Last Saturday, however, I totally broke character. Ross ended up not needing to work for a couple days, and there were still 3 days until I started summer school, so I said "Let's go camping!"
And about 5 hours and 2 loads of laundry later, we had the car loaded up and were headed out with only a quick stop at the gas station standing in our way. The only thing I was wishing we had was a working camera... all these shots are from our phones. (The HTC Aria if anyone is interested - they did alright for photos.)
The weather was really crappy driving over, but we had faith in the forecast for sun and mid-70s.
We arrived at Glacier View campground on Lake Wenatchee around 9pm - and it was still light enough to set up with tent without a headlamp.
The campground was nice - right on the lake shore with quite the scenic view! We liked that this campground was a bit off the path (about 4 miles on a dirt road) and quiet, with trailheads, swimming and water sports all accessible. It's too bad it was super windy and not warm enough to swim! Bonus - the vault toilets were actually pretty clean! A good deal for $14 a night.
The night was cool and windy, but we woke up to some sunny and clear blue skies!
We stopped by this adorable little grocery in Plain, WA on our way to the climbing area to pick up some ice.
Then we got to some climbing!
With the help of our trusty guide, Leavenworth Rock, we found some fun top rope routes to warm up on the first day. Then on Monday we found some routes on the easier side of the Playground. Ross led the first pitch up a simple sport route.
Then I led my first pitch ever! It was a 5.- sport route - simple, but that's a good place to start! I was a little terrified but I just had to trust my feet and I made it all the way up without taking a fall!
We decided not to attempt the final pitch as it was a 5.8 (we don't feel comfortable leading harder routes yet) but we enjoyed top roping for the rest of the day.
And the view from the climbing wall couldn't have been better!
Icicle River
After the day got too hot and the rock was burning we went back into Leavenworth for some ice cream.
This was such a treat - coffee ice cream with cookies, peanut butter, almonds and fudge.
Once we were back at camp I started on dinner - a fantastic dinner if I might say so myself! I packed half of the noodles I bought at Pike Place Market from Pappardelle's and the other necessary ingredients for an easy camp dinner!
Camp Mac'n'Cheese
8oz uncooked pasta
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp Flour
1 cup shredded cheese
1 cup milk (or powdered milk & water equivalent if you are on the trail)
spices as desired
In one pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil and cook the pasta. Carefully pour off the water once fully cooked.
In another make the simple cheesy roux (sauce). First, melt the butter, then add in the flour and mix. Then pour in the milk and stir frequently to prevent from scalding. After a few minutes, add in the cheese and spices and continue to stir until thickened.
Put the noodles in the serving bowls, then pour the cheesy roux over the noodles and enjoy!
Yummy! Love this photo Ross snapped of me... kinda.
Our other camp meals were really simple (and whatever we had around the house!)
Cereal for breakfast (milk packed in a glass juice bottle)
Granola bars and fruit for snacks
Sandwiches on my swirl rye bread for lunch
Then we enjoyed sitting by the first and watching the sunset over the mountains.
It was chilly in the gusting wind!
Though not for this Minnesotan.
On the way home Ross spotted a beautiful waterfall! It was so hard to leave behind the sun and 10-15 degree warmer weather, but I did have to come back and start summer school (which is going to be great!).
1 comments:
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has to wear my winter hat when camping in the summer!
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