We are already 3 for 3 camping this year. Aaaaand they haven't all been weather disasters (like last year). It was time to do something close for a change. Father's Day weekend was perfect to explore Bevan's old stomping grounds. He used to camp at Little Mill up American Fork Canyon as a kid, and then he worked at Timpanogos Cave before we got married. What a great tribute to Bevan! We invited Beverly and Lloyd up for dinner on Friday night. The campsite just barely opened because it was previously underwater. They still had sandbags set up and you could see how the river level was still higher than our campsite. This was a little concerning, but we shrugged it off. The hardest part was keeping the boys from playing by the river, so I sent them across the way to the steep cliff. Which is more dangerous? Steep cliff vs. rushing river? I had to focus on dinner and making sure our skewer breadsticks worked out. I got Lloyd and Bevan widdeling sticks. Pretty soon the boys got tired of risking their lives and we all ate tortellini and roasted breadsticks and marshmallows. I give this campsite 2 out of 5. We should've picked a site further from the road and river. It was so loud! The river was loud. The road was loud. The camper next to us running their generator ALL THE TIME was loud. I was ready for some quiet.
The next morning, we packed up camp and headed to the cave. It's been a long time since we've hiked the cave trail, so it was interesting to see how the kids handled the 1.5 miles of straight up. They were great and all ran ahead... for the first quarter mile. Then came the tiredness and complaining and dragging them to the top. We were all hot and sweaty by the time we got to the cave entrance. Good thing the inside of the cave felt like a refrigerator. The tour was pretty interesting and uneventful, until Tommy said he needed to go to the bathroom. I panicked. You can't pee in a cave! The ranger lady noticed my problem and handed me a wag bag. Huh, it's like she's done this before. All was good for the next 10 minutes... until Dallin also had to pee. The wag bag of shame was pretty full after that. Lesson learned. Make them go before they enter the cave. Period.
We drove home the long way, through Utah County, and stopped for ice cream. It was definitely a memorable camping trip. We learned a few things... which we will probably forget by next time. Happy Father's Day Bevan!
