Camping in the Catskills

We went on a two-night camping trip in the Catskill Mountains last week. We booked the most perfect campsite for summer camping with kids---boat rentals, lake swimming, remote hike-in campsites...we will definitely be returning to Little Pond Campground.

We do hope that our next stay will be free of some of the difficulties of this trip...namely RAIN. And we should probably purchase a couple more sleeping bags and a larger tent. Night 1: Suffocated under the rain shield with four wiggly bodies in a 2-man tent (translation: more like 1 1/2 person tent). Night 2: Opted out of the tight rain shield for air flow and instead fought for the 2 sleeping bags to stay dry and warm. Oh, and did I mention that we had NO food the first night because the closest grocer was closed? And we got delayed more by an electrical storm and had to set our tent up in the "lighter" rain at 9:30pm--dark. Yet we still had so much fun! We must have been desperate for some outdoor time.

The highlight of the trip for me was a 2.6 mile mother/daughter hike. My daughter hiked the whole time except for me carrying her 3 minutes through the mud on the way down! We forgot our hiking backpacks, so we didn't do any major hiking as a family. Adaline was begging to hike, so I took her for what I thought would be 15 minutes up and down the mountain. But she was a rock star. She kept saying, "I just can't stop. It's just too beautiful!" I agreed with her and we kept going--1.3 miles up the mountain. Finally I insisted on us turning around because I knew the trip down in the mud would be difficult. But she never complained the whole time. ---Now why can't I get her to walk a whine-free block from our house when I need her to??


Our camp site--fairly far away from others, lots of woods to play in, and right on the lake.
We broke the rules a little and left our kayak at our campsite overnight. The early a.m. kayaking great. We had the pond to ourselves most of the trip.
On the way home, we enjoyed a 2-day visit with our friends on vacation at a beautiful house. I had so much fun playing in the creek by the house. I could have stayed down there all day catching fish and swimming in the waterfall. It is so much fun vacationing with other families because your kids get to play together during the day and being trapped in the house at night is fun when there are others to party with.

Check out my adventurous daughter swimming towards the waterfall (she has a flotation device):
If I ever have to leave the city, send me straight to the woods with a creek and I think I'll be happy. I seem to like the extremes--urban or rural. They do have something major in common: no driving. The ideal plan for me is to live in the city and have a vacation home in the woods...ok, i know. It's only a dream...