Black Canyon Camping

We went camping at Black Canyon of the Gunnison this weekend. We were half dreading it, because we're not really into camping-- we only camp if it facilitates an alternate activity, like climbing (and even then we usually just get a hotel). But our friends were going, and we didn't want to miss out on the fun, so we went along. It turned out to be great. It was, admittedly, really hot during the day.  But the kids had a blast riding their bikes around the campground loop and having water gun fights. We went climbing in Ouray and hiked down into the canyon. And, most importantly, our kids slept. All night. In their own sleeping bags. This is a huge improvement over last year when Amelie kept us up all night, and made the whole experience so much better. We were even able to leave them in the tent and go hang out with the adults while they went to sleep.  How far we've come.

Ama riding around the campground.  This is the first time she's really shown interest in riding a bike.

Ayla & Logan

Water gun fights

Happy hour

Campground time cooking on a charcoal grill.  Only when camping does anyone have time to wait for charcoal.

Ama & mama selfie while climbing

Ladies' day hike down into the canyon

We made it to the Gunnison River at the bottom.  The guys took care of the six kids... and got some comments from other campers to the effect of "What kind of bet did you guys lose?"

Katrien pulling herself back up out of the canyon