Of course this was no bueno for Keith because he had to back the pop-up trailer into an L shaped spot. Why? Because there was a giant and ancient tree in the middle of the site.

Eating our first night out at my favorite fancy Chinese restaurant, The Little Bear in Woodstock.  (We got to the campground way after dinner time), We managed to get through dinner with just a little screaming on Cole's part. Then we went back to the campground and tried to settle in for the night. I say "tried" because it had been a long rainy, day. We had gone to LI and back to visit my ailing grandmother in the hospital and then we had raced home and packed our stuff and the car in about an hour and a half. Cole had been in the car for probably 6 hours. He was definitely a trooper that day. So as we were "trying," I thought to myself, this is what we get for racing around New York with a toddler in tow in a matter of 12 hours. Eventually, after a good amount of screaming and crying Cole passed out in between Keith and I around midnight. To be more specific, his head rested on my legs and his feet rested on Keith's gut (yes, Keith got sucker kicked really hard and was, literally, not a happy camper as he fell asleep).

Waking up Saturday morning bright and early to a crystal clear sky. It was like it had never rained the day before. It was so beautiful, we went for a walk around the campground after breakfast. We visited the campground pond (not a swimming destination, but instead a home to hundreds of frogs) and had some snacks under the pavilion. We decided this would be a great place to come back to just for an afternoon.

Finding the most awesome beach in the Catskills -  Belleayre Beach  - and getting a toddler nap in on the 30 minute drive there. Cole had an awesome time eating pretzels and a Dora ice cream pop, throwing sand, sifting sand, swimming in the shallow water, all the while watching the other kids play.

Having a wonderful dinner and dessert around the campfire Saturday night to round out our most awesomely fulfilling day. Of course Cole put up a little fight when it came time to go to sleep, but it wasn't too bad. This was surprising to us considering the wild karaoke party going on several sites down from us.

Waking up late Saturday night to total and utter silence. After our experience in Vermont, it was so pleasant to know that a caretaker actually does his job and keeps the quiet.

Taking my nightly midnight trip to the bathroom and finding a deer sitting down a little ways off the path.

Coming back to the trailer and realizing that the buzzing noise I kept hearing was actually a hundred million frogs going  "Ribbit, Ribbit, Ribbit" all at the same time. It was amazing to listen to.

Being able to sleep in on Sunday morning because we slept in a pop-up (has windows you can seal up and curtains to keep more light out of our bunk). I can NEVER sleep-in when we camp in the tent. Way too bright for this light sleeper.

Not encountering a single bear. I can only hope we have the same luck on our next camping trip to Saugerties.

Pictures:

Instagram pic: Our maiden voyage

Sleep fighting at its finest

Looking purty in the woods.

Way too sunny for total happy face.

Dada and Cole on the dock of Upper Pond

Mama obsessively checking her leg for ticks.

Pretty stream by the overgrown nature trail.

My obsession with baby carriers really comes in handy sometime.

Dada kisses Cole by the stream

Climb Mt Dada!

Really? This trailer hitch is not a seat? I beg to differ.

Sand investigation at Belleayre Beach.

Helping Dada with the fire.

Cole eats a marshmallow in private. (He discovered marshmallows are only tasty when they're combined with melted chocolate).