Jackson Lake State Park May 15-17 2020

This was the 4th time that I have taken the kids to Jackson Lake. It is voted one of the, "Top 15 Park Beaches" and one of the best places to take young kids. We have many happy memories of this place.

It was very early in the season to go camping. We usually go in July, but we were feeling so stir crazy at home. I made a reservation on May 1st and crossed my fingers that they wouldn't cancel the reservation. Thankfully, governor Polis lifted the camping restriction 3 days before our reservation.

The night before we were supposed to leave, I got slammed with a ton of work. I was up late sending messages to parents and responding to students. Report cards are due soon and the school changed the way that things were supposed to be submitted. So, I asked Lloyd to pack the truck. He did a great job fitting everything in the back. But, we realized that a few things didn't get packed when we arrived. Problem #1 We didn't have a stove…Ok…Well, we can just heat over the open fire. Problem #2 We didn't have tent stakes….Ok…Well, we can just tie the tent down to the posts on the campsite. Problem #3 We didn't have a sleeping bag for Connor…Ugh…Maybe he can wear my swim parka to bed?!!

The weather report said that it was supposed to rain shortly after we arrived, so I cooked us all some hamburgers over the fire. Then, Lloyd and Connor took off to find a Wal Mart, while I gave a lecture to the girls about why WOMEN are smarter than MEN. HaHa!

They came back a few hours later with a sleeping bag, a stove, and some tent stakes. Thankfully, the rain held off for quite a while and we got to enjoy the campsite and scenery. The rain started after 7pm and we just played games until we got tired and went to bed.

The first night, I slept terribly because I heard what sounded like a bobcat outside of our tent. It was hissing and growling. I immediately woke Lloyd up and asked if he had his gun. It must have looked hilarious because he zipped down the windows and was pointing his gun out the window while I just kept saying, "Holy crap! Did you hear that?!" Most likely, the critter was a red fox, raccoon, or a coyote. There are no bobcats or bears. Every time we have stayed at Jackson lake, critters have opened up our locked bins and stole food from us. I would like to figure out what critter is doing this.

The next day, we had so much fun exploring the beach, playing on the hammock, making campfires, and playing games with sticks. The kids created sling shots from sticks and collected firewood for a huge bonfire.

The weather was quite warm and the beach was not crowded. The kids made many sandcastles while Lola, Lloyd and I sunbathed.

We even had a designated reading hour where we all made a good dent in the books that we were reading.

Camilla suggested that we create our own stories where one person started a story and each of us added to it. We came up with some very weird and creative stories.

We stayed up later on the second night because there wasn't any rain. It was nice to sit around the campfire and talk to each other. I just love how camping trips make you slow down and listen to each other.

Lola woke up in the night barking. When there is a critter outside, she always has a weird bark. I knew something was out there again.

Lloyd and the kids woke up before me and discovered that the critters had gone through our trash bag and spread trash everywhere. This was my fault. I usually empty the trash, but I assumed it was okay because we had no food in the trash. Whatever the critter was, it was strong enough to break off the branch of the tree.

Our last day at Jackson Lake was the warmest day of all, so the girls got in the water and swam a bit.

On the road home, we saw that the Sinclair gas station dinosaur had a mask on, with a bin that said, "Toilet Paper Donations". Ha!