Camping at Clear Lake

Back in September, just after Maddie's birthday, we tried our hands at camping again.  We thought about going closer to home or closer to Mt. Hood or even in the Columbia River Gorge, but with it being last minute, many campsites were full.  We found this one on the map and decided to try it out.


This camping trip wasn't nearly as great as our first in Bend.  First off, it was much colder than we expected, especially at the campsite.  I think I've mentioned this before, but in Oregon, even in the warm sunny months, there can be a stark difference between standing in the sun versus standing in a shaded tree area.

Mt. Hood

Second of all, we got there before lunch and wanted to hike around Clear Lake after eating.  It's not much of a lake and you can't even get near the water's edge because of the thick layer of mud and muck.

So we had a bit of hang out time at the campsite, which was more primitive than the other.  No playground, no flush toilets or sinks, and the running water was not very clean to be washing our dishes.

Oh, and we forgot matches!  Luckily, the campsite director had some for us to use (but I felt like an idiot asking for some).

One positive: we brought the hammock.  At least one kid was on it almost the whole time.

We didn't many warm clothes, so we stopped at the Dollar Store for hats.  Geez, we need some practice :-)

And then we drove home on Sunday to warm sunny weather.  We laughed to ourselves because the kids probably would've been just as happy staying at home...plus it would've been 10x easier for us.  My heart screams, "but the memories"!  Then when the kids don't sleep great, it's cold, and the campsite isn't that great, my mind screams, "let's just go back home and enjoy the next couple weeks of sun before rain sets in for the next 8 months."  (...?...maybe the joke is on us...)