Hardcore Outdoors

Once upon a time, Mattias and I were avid outdoorsy types.  We climbed mountains, took multi-day backpacking trips, camped in the snow, crossed rivers, encountered bears, got lost (Mattias, not me), hitch hiked... everything short of drinking our own urine in the name of survival, we did it.  We thought we were tough, hardcore even.  But let me tell you, all of that past experience was nothing compared to what we did this past weekend.  We took the boys on their first real camping trip.


Stupid me, I had romantic visions of naked Swedipino children frolicking in the forest, perfectly behaved, and totally occupied by nature's wonders.  That was what I wanted for Mother's Day- no gifts or cards of brunches at fancy places that offered free mimosas to the moms.  Nope, I chose to drive 3.5 hours to Seneca Rocks, West Virginia for a long weekend in the mountains.  The drive out was gorgeous, and both kids were perfect angels on the road.

Setting up camp

Chillin' in their camp chairs

Everytime we do something "outdoorsy" it looks like a Subaru commercial

 We got set up, started the camp fire, and tried to relax.  The boys had other plans, and proceeded to act like wild animals.

 First night's menu was grilled corn and camp fire pizzas with sausage and carmelized onions.  Mmmmmm.

 After eating we went to check out the Rocks at sunset.  Then went back for the best part of camping- s'mores.  It got to 40 degrees that night, but we all managed to stay warm and comfortable.

 Linus was behaving so poorly we just about packed up and left the next morning, but we decided to soldier on.  When you have a crazy kid, best thing you can do is tire him out.  So we took a hike around the base of Seneca Rocks.

 At this point my and Linus' attitudes started to improve, and we actually started to have fun.  Here I'm showing Linus something on a tree.

 From past experience we knew it wasn't even worth trying to get the boys to nap in the tent.  Instead, Mattias drove around for an hour on curvy, scenic roads (almost made for motorcycling) then stopped at a local cave for a tour. 

 The boys did great and behaved on the tour, which is good because there were fragile formations everywhere and endless places to slip or fall.  Magnus was more excited about the construction going on outside.

After wards we went back to camp to relax.  And the amazing thing?  We actually did relax.  The boys finally got the hang of camp life: building, exploring, and making friends with wildlife.

 Linus made an inch worm friend, and insisted on carrying him everywhere. 

 Years from now, will I look back at this camping trip as fun? Sort of, maybe.  More likely, I'll see it as a challenging, meaningful, and beautiful experience.

 Just like I look back at our past hardcore outdoor adventures.