Christy and I decided a few months ago that after Cadence’s birth I should take Lyric on a camping trip. We wanted to make sure she knows she is still just as special as ever, and we thought a solo trip with dad would be good for her. I finally got a break in my schedule and the heat let up, so we decided to take the trip last week.
When I asked Lyric if the idea sounded fun to her, she said she did not want to leave Story behind because she “would miss her too much”. We asked Story if she would like to go and she said yes. I figured Christy could use a break anyway.
Last Tuesday we bought a new tent- a small one for the three of us instead of the hotel we usually take- and a new bucket-potty. We had a great time at the store once we convinced Story that the bronze animals by the entrance would not hurt her.
We spent Wednesday and Thursday getting our supplies ready and building up the excitement. I took the girls to the grocery store and they got to choose the food for the trip. We ended up with a lot of junk food, some orange juice, and stuff for hamburgers- Lyric’s choice for supper.
Friday morning we loaded up in my car, which was cool because they never get to ride in my car, and we headed to Colorado Bend State Park. I had never been to the park, but I didn’t expect it to be full because it’s in the middle of nowhere, so I didn’t make reservations. The girls fell asleep 5 minutes into the trip. They woke up when we hit the ten mile long dirt road that leads into the park, and we rolled our windows down and looked at vultures and cows.
We got to the park about 2:00, and just like I thought, it was empty. Looks are deceiving. We walked up to the headquarters and told the ranger we needed a tent site. She said, “Glad you got here early, I only have one site left!”
The site we got wouldn’t have been my first choice, because it was a walk-in. We had to carry all of our stuff down a hill and about 40 yards to the site. Then we had to move the car and park about another 50 yards away. This was an awful lot of work! My helpers did not want to wait at camp while I unloaded, but couldn’t carry anything down that steep hill, so it was slow going. After about an hour, we had everything down to the site. 
I set up the girl’s chairs and they ate a snack while I pitched the tents. We put our bags, baby dolls, backpacks, books, blankets, and a few rocks and sticks in the pink tent.
Sleeping bags, pillows, and the bucket-potty went in the other tent.
We decided to walk down to the river and look at the water. On the way, we came to a nice shady spot and I thought it would be fun to sit down and take in the surroundings. When I sat down I felt the sting of grass burrs all over my rear and hands. Luckily, I sat down before the girls did, so I was the only one who got ‘poked’. Lyric pulled grass burrs out of my backside and we decided to go back to camp before someone fell down and got a body full of stickers. Lyric found a stick and proclaimed she would kill any thorns we might come across. She started calling herself “Pirate Lyric”. 
We all wanted to go hiking, so we climbed the hill and made the trek to the car. We drove through the campground with our windows rolled down and saw a few deer grazing lazily along the road. We had to turn around and drive back by them so Story could see them through her window. They both thought the deer were pretty cool- even Story, who usually doesn’t like animals of any kind. 
We got to the trail and headed out with Pirate Lyric leading the way and me carrying Story. It wasn’t long before I heard something in the bushes. It was an armadillo! Lyric was a little scared at first, but got over her fear pretty quickly and started yelling, “Hey, Armadillo!” Her voice echoed through the canyon. Story was holding on to me for dear life.
We moved on, stopping to look at tracks and scat, and to play games in the sand. We stopped at one point because Pirate Lyric wanted to play “The Rock Game”, but before she could explain the game to me and Story, I realized I was standing in a fire ant bed. Again, I was the only one affected. 
Eventually, we made it back to the car. We drove up the dirt road to a hill where my phone would work and called Mom. She informed me that the hamburger meat was still in the refrigerator. Lyric was disappointed, but I was secretly relieved that I would not be cooking. We went back to camp and ate ham sandwiches for supper. 
I built a fire and made the girls some hot chocolate. Around this time, the batteries went dead in the camera, so we didn’t get any more pictures of the trip. I took some video and we’ll try to get that uploaded soon. After a while, we put on pajamas and read books in the tent by the light of our lanterns. Because of our most recent camping experience (Davis Mountains State Park in July), Lyric was sure our camp would be invaded by skunks during the night. I assured her that that really doesn’t happen very often, and we would be safe inside our tent. The girls fell asleep before many stars were visible, so the stargazing was left to me.
We slept pretty well, but we did get a little cold at times. Lyric and I did anyway, Story didn’t wake up a single time during the night. Lyric really only woke up once. She said, “Daddy, I hear something moving around outside!” I could hear it, too, and I hoped it wasn’t a raccoon getting into our camp box, but I wasn’t worried about it enough to check it out. I told Lyric we were safe, and she fell asleep. I got up shortly after that and could see the silhouettes of deer in the moon light all around our camp. It was cold, so I made a fire. Lyric woke up not long after, and I started getting her dressed in her pants and long sleeved shirt. Story lifted up from her sleeping bag and said, “Where’s my mommy?”
Lyric and I laughed and Story started laughing, too. After they were dressed, the girls sat in their chairs by the fire and I made them some hot chocolate. They ate powdered doughnuts. They ate pop-tarts. They ate crackers. They ate Little Debbie Halloween Cakes. Lyric said, “We ate a lot for breakfast, Daddy.”
