O'Neill Park

Back to O'Neill! And this time we were prepared! Bring on the dry camping! This trip, like so many of our other trips, was just an excuse to have a quick weekend away. We were there February 21st - 23rd, with our camping buddies. And this time around our main goal was to get out and HIKE! So, hike we did.

We spent the Saturday bumming around the site, the boys chopping wood, or playing Frisbee, while the girls read and just relaxed.

Now Sunday was our hiking day! We packed as much stuff up before heading to bed Saturday, so by the time we got back from the hike we wouldn't have too much to do. Our original plan was to take a "easy" route up the hill, and a "moderate" back down. Best laid plans and all that... We ended up taking a pretty steep trail, Live Oak Trail, up to the top of the hill. I was not prepared for this. It kicked my ass. It was not fun.

However, once we got on the flat hilltop, with a view overlooking RSM, it wasn't so bad. The whole rest of the hike was downhill, thank goodness, and it was pretty enjoyable.We did have a slight "emergency" on the way down. The Husby hurt his foot/ankle, so we stopped to have our handy-dandy emergency ready buddies take a look. They were prepared to wrap his foot, but he decided to just work through it, and take it easy heading down. The last leg of the hike, on Coyote Trail & Homestead Trail, was wonderful. It was tree covered and all green. And downhill. :-) Round trip the hike was around 4 miles. 

 

We made it!!

Things we learned on our 8th, quick, Camping Adventure:

1. Damn it! I guess we didn't pay attention to our last trip because here we go again: Hiking is tiring!! Good Golly!!
2. Sunscreen. Must apply sunscreen. On my face. MUST!!!
3. Packing up the night before is really helpful for a quicker departure the next day.
4. You can never have too much dip. You just need to remember to bring a comparable amount of Frito's.

Stay Tuned! Coming up Next: Back to Casper's for a Frederick Birthday Celebration!!

Caspers Wilderness Park!

As we make our way to all of the local campground near us, our next stop is at Caspers Wilderness Park in San Juan Capistrano. We really didn't know anything about the park, and the Husby did a little re-con before hand, and it turned out to be a great find. Sadly, they do not allow dogs into the park, which is a little disappointing. But, we really needed a get away, so we booked a site within their small section of full hook up sites. We stayed there January 17th - 19th. We weren't able to get out of work early on that Friday, nor were we allowed to have fires that night, so once we set up, we made dinner inside and went to bed.

All ready to go!

Saturday we had  hiking plans! As previously mentioned we bought me real proper hiking boots, and this was their first real adventure! ....it would turn out that my boots were really the only thing that was prepared for hiking when it came to me. Oh well, live and learn! And we did! The hike was a good 3 miles, our longest yet! And the rest of the night was spent lounging in the shade and relaxing. 

HIKING!!!

Sunset

Let there be fire!

Haha, the trailer at night

Our last night there they droped the Red Flag warning, and we were able to have a nice fire. Since it was just the two of us, and we were pretty tired from the hike, it was probably the most uneventful fire ever. Haha. We called it a night early, and went to bed.

Before we left we had spread the word around the family that, if they wanted to, they were more than welcome to stop by, see the trailer for those of hadn't, roast some hot dogs, get some nature in, or just hang out while we were there. So, our Camping Buddies stopped by before and after our hike on Saturday. And then Sunday morning they came back, this time with their Mom, the other Brother and his Girlfriend. It was a nice quite morning of hanging out and having homemade cinnamon rolls.

Things we learned on our 7th Camping Adventure:

1. Hiking is tiring!! Good Golly!!
2. We don't need a fire to enjoy camping at night. Good thing we had those DVD's in the trailer! ;-)
3. Electricity is nice after a trip without it. 
4. We missed the puppies! It adds a level of stress, but they are so worth it!

Stay Tuned! Coming up Next: Back to O'Neill!!