I’ve been talking Griffin’s ear off for years about how epic of a getaway camping with my grandma is. In the summers he joined me in visiting the Pacific Northwest, we never set out on a single camping trip. Actually, I hadn’t even been since I was about 16 or 17, but the whole thing is pretty unforgettable.
To summarize what I had been telling him: there’s incredible food, breathtaking scenery, the best swimming hole on the planet, and weather you could only dream of for a summer night.
Now we both know that there’s ALSO: more stars in the Milky Way than there are pine needles on the ground, wild mushrooms and berries galore, friendly forest deer that check up on campers regularly, waterfalls around every corner, oh… and morning campfires are our favorite.
When I camped with my family in the past, I was not vegan and joined the gourmet campfire feasts of chorizo breakfast burritos, pancakes and bacon, burgers and hotdogs, pulled pork, steak dinners, etc. but of course we’ve been vegan one year now and for the first time we had to plan camping meals, plus we tried to coordinate with what everyone else was enjoying to avoid any kind of meal time separation. We didn’t want to separately cook an entirely different meal, nor did we want to avoid eating together. I’d say overall we did a pretty darn good job for our first time! Last time we camped we were within a short hiking distance of our house and only went out to sleep. Then we went to the city for brunch… so we definitely did not get the full food experience!
We’ve never really taken our dogs out for multiple days at a time, either. So that was new. I’m super happy we took them though, because they impressed the socks off of Griffin and I and they absolutely loved camping with a group. No matter where Griffin and I were at, we were not worried about our pups because there was always someone walking by the dogs’ lounging area lovin’ up our hounds. This is partly because they have perfected the absolutely pitiful puppy dog eyes, and suckered every passerby into feeling sorry for them. They also occasionally tangled their leashes up in trees [Marble] so someone would come untangle them.
Collectively they were extremely well-behaved and people friendly. Bo enjoyed multiple swims in the river with his dad, and Marble avoided getting wet at all costs. Bo also made a friend out of my Aunt’s new fur baby, Zuben! It’s been years since he’s had a friend close to his own size to play with and it was heartwarming to watch his puppy-like side come out through play. Marble has spent her entire life being sassy toward strange humans so we never put her in social situations. This trip was her first social outing in years and she loved every second of affection she got from her grandma, cousins, and aunts!
This trip was extra special because I wasn’t the person visiting from Kansas this time, having to leave my paradise after only a few days. I was the local, enjoying a visit from my family from Kansas and reminding myself I could make the short trip back whenever I wanted!
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