Howard Prairie Lake, Southern Oregon in July

     My wife, Jayne, and I have been friends with Clint and Kelli for over 14 years now. One thing I have always admired about them is their adventurous nature and the guts they have to always take their growing family along for their many excursions into the wilderness. I’ve always wanted to be a “camping family” but a number of physical and mental factors prohibited us being one for many years. (Perhaps that could be the subject of a future guest post!)
     All that changed last weekend when we finally took the plunge and took our 4 kids (ages 8 - 3 months) camping at Howard Prairie Lake in Southern Oregon. Spoiler Alert: it was a great success! It wasn’t without its trials however. Looking back on the trip, there were a few key lessons we learned that I hope will be a benefit to any readers also looking to take the plunge.

Lesson 1: Know your Gear and Know the Weather

     Prior to this trip, I thought a sleeping bag was a sleeping bag. Sure you could pay big bucks for a 2 lb goose-down bag from REI that could get you through the next ice age, but those were for serious campers. My wal-mart bags will be just fine. Besides, it’s summer time, even if they aren’t the best, they will still do the trick since the weather is warm right? WRONG!
     My first error was believing that Southern Oregon was similar to our home in Northern California. While we enjoyed the gorgeous 70 degree days by the lake, the temp plummeted to the low 40’s at night. I was just fine, as I had a good cold rated sleeping bag. Such was not the case with the rest of my family. The first night I heard my 3 year old shivering in the middle of the night; he eventually ended up squeezing in with me. My wife, the baby and the older two were equally miserable. Turns out our cheap-o bags were 55+ rated, while my bag was 25+. Essentially, the lower the number, the higher the likelihood of staying comfortable down to that temperature. Go below it though, and all bets are off! We had to drive down into town the next day and rectify that with some better bags for the family. A little bit of research on the in’s and out’s of bags and a simply view of weather.com might have saved my kids from a less than stellar first night.

Lesson 2: Bring Experienced Friends the First Time

     The principle reason as to why we chose this site was because it was a somewhat middle point between our home in Sacramento and that of our friends Justin and Erin, who live on the Oregon Coast. They were our neighbors in grad school, all of our kids are within 6 months of each other’s and they have grown to become dear friends over the years. They are also much more experienced campers than us. Besides the fact that we will find any excuse to spend some time with them, I am soooooo glad they were with us for our first
time. From the early planning stages of the trip to the execution of it, it was very nice to have their experience guide us along the way. Not to mention the fact that they had a lot of gear to boot, thereby reducing duplicity and saving me a lot of money. Justin’s knowledge of fishing, fire building, dutch oven cooking and much more reduced a lot of stress on my part, and I could pick his brain about those very subjects and get some very beneficial hands-on training. Erin’s knowledge of kid dressing, sleep arranging and little people feeding was also handy to keep the troops happy. I cannot stress enough that the first excursion should be with some friends who have done it before.

Lesson 3: Create a Narrative

     One activity we did that really paid off throughout the trip came on the first night. We were around the campfire asking the kids about their favorite part of the day. They had been down by the lake exploring and my daughter found a frog among the shoreline mud. Erin incorporated that into a story she told the kids that night. She explained that the frog had granted each of them magical powers of their choosing. The  kids were over the moon about this news! After each child chose their power, we referred back to it frequently throughout the trip. It was a great help to the parents too in order to get them excited about the next activity. If they were sluggish on a hike, we’d simply remind them to seek out the frog again and they were back in it. At another point we were in a nearby town and found a good photo spot. They kids were uncooperative however...until we asked them to show off their super power.

     They began to put that narrative in the context of every activity, which made each one all the more exciting to them. My daughter, Darcy’s, for example, was that she could block heat. As we sat around the camp fire, someone put their hand behind her and exclaimed how cold it was. Darcy’s eyes lit up. “I actually block heat Dad! I really can!”

Lesson 4: Learn Something New

     Ever since he had to watch by the river banks sans pole on our church’s annual Father/Son campout, my oldest son, Jeff, has been asking to go fishing. At first I was reluctant because of my personal lack of skill. I decided to bite the bullet however and use this trip as an opportunity to learn a new skill. Again, my friend Justin knows a lot about fishing so I leaned on his knowledge to help me get started. I’m so glad that I did! Jeff took to fishing like well...a fish to water. Whereas on day one he could hardly cast the line, by day 2 he was angling with the best of them. Now that he is a somewhat competent fisherman (aside from the occasional line tangles) we now have a new hobby that we can go and do together anytime back at home. It is my goal now to pick up or try a new outdoor hobby with each trip we take. I suggest that you do the same. You may not like everything you try but you’ll never know until you do. Next trip...Dutch Oven cooking!

Lesson 5: Let Go

     At times I am a control freak with my kids. I want to make sure they act right, eat right, be polite and on and on. Don’t touch this, clean that, eat there etc. For the first day we were at the lake, I found myself freaking out over these same things as I do at home. It caused me to lose my patience a time or two with the kids. Reflecting on the day, I realized that I just needed to let go a little bit. It is okay if the fishing pole gets tangled, if the shoes get muddy, if the dessert doesn’t turn out just right. We were camping dog gone it, just loosen up a little and let them be kids! Let them play and fall and scratch their knee. Let them be involved in meal prep and clean up, even if it takes a little longer. Let them stay up, be loud, get messy, eat too much sugar, help with the fire, ask you a ton of questions. As soon as I flipped that switch and just loosened up, EVERYONE’S trip got better. Of course some limits were set, but I didn’t let the expectations at home transfer 100% to the lake. Subsequently, I learned that I could loosen up a little bit at home as well.
     So all in all, our first trip set the stage for many more. I realize that we won’t have 100% success on every trip we take in the future, but the lessons learned from the first one have set a foundation to try our very hardest to make it so.