Monday, July 4, 2011

Oh-So-Hot Holiday

Twice a summer we head to the woods for some hot, sticky tent-camping fun. This Fourth of July weekend we outdid ourselves! Instead of our usual destination at Elkmont (which was full because we waited too late to book), we went to the Bandy Creek Campground at Big South Fork.

Tim has hiked and camped here with buddies several times, but this was the first time our family camped here. While he was right that it was a beautiful spot (and had the luxury of showers!), it was HOT, and I mean H-O-T! And with the heat came the bugs. So, we were either enclosed in a screened environment or cooling off in the overcrowded campground pool (a scene that brought to mind the Griswald family and their "Vacation" foibles).

The two highlights of the weekend were having Grandmama along (she was a great sport in the heat!) and hiking to the Twin Arches. Below are photos from this stunning hike:

Below the boys stand under one of the huge stone arches:

You want me to go in WHERE? Tim and the boys had already entered this cave, so what choice did I have? Out of sight is not out of mind, so I braved the dark and found myself in a large cavern.

From inside the cave, I could see Seth and Reed already back outside. I decided to return the way I came rather than squeeze through this tight spot.

Unfortunately the following picture is a "before," not an "after," and we still had all of those stairs to climb to finish our journey. One foot in front of the other...


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