This is the last of my camping pictures.  

Have I told you how much I love backpacking with my family??  This is only the 2nd time we've gone with our whole family.  But we get better at it each time we go.  We get stronger and complain less!

When we backpack, we walk long miles in high altitude with heavy packs.  It's hard.  

It's a lot of work to get where we are going.  It's hard work to set up camp and get water and cook.

It's muddy.  And dirty.  And buggy.

There's no cell phones, laptops, tvs, ipods, or video games.  There's no running water or toilet paper.   There's no microwaves, refrigerators, motor vehicles.  

But when we get to where we're going and we set up camp and we eat, everybody gets to hang out with each other.  My kids play games, fish, read, play in the tents and hammocks, climb rocks and logs, swim in freezing snowmelt lakes!  Those times are priceless.

If I have to encourage them to go six miles on a trail up a mountain to get that,  then I'm doing it!

Our kids know each other better.  They share with each other and help one another.

We get pretty dirty!

We saw traces of animals everywhere.   Bear and moose footprints.  THOUSANDS of piles of moose poop. We didn't see animals though.  I think our group was a little too big and noisy!

We scared the wild animals away.

I say it a lot but I'll say it again:  these are the best trips we do!!  As long as I can get my kids to go, I will keep on taking them backpacking.