Not a Happy Camper

Camping together isn't all peaches n' cream. We had a great time together and really enjoyed exploring things but not without a few glitches along the way. We came back home with stories of stinging nettle, bee stings, raccoons eating a lot of our food one evening, time-outs, and a sore back (Blake threw his out and hobbled along for the last week). One of our biggest stories of the trip involved Carter. In the picture collage you can see our third place we camped was in Ashland, Oregon. We had a beautiful site overlooking Emigrant Lake. On the first day we arrived we realized we needed some flotation devices if we were going to enjoy our time at the lake. One of the devices was a floating, golden chair. We called it "the throne." Meteorologists probably could have forewarned us that it gets pretty windy in Ashland. It was warm enough to want to swim but there is quite a breeze blowing through too. One day we were at a cove that we had to drive to but it wasn't far. We used the wind to our advantage by swimming out a ways and letting the wind usher us back to the cove. The next day I realized we were right by a nice cove of our own which wouldn't have public access, with the exception of fellow campers. So we set up camp and the kids hopped right on their tubes and thrones. On this particular day the wind was blowing the other direction though. Carter was sitting like a king on the throne and wearing his arm floaties. Soon enough though he started drifting. We told the girls to get him. But the wind kept taking him beyond their reach. Blake, with his sore back, took the bright pink raft and ran into the lake after him. A man and fellow camper offered his long board to Blake but we didn't want to bother him. So off Blake went paddling his little heart out trying to stay afloat on the flimsy, pink raft. Soon our good Samaritan realized Blake was not going to reach Carter and even if he did, it would be too long of a swim back. So he set off on his long board, passed Blake up and was able to get both of them. By this time though, they had almost reached the other side of the lake. An onlooker with a boat offered them a ride back to shore, thankfully. I knew Carter was never in danger but I know it was more panicky for Blake to try to paddle to him and have him always a bit out of reach. We learned not to drift very far that day. Not after Kenna gave him a little shove a half an hour later or so and he started drifting again. Carter was never worried but he did declare after Blake dove in AGAIN to get him, "I don't want to float that far again."