The beginning of an adventure

Carpenter and I have camping adventures. At least that's what I like to call them.Something always happens to question why I agreed to the trip in the first place. This last camping trip over the Victoria Day long weekend was no exception.
We were to leave on Friday at noon. Carpenter was to leave work early and pick up Gem from school. But his boss had the same idea and forced him to work the full day with the promise of Tuesday off.
I began the arduous task of washing all clothing bedding and dishes we planned to take. I found the coolers, the campfire coffee maker, the lawn chairs. I had 3 packing lists: one was stuff I packed, one was stuff I had yet to pack and the third was a list of things we needed to purchase before we left, or on the way. The last list was mostly food. Jules helped me to pack and every second she reminded me to pack the hot dogs, and marshmallows, because we all know that a campfire without those things is simply sacrilegious. After 3 boxes, suitcases, and two bags , Carpenter arrived home and we hooked up the trailer, and loaded up all the gear plus the boat, motor, life jackets, and fishing gear. I am now truly amazed at how much stuff you end up by taking camping. It is almost like packing a second household.
We woke Saturday morning at the crack of dawn and were on the road by 5 am. It was at this time that Carpenter and I discovered there are no Starbucks open in this town and surrounding areas earlier than 6:30. So we found a Tim Hortons. I was not impressed at having to settle for a English Toffee cappuccino over my favorite cinnamon Dulce Latte. I was even less impressed that the kids were hyper instead of falling back asleep for a couple of hours. And thus began our 6 hour trip into the Kootnays. We saw some amazing scenery, some fantastic wildlife and then we arrived at our destination, pictured here.

This is Whitetail lake. A very scenic spot nestled in between picturesque mountains above the little town of Canal Flats, in the heart of the Kootnays. It was a small campground with a meandering creek flowing through the camp sites and plenty of room for the kids to roam about while Carpenter started the campfire, and I searched for something warm we could make for supper. It would not have been a typical Victoria Day Long weekend without a little rain, or in this case, lots of it.
We built a big fire any way, brought out the tarps and ran back to town and quickly purchased a few more. We had them stretched over the eating and sitting area, so we could enjoy the fire without the drizzle. The girls roasted marshmallows until they were sick to their stomachs while I made up their beds in the back of the canopy(that's right, we camped in the back of the truck) and inflated the air mattress we were to sleep on. When darkness finally arrived and the temperature dropped to a balmy 5 degrees, I packed the girls off to bed and Carpenter and I huddled close to the campfire sipping on some Baileys. I was bound and determined to enjoy this weekend no matter what, because it was about to become a bit of a gong show.....