Ice Springs Campground

Our maiden voyage with our Mesa tent trailer was an adventure. We acquired the trailer last fall from my parents and have been staring at it all winter, waiting for a good weekend to take her out for a test run. We were a little nervous to get going as the trailer is quite long and is at the max of our towing capacity. My dad was in town en route back to Albuquerque from a long road trip; his advice and thoughts on hauling and trailers was super helpful! And he had the chance to visit without getting involved in a work project, which was a first. =)

Neither of us have been to the Anderson Ranch area for camping, so we set our sites there for the first trip. The week prior to the trip, I made a list, broken into categories of course, of the items we would need and took an inventory of the equipment already in the trailer (Mom left it well stocked!). Chadwick ran the Idaho Potato Half Marathon in the morning and we saddled up and left by 1:30.

Weather was lovely, the campground not too far, and we only had to make one u-turn to find the spot. It was the weekend before Memorial Day and we had the campground to ourselves. After unloading children and dog, we set to work. Darwin promptly found a deer limb and trotted into camp with his prize. After chastising him and chucking the thing, we kept about our business. Darwin brought us another limb. Process repeated. After the third limb, we started investigating and realized the campground is popular with hunters; two separate deer carcasses were nearby, limbs removed and hides remaining. It was a battle we fought all weekend!

Wildflower bouquet

Not 30 minutes after popping up the trailer, Spencer and Morgan were playing on the bed when suddenly Spencer disappeared! He had fallen between the mattress and side, which we hadn't buckled appropriately. I didn't see the fall but he must have landed head first as his little face was scraped and he hollered for quite some time, poor guy. We properly attached the siding of the sleeping area and made strict rules about how to be on the bed. It took the rest of the afternoon for my heart to slow to a normal pace and rhythm.

The weather was lovely, though cold. Dinner was leftover pizza we purchased on the way out of town topped off by s'mores around the campfire. Bedtime was....a long process. My dad got used to sleeping in his Jeep while on the road and chose that over the chaos of the trailer. Smart move. Spencer started in a pack and play and lasted about 30 minutes before hollering. Little guy was freezing, and since half of me was our of my sleeping bag trying to keep him quiet, I was freezing as well. It was the longest night ever, and why I didn't think to force him in the bag with me is something I'll never understand. Chadwick finally took him at 6:00, held him in the bag until he defrosted, and the children slept another three hours. Sunday was a cranky day for baby and me - I informed Chadwick that I was leaving that afternoon. He told me I was staying. I fumed, he fixed breakfast, Spencer fussed. The day passed well despite those things - it was mostly warm-ish, we had a lovely Sunday school lesson in the woods while the birds sang hymns, and a good nap in the afternoon.

Chadwick did Dutch oven for goulash dinner and apple cobbler for dessert. Followed again, of course, by s'mores. No one lasted too long as the sun was setting. Chadwick took Spencer and did a good job of keeping him warm. Despite the 30 degree weather in the morning, we were all in better spirits.

Morgan and Spencer love being outdoors and exploring all that nature has to offer. Mallorie alternated between love and whining about going home. We played horseshoes, went on a hike, and enjoyed the quiet. Darwin was in heaven for the most part. And Fall Creek was too high for good fly fishing.

The campground had a bathroom two sites over. On the floor was $0.16 - I saw one other camper from down the road use the women's side, and the coins never budged. I was not about to pick them up and wondered how long they had been sitting there.

Lessons learned? Keep the baby in the sleeping bag. Simple meals make for less crankiness for prep and cleanup. Don't pack so much food. Buy a battery for the trailer so we can use the heater briefly in the mornings to remove the chill. Repeat more often so we can get used to the routine.