JJ returned from a month-long Army training exercise, and what better way to celebrate his return to civilization than to go camping! Because really, after sleeping in a tent on a cot for an entire month in the Mojave Desert, coming home to a real bed is just not the same. Why not pack everything back up and sleep in another tent. For fun!

JJ is a really good sport. We’ve talked about camping for months now, and just hadn’t done it. We even bought a family-friendlier ATV to tear up the trails. I chose a campground (Iron City Campground in the San Isabel National Forest near Buena Vista, CO for those that are wondering) that was near a bunch of ATV trails and it was perfect!

Miles was still hanging out with my parents in Ohio, and truthfully, we wanted to test our own camping skills before dragging a child with us.

We rode up Tincup Pass, cooked burgers and hotdogs, heated water for noodles and coffee and oatmeal. Slept in a (rented) tent. Rode the ATV some more. Ate more noodles. Hid from a hail storm (ok, ok, we napped during it). I started and finished a book, JJ caught up on magazines… in summary it was a really great weekend for the two of us.

And so the (unofficial) start of fall is here, now being September and Miles is back and in preschool. We’re waking up to cooler mornings, and still trying to squeeze in some fun in the evenings before it gets dark.