Fort Richardson State Park

Since last week didn't pack in quite enough activities, we topped it off with a great weekend in Fort Richardson State Park.

 

When we arrived late Friday, we learned that Saturday was a special day of World War II demonstrations and reenactments at the site of the old fort. It made for a different kind of camping trip, but still fun and interesting to do as part of our weekend. Mom and Dad had already arrived with Roxy; Chris, Noah, and I drove up with Drew, Jamie, Stephanie, and Addie; Mark and Diana arrived later that night. We set up our campers and tents and made dinner (bratwurst for us), then relaxed and watched Noah and his antics. Oh, and we had already discovered that the whole campground (with 40+ sites, all occupied) shared one bathroom, which had... wait for it... one shower. After Jamie stopped hyperventilating, we assured her that most of the camp was filled with Boy Scouts, so the odds for at least one shower were in our favor.

Me and Addie, the dog who doesn't puke in the car after 15 minutes

Saturday was beautiful and a little on the toasty side--I think we all got sunburned at the first reenactment. After a big breakfast and some down time (bike rides, etc.), we headed over the the fort to see the sights. A lot of people came out for this, and many of them dressed in period clothing--even some of the women. While walking, we came upon some decked-out American soldiers and their girlfriends up on a ridge, and Roxy started barking ferociously. I had to explain that she was part German (shepherd).

Noah in the bike trailer

Some of the group at the old hospital

One of the best parts of the WWII stuff was the weapons demonstration, topped off by a guy shooting a British 50-caliber anti-tank rifle. I had earplugs in but that was still LOUD. There were some machine guns and sub-machine guns there, as well--the guys were practically drooling. We took Noah back for lunch and his nap, and then some of us returned for the first reenactment: a battle at the end of the war in Germany. We waited a very long time for it to start, but were able to talk to some of the actors and learn a little more about what they do. Also, two firetrucks were called to be on stand-by because of the winds and burn ban--even though they were shooting blanks, we still saw muzzle flashes from the rifles.

The prisoner escapes!

A few hours later was another reenactment, this time of a 1943 battle in the Pacific. Before the battle, we took Noah around and he asked begged to "drive" the reconstructed Jeep. We looked at some of the other interesting sites, and came back in time to watch the Japanese versus the Americans with Jimmy, who drove out to spend a few hours.

Noah and the 48-state flag

The hospital

Stephanie on a bridge over nowhere

Burgers for dinner, then a rejuvenating walk/hike at dusk, where we saw several groups of deer. Noah has just gotten into some of the classic Disney movies, so after the first sighting, he was riding on Chris' back yelling, "Bambi! Where are you??" After our walk, Steph and I decided to check out the shower (singular) and enlisted Chris to bike over there with us, pulling Noah in the borrowed bicycle trailer. We actually didn't have to wait in line and were able to come out refreshed and ride back to camp by moonlight--so beautiful!

Darn, we should have brought our covered wagon!

Jamie and Drew

Addie spots Bambi, too

Sunday morning after breakfast we had an impromptu devotional and took the Lord's supper. Afterwards, Noah picked up the Bible and began "reading" to us, and then led us in a prayer. He is too funny!

We packed everything up and attempted to do some hiking, but Noah was getting grouchy and Steph spotted a snake (yeah, right), so we decided to hit the road.

Looking forward to my next camping trip in April with college girlfriends and their significant others! :)

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Fort Richardson State Park