Peoples State Forest Camping

Well the Camping Divas are at it again...This time we are at Peoples State Forest at Austin Hawes Campground. Our favorite campground!

We had such an awesome time....it was a record heat wave that weekend!

We kept cool though by heading down to the Farmington River which runs behind the camp sites. It is sooooooooo beautiful and Keeto loved it. We even learned he can swim!

The river is so beautiful...

Fly fishing is very popular in this area...

But we just enjoyed taking in the natural beauty

As usual the great outdoors killed my sinuses...so here I am being my own medic and steaming...of course I have a backache too hence the heating pad attached to my shoulder blades! geeeeeeeeez!

Time for the Camping Essentials Section 1) An L.L. Bean boat bag! holds tons of stuff...we use ours to put all the kitchen utensils, pots, pans etc. in.

2) Fancy pillows...that is a must for glamour camping (Glamping!). I love how the woods out the back flap look like a painting.

3) Jelly Ice pack...great to put on your neck when it's really hot or under your puppies bed to keep him cool.

4) Fire poker!!! So essential to good fire management (lol)

5)A nice plastic tablecloth...we get a new one every year...this year we got a really pretty lace one...isn't that cool it looks like lace but it's plastic!

6)A new must have LOCK N LOCK containers!!! They are the best and keep everything nice and dry when the outdoor moisture can really ruin sugar and cracker type snacks and stuff. It also kept water tight in the cooler!!!!! AWESOME that is all I can say about it.

7)and lastly a phone charger...

Games and such...we played Gin Rummy and read this Bach Flower Remedies book

Time to get cookin'

We ate so great on this one... veggie pasta, pierogies, home-fries, veggie dumplings with ginger soy sauce, veggie chicken patties on whole grain buns and of course pancakes and coffee!

AND now what's for dessert? On a hot day there is nothing better than a run into the little town for some DD! Iced and frozen coffees should do the trick! (mine was so cold I was glad to have a pair of gloves in the car to hold it with! lol)

We tried a few special camping desserts too....one was fluff and strawberries roasted over the camp fire. Mmmmmmm those were very good!

We also tried a great recipe where you take sugar cones and fill them with favorite items...we used fresh peaches, brown sugar, raisins and cinamon wrap them in tin foil and heat them over the fire.

Wild life section...we saw tons of really varying colored catepillars

Here is our camp manager ranger lady...she is so cool, very no nonsense kind of lady. She has 4 beagles that go on rounds with her in her little green truck through the campsites. They all stand along the open windows checking everything out! She has a great little set up. Her office is the cute little cabin made in the settler style and then she has a big ol' motor home she stays in...complete with flowers and a beagle flag!

Here are some random shot around the camp

This is what camping with a lot of kids looks like...

This is a lean-to site...would never stay in one of these...most hikers know that rats are known to nest in these...they know that people will be there and they want to be there, too! YIKES!

Makin poo poo's in da woods. LOL

Dirty dirty dog...

Gettin' wood...everytime I climb onto this wood pile I hear my grand daddy and maw maw saying in my ear..."Don't play on the wood pile...you can get hurt that way!"

We met a really nice elderly couple who had this super cool shaped pop up!

And so it is...another camping trip in the books.