Cave Mountain Lake

This summer we had a great time camping with the kids.  We felt a tinge of guilt because at the end of it all, Sean and I both felt like we should have done this a long time ago.   Despite the hours spent packing, it was completely worth it.  We made it a goal to go camping one last time before the weather turned too cold.  We have met such great families with kids around the same age as ours, and one night we decided to make this last camping hurrah happen!  The problem?  Finding a campground that still had running water (in other words, working toilets.)  It's amazing how 95% of the parks shut off the water after Labor Day.  It's still warm here at that time, so we couldn't believe it was so hard to find a place.  Luckily, we found one!  We travelled 2-1/2 hours south, and camped at Cave Mountain Lake, a really great place with some beautiful places to explore.  The only snag we had was the weather!  We got there a little after dinner time on Friday, set up camp, hung out, let the kids play, and then by midnight it was pouring.  Luckily, we stayed dry, and every time I checked on the kids, their cheeks and hands were nice and toasty.  (Thanks mom for the sleeping bags!) It poured and poured.  The kids slapped on their rain boots and could have cared less.  At about 10:00, it let up, and we decided to go to the Natural Bridge, which offered incredible scenery, and a Native American village.  We were really impressed.

After that, we grabbed some pizza and headed to the caves.  They are officially the deepest caves on the East Coast.  Again, really fun, and the kids loved it.  My calves still kill from holding ramona up and down a million stairs and uneven ground.

We were in charge of making dinner on Saturday night, so I pre cooked all of the stuff needed for tinfoil dinners.  There's nothing like them!  Every minute in between meals, the kids were playing in the stream, or coming up with games, or finding caterpillars.  After dinner we roasted marshmallows and had s'mores (symphony bars=divine) and by that time kids were getting tired.  Sean and I are constantly amazed with how well our kids sleep when we camp!  We stayed up and kept warm around the campfire, and ate the leftovers from the s'mores. :) Today we left amid another rainstorm, but we were so glad we went despite the forecast!