We were camped under a huge pecan tree, and Lyric decided to gather some pecans to take home to Christy, since she is the only one in our family who likes ‘em. We spent an hour or so packing up our camp and then hauled it all back up the hill to the car.
The girls were ready to see Mommy and Cadence, but we decided to go on one more hike before we left the park. Lyric wanted to go on a different trail, so we drove up the dirt road to the Windmill Trail. Again, Pirate Lyric led the way and I carried Story. Along the way, I saw some raccoon poop. I pointed it out to Lyric. She looked at it for maybe two seconds and said, “Don’t step in it.” We kept going. That turned out to be her favorite part of the whole trip.
We made it back to the car and headed for home with Lyric and Story shouting, “Goodbye trees! Goodbye deer! Goodbye park!”
The girls had a great time. As for me, it was one of the best experiences I have ever had. I don’t know if they will remember our camping trip to Colorado Bend a year from now or even a week from now, but I will remember it for the rest of my life.
Devon
I set up the girl’s chairs and they ate a snack while I pitched the tents. We put our bags, baby dolls, backpacks, books, blankets, and a few rocks and sticks in the pink tent. Sleeping bags, pillows, and the bucket-potty went in the other tent.
We decided to walk down to the river and look at the water. On the way, we came to a nice shady spot and I thought it would be fun to sit down and take in the surroundings. When I sat down I felt the sting of grass burrs all over my rear and hands. Luckily, I sat down before the girls did, so I was the only one who got ‘poked’. Lyric pulled grass burrs out of my backside and we decided to go back to camp before someone fell down and got a body full of stickers. Lyric found a stick and proclaimed she would kill any thorns we might come across. She started calling herself “Pirate Lyric”.
We all wanted to go hiking, so we climbed the hill and made the trek to the car. We drove through the campground with our windows rolled down and saw a few deer grazing lazily along the road. We had to turn around and drive back by them so Story could see them through her window. They both thought the deer were pretty cool- even Story, who usually doesn’t like animals of any kind.
We got to the trail and headed out with Pirate Lyric leading the way and me carrying Story. It wasn’t long before I heard something in the bushes. It was an armadillo! Lyric was a little scared at first, but got over her fear pretty quickly and started yelling, “Hey, Armadillo!” Her voice echoed through the canyon. Story was holding on to me for dear life.
We moved on, stopping to look at tracks and scat, and to play games in the sand. We stopped at one point because Pirate Lyric wanted to play “The Rock Game”, but before she could explain the game to me and Story, I realized I was standing in a fire ant bed. Again, I was the only one affected.
Eventually, we made it back to the car. We drove up the dirt road to a hill where my phone would work and called Mom. She informed me that the hamburger meat was still in the refrigerator. Lyric was disappointed, but I was secretly relieved that I would not be cooking. We went back to camp and ate ham sandwiches for supper.
I built a fire and made the girls some hot chocolate. Around this time, the batteries went dead in the camera, so we didn’t get any more pictures of the trip. I took some video and we’ll try to get that uploaded soon. After a while, we put on pajamas and read books in the tent by the light of our lanterns. Because of our most recent camping experience (Davis Mountains State Park in July), Lyric was sure our camp would be invaded by skunks during the night. I assured her that that really doesn’t happen very often, and we would be safe inside our tent. The girls fell asleep before many stars were visible, so the stargazing was left to me.
We slept pretty well, but we did get a little cold at times. Lyric and I did anyway, Story didn’t wake up a single time during the night. Lyric really only woke up once. She said, “Daddy, I hear something moving around outside!” I could hear it, too, and I hoped it wasn’t a raccoon getting into our camp box, but I wasn’t worried about it enough to check it out. I told Lyric we were safe, and she fell asleep. I got up shortly after that and could see the silhouettes of deer in the moon light all around our camp. It was cold, so I made a fire. Lyric woke up not long after, and I started getting her dressed in her pants and long sleeved shirt. Story lifted up from her sleeping bag and said, “Where’s my mommy?”
Lyric and I laughed and Story started laughing, too. After they were dressed, the girls sat in their chairs by the fire and I made them some hot chocolate. They ate powdered doughnuts. They ate pop-tarts. They ate crackers. They ate Little Debbie Halloween Cakes. Lyric said, “We ate a lot for breakfast, Daddy.”
We were camped under a huge pecan tree, and Lyric decided to gather some pecans to take home to Christy, since she is the only one in our family who likes ‘em. We spent an hour or so packing up our camp and then hauled it all back up the hill to the car.
The girls were ready to see Mommy and Cadence, but we decided to go on one more hike before we left the park. Lyric wanted to go on a different trail, so we drove up the dirt road to the Windmill Trail. Again, Pirate Lyric led the way and I carried Story. Along the way, I saw some raccoon poop. I pointed it out to Lyric. She looked at it for maybe two seconds and said, “Don’t step in it.” We kept going. That turned out to be her favorite part of the whole trip.
We made it back to the car and headed for home with Lyric and Story shouting, “Goodbye trees! Goodbye deer! Goodbye park!”
The girls had a great time. As for me, it was one of the best experiences I have ever had. I don’t know if they will remember our camping trip to Colorado Bend a year from now or even a week from now, but I will remember it for the rest of my life.
Devon
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