A fully loaded SUV for a camping weekend!
Two hours later we were at the ranger station
the camp grounds were just a short distances away.
James and Diane setting up their tent
the all important restroom with running water and flushing toilets!
the fire pit area
more arrivals at the campground
Ingrid is happy to be camping
first things first!
Henry shooting scenes with his high tech camera
Long and Anh setting up their tent
Mabel and Melanie are ready for the great outdoors!
A group effort helping the Hunts with their mega tent!
the first camp meal is served!
the firepit is lit!
Unfortunately, while we were at the firepit, there was a bear on the prowl back at the picnic tables. I broke a cardinal rule in the wild by leaving food out and the bear (obviously not the beanie baby version) dug into my box and took out a loaf of bread. Diane saw him and scared him off. The bear decided to he was going to devour the bread right next to my tent!! James H. tossed a rock at the furry thief and promptly recover a saliva covered loaf of bread. Needless to say, I didn't sleep to well knowing I camped out right in the middle of "Bear Country"!
despite only 3 hours of sleep / catnapping, I was up and ready to make breakfast!
Soo was up too scrabbling some yummy eggs!
more arrivals around noon time
besides biking, fishing, hiking and card playing, some of us participated in "Geocaching" (locating treasures planted by others using GPS coordinates - thanks Melanie for loaning us your GPS).
ah, the card playing from the night before continues into the day!
the biker (Brice) and fisherman (Luis) rest from their day of fun!
Our potluck dinner preparation begins; I'm grilling some Gouda filled chicken sausages.
Daniel is the wiener grill master!
Felix volunteered to be the burger taster while his lovely wife, Jo samples the fresh strawberries!
Ingrid and crew are making yummy veggies including corn on the cob and sautéed mushrooms!
Diane (when she's not standing in for the Terminator's Sarah Connor) is grilling hamburger patties.
Long, Anh and James are charbroiling and grilling assort meats
A wonderful time of al fresco dining (no pictures of us grubbing since photographers like to eat too) is followed by a group time at the firepit with entertainment by the comic team of Henry Lee and James Yan (the "Snap Game"), Karina's animal imitations, and Riley's riddles!
Camp time was too short, I was already up by 5am to get ready to head home (and to church).
Repacking the SUV for home
and capping off a wonderful camping weekend with a mega breakfast at Denny's in Brea!
Thanks James and Diane for coordinating and hosting our church camping experience!
-DB-
