Hiya! It has been a bit since our last update, but we have been without internet the past three weeks and still don’t have internet at our home yet. However we are hopeful to have internet by the end of the month. So right now I am sitting in our Chicago office and thinking over the past few weeks since we last updated you.
After we finished our time at Colorado State University with the Staff Conference we went camping in the Rocky Mountains with some of our friends. We camped for two days and two nights and had a blast. 5 friends, one large tent, two sets of tent poles, beautiful surroundings, and lots of rain! Here is a picture of all of us: Steve, Michael, Vanessa, Hope, and Bridget.The first day of camping began with us packing our car to the brim with food, bags, the tent and people. Some how we managed to fit all we needed into one car-- it was amazing! After we packed we bought some food for the trip and to cook on the fire that evening. We then began the hour ride up the foothills and into the mountains to find a campsite. This was actually quite a task since we didn’t know we needed to call in advance to reserve a spot. Due to bad weather, we were able to locate a campsite and attempt to get it set up for the night.
When we arrived at our campsite we began to unload and pull out the tent. As we laid out the tent and one set of poles we realized we had no idea how it was supposed to go together. So we tried a few different ways before getting it right. It took us about an hour to set up the tent.
By the end of putting up the tent this is what we were left with:And this is what our tent looked like:
It looks a bit sad and it leaked a bit when it rained, however we were very proud of our efforts. And come to find out the second night we put the tent up we used the second set of poles which turned out to be the correct set and our tent looked much better and didn’t leak as badly.
After completing the task of putting our tent up we decided we would go for a hike. So we drove up the mountain a bit farther and parked. We hiked around Bear Lake which was absolutely beautiful. We had a great time just goofing around too.
We spent about an hour at Bear Lake and then decided we should head back to camp to cook our food and start the fire. The fire was a process all in its self. It took some effort but with a little love and perseverance the guys got it going really well to their surprise.
Dinner was really good. We had hot dogs, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and of course smores! After our great meal it started to rain and so we all climbed into the tent and prepared to sleep. Little did we know that our tent would begin to leak and create a large puddle at the door of our tent. This was ok seeing as how we were sleeping on a slope and the door of our tent was down the slope from our sleeping bags. However this was interesting for sleeping purposes. WE all did sleep and awoke to sunshine and a gorgeous day.
Day two of camping we packed up our tent and belongings and drove off to find a new campground. We attempted at a couple of places but had no luck but we finally found a place called Meeker Park.. First thing we did was set up our tent which only took us ten minutes!!! Well this time we used the other set of poles which were the correct ones and we knew how they were supposed to go. After setting up our tent we headed out to lunch back in Fort Collins and then to Michaels Aunt and Uncles house for some fun on the water. We swam a little and visited with them for a few hours and then headed back up the mountain. We attempted to start a fire again for dinner but failed multiple times. So we ate a few smores for dinner and then gave up the fire and played some games inside our tent before bed.
It rained again this night but with the proper poles and flat ground we kept much drier and slept better. It was a blast and we are all looking forward to doing it again. And we are looking forward to doing a better job next time knowing that we can learn from our mistakes!
