Canyon Life

In September we finally got to go on a little family vacation. My summers are usually my busiest time, I work a lot of kids programs at church, so we don't usually have much time to go away. We planned this trip months ago, and had a bunch of families go with us. Even my brother and his daughter came down from Sacramento for a few days. It was a fantastic time. We headed up north to Shaver Lake, which is about six hours away, seven for us because we towed the trailer. It was beyond beautiful. There's a pristine lake, giant redwood trees, and a cute little mountain town. Camping is my husbands idea of fun, he loves this stuff. Being outdoors, campfires, hiking, fishing, kayaks. Brett's in heaven. I am not the biggest fan of being dirty, but since we got a trailer, it's now fast becoming a favorite thing for me, too. Yes, I know, a trailer is totally cheating, it's not REAL camping. I just don't care. Sleeping in a tent is not my idea of fun, and it's definitely not a relaxing time for me.

On the way up to Shaver, we stopped at this little place called Bravo Farms. I was so excited, they had a petting zoo of goats, chickens and turkeys, a shooting galley, gourmet cheese made on location, local wines, lots of yummy treats and delicious food. It was a great pit stop. We were able to stretch our legs a bit and pick up some yummy items for camp. I highly recommend checking in here if you are ever in the area.

We had so many kids on this trip. And they had a BLAST. Bikes everywhere, all of them learned to kayak, swimming, hiking, scavenger hunts, movies at night on a projector, fishing, gold panning, and so much more. We seriously had the best group of people. Great time of fellowship.

On one of our excursions we went to see the giant and ancient sequoias. There's a little area a few miles away from camp that boasts of two thousand year old trees near a place called Dinkey Creek. They were huge. We climbed all over this area for quite awhile, just in awe of God's creation. There was one fallen tree that had peoples names and dates carved in it, thousands of names. The oldest one I found was from the 1940's. So cool.

I am hoping that we can do this trip again next year. Maybe with an even bigger group. Well worth the drive. I think everyone who went will remember this trip fondly.

September, 2013