As you’ll soon see, my blog is full of everything. My life is all over the place, and so my blog will follow suit! I want to use the blog to share my heart, but also document the things happening in our lives! I’ve heard time and time again that I need to “Niche Down” when it comes to photography, and the Podcasts I have been listening to have been saying the same thing. Though maybe they have a point, and I want this little blog to succeed, I also want it to be an outlet for me!
This summer we decided to take our kids (3 and 4) back-country camping. However, last year we couldn’t camp which created a little lull in our kids camping experience. We wanted to ease them (and me) back in and were looking for a good time and place to make that happen. We were heading up to the camp in Cape Breton in August, however its a camp shared with a group of families so we couldn’t “check in” on the day that we wanted to, so we decided to camp!
We found a private little camp ground next to Uisge Ban Falls. (More on that later!) Roy & Gillian own a private campground that they run just for the fun of it! They were so sweet and even surprised us with picking up marshmallows for our kiddos. It was a beautiful well kept campground that they are doing more improvements to all the time. I do have to mention that we decided to drive past a couple of the provincial campgrounds when we were in Cape Breton so we would have a better idea on where we might want to stay another time. All I have to say is that the photographers they have are geniuses. They were able to make very crowded, non sheltered, DIRECTLY ON the Cabot Trail campsites look serene. The view was beautiful but they certainly didn’t live up to the photos! I would definitely stay At the Falls Campground again. (Though when you are looking for the campground, the sign actually says Uisage Bahn Wilderness Campground. Its the same place!)
Our kiddos thrive outside and I absolutely loved being able to run free. I think that all of us would do better with more time outside! And I am a big believer that kids can do far more than we give them credit for. After watching the documentary Babies – when my Addy girl was not yet in my tummy, I decided I really wanted to give my children a little more credit. It’s challenging sometimes for sure, and I know that I don’t always practice what I preach in this one. But I am constantly amazed with how adaptable children can be when given the chance. That being said here are a few things we learned on this practice camping trip:
- Always check your camping area for wasps nests, ants or other things BEFORE you set up your tent!
- Whether of not your 3/4 years olds have ever had them before, they will somehow know you’re supposed to have marshmallows with your campfire.
- Pack light – except when it comes to spare clothes for children. Over pack on this one.
- Bring something hot to drink. We don’t drink coffee so this one was easy to overlook, but the mornings and evenings can be cool and it would have been nice to have a hot drink.
- We try to do the whole unplugged thing when camping, so it would be smart to have brought a book or two for reading before bed or in the morning. Having little outings/walks/hikes/jobs is a great idea as well, especially if your littles are used to being super busy!
