Camping in West Virginia

We actually did something for our holiday!  Woohoo!  Last weekend my cousin Lisa-Marie, and her husband Steven stopped by for a visit on their drive home to Virginia.  While they were here, Lisa-Marie and I planned a camping trip for Labor Day Weekend.  Since they live 12 hours away I thought camping would be a good alternative to a long drive.  So we met up in West Virginia in a small town called Cunard, just outside of Fayetteville, West Virginia.  We camped near the Kanahwa River.  This was our first family camp out (minus family reunions from the past couple of years).  It was great to be with family, I love being with family, and I am so grateful to have Lisa-Marie as close as she is; closer would be nicer.  I'm also grateful that she and Steven seem to enjoy spending time with us.  I don't know that this camp out was the best experience, or that I would drive that far again for camping, but I still enjoyed my time with the family.  

We drove ALL day Saturday.  10 hours.  It should not have taken us that long, but Dustin and I suffered from a little confusion on the directions.  But we made it.  It was after dark, so there was mild confusion from the girls, but we were still able to enjoy a campfire, cook some yummy hot dogs and s'mores of course!



Sunday morning was beautiful.  We cooked up some tasty breakfast burritos and topped them off with some more s'mores. When there's a campfire going you've got to cook the marshmallows.  Then we went for a nice long hike on one of the trails. Adelynne had to walk, so I didn't know how long we'd make it.  But to my surprise she walked at least a good two miles of the trail on her own.  I think she was excited about walking Darla (Lisa-Marie's dog).  Amy rode along on Dustin's back, but she wasn't too happy about it.  She actually wanted to do some walking herself.  We let her walk for a while and explore the plants and dirt along the way.  On our walk we saw a caterpillar, a box turtle, a butterfly-I think the same one followed us along the entire hike, and some horse-back riders.  When we came to the clearings and saw the views, it seemed as if we were on some African safari.  The green trees, the thick forestry, the lushness of it all was very picturesque.  It seems that I sometimes forget that America is beautiful!  There is so much to see hear in our own country, our own "backyard."  

As we started back, Adelynne decided that she was done walking, so she mooched a ride off of daddy, mommy, and Steven. It actually made the walk back much quicker so that we weren't continuously encouraging Adelynne along.  Amy fell asleep in the backpack on our way back.



When we got back to our tents we took a break and rested for a while, or at least I did.  And as we were all getting ready for a swim in the river, it began to rain.  It rained for probably half an hour and then stopped.  So, there is one thing I dislike worse than dirt, and that is mud. Everything was muddy and soggy.  But Dustin and I decided to take the girls to the river anyway.  I figured, what did it matter? we were wet anyway.  Our swim was more of a wade in the river, but it helped to pass the time.  It wasn't long before it began to rain again.  The rest of the day we spent in the tent or the car, waiting out the rain.  Rain is wonderful until it ruins your camping trip.  But we all stuck it out.  We ended up driving to town and eating at a pizza place for dinner since we didn't want to cook in the rain and mud.  

Monday morning was spent packing up our muddy wet things and then saying goodbye.  I'm just disappointed that our camp out didn't end so well.  But it did start out great with family and food.  Although, with the lack of campfires, we still have lots of s'mores ingredients left, so if anyone is having a campfire nearby, let me know and I'll bring the goods!