Tyler State Park

We got back yesterday from an adventurous weekend camping with our church family at Tyler State Park. Chris, Noah and I borrowed his parents' pop-up and hit the road Friday, arriving around 2:00 to set up camp.

We got a great spot with lots of shade... except on our trailer in the hottest part of the day. So, despite the air conditioning (trust me--it still counts as camping!), our camper was an OVEN during the time we tried to put Noah down for a nap. Joe and Kelly and their boys, Caleb and Levi, set up their tent on our site when they arrived later.

Joe and Kelly with Caleb and baby Levi

This church trip was interesting because somehow it ended up being all the younger families at NYA, instead of our usual diverse mix. We had probably more kids than adults there as a result! We spent most of the weekend in the lake, which had an amazing swimming hole that was cold, clear, and sandy.

Some of our NYA kids with water guns

Noah and Caleb enjoyed the sandy beach

The shore included a large sand area for the kids and shade trees lining the edge for the adults. There was a dock about 50 yards out from which the older kids could jump and dive. Also, near the swimming area was a great new playground that Noah enjoyed.

We even flew a kite with Noah for the first time!

We took our bikes and our new bike trailer from Drew and Jamie, which we used some but not as much as I would have liked. A little too much uphill riding for us! Saturday and Sunday mornings, breakfast was provided by a family that goes all out with the delicious thick-cut bacon, hash brown potatoes, breakfast burritos, sausage, pancakes... basically, no need to eat for the rest of the day. Sunday morning we worshiped together and were joined by some other campers from our loop.

Scott gave the lesson

Noah in church mode

 The singing is always the best when we are all together praising God. I have to say, the most fun I had was at night after the kids went to bed--Kelly and I seemed to be the last to go to bed after staying up singing, talking, and listening to some great stories.

Entertainment provided by Clay and Kevin

Saturday night we were up with Chris and Angie and Joe when we heard rustling and, upon further investigation, saw glowing eyes surrounding us. The park is overpopulated with raccoons, and those little guys know people = food. They were just patiently waiting for us to go to bed so they could feast! Of course, Kelly thought they wanted to feast on her, and was scared out of her wits by them. ("They could SCRATCH us if they think we have food!") She even thought one might be hiding in the shower in the restrooms. The last night, a park ranger trapped some raccoons for us to see (part of population control), but Kelly still wasn't convinced that the cat-sized animals wouldn't attack her. She and Lisa and some others were walking to the bathroom late that night when Kevin hid in the woods and jumped out at them. We heard the scream all the way back at our campsites. Noah and the other kids got to see the raccoons in the morning before we packed up.

Sadly, Monday we had to pack up and hit the road. I enjoyed this camping trip more than any preceding church camping trip, and that says a lot! Noah really loved playing with all his friends and experiencing God's beautiful creation. Can't wait until the next one!

To view all camping pics, click on the album below:

Memorial Day Camping