Sunday, August 21, 2011

Explore: Camping at Steambock Rock!

Behold the beauty of Steamboat Rock State Park, four hours away from us in Eastern Washington. . .








I tend to love forested and mountainous landscape better than desert ones, but this is a GREAT place to camp! The campsites are big and clean, and the lake is just unbeatable. We camped for two nights, which is just about right with young kids.

Our good friends Megan, Rob, and baby Rennan came with us. It was Megan's birthday too! She made and brought her own birthday cake, and we went and saw the Grand Coulee Dam laser show! That was quite the experience, a laser show out in the middle of nowhere. Crazy and educational at the same time!

Isn't Rennan unbearably cute? I LOVE this shot I got of him! Such a photogenic little guy!

The kids had a complete ball playing in the sand. . .









And of course swimming in the wonderful lake! It's the perfect lake for small children. It's very shallow for a long way out, so the kids can splash around without going too deep. The sand under their feet is super soft, and the beach is great for playing with sand toys. Perfection! My kids would play in the water with their "floaties" all day long!






And who's the best person to have with you when you have tons of beach gear to carry? Chance, of course!

He also comes with a pretty sweet motorcycle...

Our weather was so great! 70's and 80's, with beautiful, clear nights! We had fun hanging out with the kids and friends around the campsite.



Natalie roasted her own marshmallows for the very first time! She loved it! Kirsten and Natalie both love to roast marshmallows, but they usually won't eat them gooey. They like eating regular marshmallows.

The kids slept pretty good together on a queen-sized air mattress. And we got the BEST thing for Brooke to sleep in this year. . . the KidCo PeaPod Portable Travel Bed! It was awesome to not have to lug the huge portacrib around, and Brooke slept really well in it! It has a tiny little blow-up mattress that goes inside it, and you can zip the whole thing shut. Awesome! I highly recommend it!

Lots of people don't want to camp with young kids, but we have so much fun whenever we go! No doubt that it's more difficult, but you'll create lasting memories and get some great photos to look back on. My number 1 tip is to camp near a place where your kids will have lots to do, like playing in a lake.


We actually hope to go camping one more time this year before the weather gets bad... hope we'll get to do it!

6 comments:

  1. Hi! I am a new follower from MFM! WOW - lots of amazing pictures, thanks for sharing! Blessings! http://guidinglighths.com

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  2. I like Brooke's bed. It looks comfy.
    If you want to go camping, I recommend the Columbia River Gorge. We just got back, and there are a lot of first come first serve campgrounds, so you don't need to worry about making a reservation. We made it to a campsite (Eagle Creek Campground, but there are several others) at 4pm and had no trouble finding a spot. Others who were getting there after dark were less lucky...

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  3. Hi, I'm a new follower here. Your girls are beautiful. Please check out my blog. http://www.kristy-s-place.blogspot.com/

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  4. It's funny that we would both post about the same area at around the same time. This was my post about Dry Falls, Steamboat Rock, and the Grand Coulee Dam http://stacyandoscar.blogspot.com/2011/08/dry-falls-steamboat-rock-and-grand.html

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  5. I love Steamboat Rock State Park!! We have been camping there nearly every year for the past six years! Great place, definitely my favorite place to camp of all times! Love your pics :)

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  6. Looks like so much fun! And...Brooke's portable bed looks amazing! What a great idea.

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