Car-Camping at Humbug Mountain

I took Aaron and Eddie car-camping to Humbug Mountain State Park for three days and two nights. We came home a day early because the boys both wanted to (and partially because I thought I was going to get the third night free, but I didn't read the fine print: the free day can't be Friday or Saturday). My goal is to ease them into outdoor adventures so when they are older they will want to go on long trips in the middle of nowhere (my preference over car-camping). Meg took Ian up to Seattle to stay with her friend Susan; maybe she'll write about her adventures here sometime.

We left around 12:30 on Wednesday afternoon, a few hours before the 100-degrees settled in. It took about 4.25 hours to drive to the state park on the southern Oregon coast (the farthest south on the coast I've been). The boys behaved for most of the drive down--Aaron read from some books and played his GameBoy, while Eddie slept and was otherwise quiet--even though they had to sit together in the back of the G20.

The campsites at Humbug Mountain are first-come, first-sever; as we approached our destination, other state campgrounds were advertising that they were full--including my back-up site in case Humbug Mountain was full. I became instantly worried (truly a rare occasion). But as we drove into the park, there were plenty of open spots, and we ended up choosing one central to everything.

The boys were very excited (and a little chilled at the thirty degree difference in temperature) and helped me set up their tent and put all their belongings inside it (I choose to sleep under the stars--most refreshing). We then took a five minute walk to the beach, where the boys enjoyed an hour or so of randomness. Afterwords I cooked spaghetti for dinner (using my "new" propane stove I bought last week), and the boys ate every last noodle. We built a fire, roasted marshmallows (I had to eat all the burned ones--and they numbered many), and then went to bed around 9:00 or 9:30. The boys claimed to have slept well, but I was awakened many times by the rumbling 18-wheelers that drove by on 101 all night long (the campsite was right next to the highway).

After sleeping in the next morning, we ate Lucky Charms for breakfast, and then packed some snacks and began our hike to the summit of Humbug Mountain. It took us about 2.5 hours to hike the three miles to the top and about 1.5 hours to make it back to our campsite. Both boys whined during much of the last hour up the mountain, but they seemed genuinely excited and proud when they reached the goal. After 30 minutes of resting and peeing and playing fetch with some other hikers' dogs, we began our descent. Eddie enthusiastically ran down the mountain for about 1.5 miles, but then became very upset and didn't want to go any farther. But after much cajoling and manipulation, we all made it back to camp without loss or injury or extended hatred for dad.

I fixed the boys a big lunch before we headed back to the beach for a very sunny afternoon and evening of non-stop action. I mostly lay on the sand, head resting on a piece of driftwood, watching the boys in action. Aaron quickly made friends with some older boys, while Eddie hung out in the background, content to do his own thing. Because of this, he tends to make "friends" with nearby adults, because they think he's lost. Three different people tried to "help" him find his mom or dad, even though I was watching him the whole time and was close enough to help him if he got into any trouble. One lady who "helped" Eddie even tried to chastise me for not watching him carefully enough:

Lady: Do you know where your son was?
Me: Yes, he was right over by that rock. What was he doing?
Lady: You need to watch your son more carefully?
Me: What was he doing that was so dangerous? I've been watching him this whole time?
Lady: You need to watch your son more carefully.
Me: Thanks for the tip, ma'am [silently to myself].

The boys weren't wearing swimming gear, but that didn't stop them from playing in the river and covering themselves with wet sand from head-to-toe. I made them take a shower back at the campground--Eddie tried to run away several times, but once the warm water hit him, he didn't want to get out. Ed and I cooked beer brats in the fire for dinner (Aaron the granarian declined--suprise!--opting for a tortilla with cream cheese). The boys toasted and ate just a couple of marshmallows before heading to bed. Aaron had trouble breathing during the night, so I had to help him take his medicine. I questioned him about this in the morning, and he swears it never happened. We exchanged at least a couple of sentences between us, so I'm amazed at how he could forget it.

Friday morning we tore down camp after breakfast and took a short little walk around the campground to stretch our legs before the long drive home. We stopped in Coos Bay for gas (the G20 got 36 mpg--it used to get 25 mpg on the highway before I fixed her up) and lunch for the boys. The boys chose Burger King, and I was going to fix myself a sandwich from leftovers in the trunk. So I pulled into the parking lot and asked if either wanted to come inside with me. Both declined. So I went inside, ordered the boys their food, and while waiting I saw a lady "helping" Eddie into the Burger King, pretty much guaranteeing me some sort of bad-dad-of-the-year award. The rest of the drive home was quiet and un-eventful.