First Annual ATV Rally

We've been camping three times as a family.

The first time was when we lived in Michigan and our ward had a Ward Family Campout. For the most part it was a lot of fun. But, it was June and it was still pretty dang cold at night so we kind of froze our booties off. Not to mention that in the middle of the night Aspen had an allergic reaction to... nature (I guess) and started barking like a seal and wheezing. It was pretty frightening! We had a resident doctor in the tent next to us and he suggested that we take her to the hospital for a breathing treatment. The closest hospital was in our home city - 45 minutes away! So, Geoff loaded her up and took her back home but decided to stop by our house and give her some Benadryl to see if that would help. It did! They both stayed there and slept and then came back out to the campsite to finish out the fun weekend. This was before we had cell phones and I had no idea what was going on but when he showed up the next morning back at camp I was greatly relieved.

Here's Geoff and the girls enjoying some pancakes for breakfast.

Craig Dahle and his daughter Syd.

And of course, Amber (Craig's wife). Still crazy after all these years! My friend Kim Humphreys is behind her.

The second time we went camping was in Oklahoma with my sister Terra, her husband Jeff, and their daughter Emma. I'll spare you the details and let you read all about it by clicking here. Needless to say, it wasn't that great of an experience! I swore then I would never go camping again.

Enter: New Friends in New City...

When we moved here we quickly became friends with this great little family that had also just moved here from out of state. One of the first things we learned about them was that they love to camp. Great. They invited us to go camping with them. I really like these guys so I told them that I would give it one more try. So follows our adventure:

We made arrangements to go camping a few weeks ago and Chrissy (mother/wife of this family) began to make arrangements. Unfortunately, all of the state parks that were relatively close to where we live were booked up. So, she asked if we wanted to go to this one in Oklahoma. At first I said "great!". But truthfully, I did not want to go camping in Oklahoma. Been there, done that. So I looked online and found this campsite that was not a state park but appeared to be really nice. It was called Byrd's Adventure Center. Go ahead, take a look. Sounds great. Right? So, I convinced Chrissy that camping in the Ozark mountains would be way more enjoyable than camping in the plains of Oklahoma and we were set! Except I missed one minor detail... this was listed on their calendar of events for that same weekend:

"Fall ATV Rally: Bring your ATVs and enjoy scenic trail rides, good food, and lots of fun. There will be beginner, intermediate and advanced trails. Special trails and games will be available for kids. Several dealerships will be on hand for demos. There will be a poker run for fun prizes."

Actually, I think I remember reading this but did give it much thought.

For the next 18 hours we were lulled to sleep and woken from semi-fitfull sleep by the sound of ATV motors. Instead of singing around the campfire we shouted over the humming of these great machines. Great, huh? It actually wasn't that bad and it was a good source of jokes for us. We were THE ONLY people there who did not have any ATVs. It was crazy! I think Chrissy learned her lesson: don't let the camping impaired decide where we camp!

All-in-all, it was a great time. By far the best camping experience for us. Chrissy, Mike and their 3 girls are fun and sweet as can be! Here are some pics of the very eventful weekend:

(click on collage to see these photos bigger)