The husband, per the camping usual, did 97% of the work. Bringing 5 bikes was labor-intensive, but really worth it. I realized the term "happy camper" isn't just a general happiness to be camping, but (for me) a deliberate choice to BE happy in the midst of all the muddy, clammy, inconvenience. I really do understand why people bring RVs. But there is also something about making food on a tiny camp stove, sleeping on the ground, and that moment when I realized at 5 am that none of the flashlights in the tent work very well, it is pitch black, and one of the kids needs to go to the bathroom down the winding road, while it is drizzling, and all of the raincoats and dry shoes are in the locked van. It's this momentary extreme annoyance, but then the sun comes up and the birds really are singing, and the good seems more acutely good than it otherwise would. That is happy camping.
We (mostly the husband) packed up early Sunday morning and we drove an hour to hike Enchanted Rock. The smooth front face was a steep but fairly easy hike, then we headed down the boulder-strewn back, and things were a little precarious. The kids did great, even though Harper sustained several injuries necessitating the first aid kit, AND the husband had to fashion an emergency rope harness he had learned how to make on youtube when we got to a couple of granite drop offs too steep for the kids to climb down. I am proud to report that I did manage to get down without needing the emergency rope harness. However, it is 12:32 pm Monday, and I just took my FIFTH Advil of the day. The pain is ceaseless and it is everywhere.
That was Harper getting in the harness after the third bleeding injury, when she was straining to hold herself together. She is enormously tenacious as a general rule, but the granite was sharp and unyielding, and we were far from being finished. But this is what was behind me when I took this picture and I think it gave her courage. Isn't Texas grand??
