We met up with my college roommate Shannon (who also happens to be Chris' cousin) and her family at Desoto State Park in Northeast Alabama.
We arrived a few hours before our friends arrived, so Chris got to work setting up camp.
Confession: I'm really not the outdoorsy type. The great outdoors are really Chris' thing, so I was just along for the ride.:) Chris set up and the kids played around the campsite, while I relaxed in my chair.
Our friends, or as the kids like to call them, our cousins arrived with just a few hours of daylight left. I snapped this picture of Hank and Jack before sunset.
Not going to lie, the first night was a little rough. The temperature had dropped that weekend and we were sleeping in 30 degree weather. Brr.
Chris woke up early to get a fire going for breakfast and coffee. Must have coffee!
The favorite camp activity, besides eating of course, was breaking apart sandstone by throwing it against bigger rocks. These two stopped just long enough to let me take a picture.
While the adults got ready for the day, the kids played.
We stopped at the Little River Canyon Visitor's Center where the kids got Junior Ranger badges...
...before seeing Little River Falls.
We took the scenic drive and stopped at several overlooks with different views of the canyon.
Evan was so excited when we came to Mushroom Rock, which he had read about in his Junior Ranger guide.
Evan read that novice rock climbers like to practice climbing it, so Chris decided to give it a go.
We walked around and found a few more cool rock formations.
I was amazed at this home that was built on the edge of the canyon. Can you see it?
The views were breathtaking.
The last stop on our drive was an overlook of Grace's High Falls, Alabama's highest waterfall.
We met back up with our cousins at Jefferson's for dinner and to watch Auburn's decisive win over Georgia. War Eagle!
...It was almost enough to keep us warm during another chilly night.
We broke down our campsite the following morning and parted ways with the cousins.
We decided to visit Desoto Falls on our way out town.
Chris was in his element...
...while Evan decided that he preferred to stay as far from the edge as possible.
Desoto Falls! Chris made the whole family nervous taking this shot.
Evan decided that he was a little braver just as we were leaving.
We happened upon the Log Cabin Village in Mentone while looking for the interstate and decided to stop to do a little window shopping. It had the cutest little shops and trinkets.
So that was our camping adventure. Despite the cold nights, we had a great time and can't wait to do it again!
No comments