I feel like I’ve been gone from here for so long, but it has really only been four days. It’s funny how quickly a few days away can make it feel like I’ve been gone for much longer. We went camping over Labor Day weekend in Williams Creek, Colorado, and it was so much fun. I really enjoyed myself. It was nice to get away from the normal routine for a few days, spend time outside, and just enjoy being together.

I think I’ll go back to Friday and tell the story from the beginning.

Friday

I woke up early Friday morning, had my coffee, took a shower, and filled the pill boxes while Tommy was at therapy. Once he was done, Tommy and I started packing up the car. We were finally ready to leave the house around 11:30.

Of course, leaving for a camping trip is never as simple as just loading the car and going. Our first stop was Walmart because we needed to pick up a few things. Then we went back to the house because Tommy realized he had forgotten his cable bag. So we drove back home, picked that up, and headed out again.

Our next stop was Harbor Freight, where we picked up some batteries. Then, somewhere along the way, I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten Kel’s pillow. So, naturally, we turned around and went back to the house again. While we were there, we also picked up the pillows and Tommy’s laptop.

Finally, we were actually on our way. We headed into the city to pick up Kel from work. After picking her up, we went to Costco for lunch and then got gas. Once the car was fueled and everyone had food, we were finally headed toward Colorado.

It was a pretty long drive, but eventually we made it to Pagosa Springs. We stopped at Walmart to pick up the food we needed for dinner and then headed toward the campground at Williams Creek.

By the time we arrived at the campsite, the sun was already getting low in the sky. We had to move pretty quickly because we wanted to get everything set up before it got dark. Tommy, Kel, and I put up the tent while we also set up the canopy over the picnic table. There is something about trying to set up camp while watching the sunlight disappear that makes everything feel like a race against the clock.

Once the tent and canopy were up, Tommy made dinner. He cooked fajitas, which tasted especially good after such a long day of driving and getting everything set up. We ate, cleaned everything up, and then started getting the inside of the tent ready for the night.

We set up the cots, got our sleeping bags arranged, and finally settled down. It had been a long day, and I was ready to sleep.

Saturday

I slept for a while, but I didn’t sleep particularly well. We didn’t bring our CPAPs, so I kept waking up throughout the night. Even though my sleep wasn’t great, I actually felt pretty rested when I got up.

Tommy and Kel were already awake before me. Once I got dressed and came out of the tent, we had breakfast. Tommy made biscuits and gravy, and he cooked the biscuits in the Dutch oven over the fire. They came out so good!

After breakfast, Tommy and I went into town to Walmart to pick up a couple of things. It was about an hour drive from the campsite to town, so going anywhere was definitely an undertaking. While we were there, I was able to text the girls because I had a cell signal. We didn’t have any cell service back at the campsite, so it was nice to have a chance to check in with them.

Kel took a nap while Tommy and I were in town. After we got back to the campsite, we had lunch and then relaxed for a little while.

After lunch, Tommy and I decided to go on a hike. The hike turned into something of a quest for me. Tommy had told me that there was a meadow a little over two miles away, and I really wanted to make it there. So I had this goal in my head: get to the meadow. We started walking up the trail, and it was beautiful. Being surrounded by the trees and mountains made the whole thing feel like we were on an adventure. I kept thinking about reaching the meadow, almost like it was some destination at the end of a quest.

After a few hours and almost two miles of hiking, though, we realized what time it was. We still had to get back down the mountain, and we didn’t want to be out on the trail too late. So we decided it was time to turn around. We didn’t make it to the meadow, but that was ok.

I think we made it back down the mountain faster than we went up it! By the time we reached the beginning of the trail, it was around 5:00. We then headed back toward the campsite. Before going back to our site, we stopped by the campground host to get some firewood. We knew we wanted to have a fire that night, so we picked up some wood and headed back.

Once we were at the campsite, Tommy made cowboy chili for dinner. It was really good and definitely hit the spot after our hike. After dinner, we built a fire and made s’mores. That was probably one of my favorite parts of the evening. The fire, the cool mountain air, the darkness, and the quiet all made it feel like we were really away from everything.

Kel went to bed after the s’mores, but Tommy and I stayed up for a while longer. We sat around the fire until it eventually burned down and went out. Then we headed into the tent and went to bed.

Sunday

Once again, I was the last one awake.

Tommy and Kel were already up when I finally got dressed and came out of the tent. We had breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. I really liked having breakfast outside in the morning. It was peaceful, and it felt like we had nowhere we needed to rush off to.

I also really liked that the bathrooms were close by. They weren’t too close to the campsite, which was nice, but they were close enough that it was an easy walk whenever I needed to use them.

After breakfast, I got my Kindle and settled down to read. I was reading The Paris Match, and I really enjoyed it. It was a nice romance, and I especially liked the way the author built up the city of Paris. The setting felt very real to me. It actually felt like the characters were there in Paris rather than simply being in a story that happened to be set there.

The one thing I found a little strange was that the entire book was written in third person. I understand why the author chose to do it that way, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had been written in first person. I think being inside the characters’ heads more would have made the story feel even more personal.

I had finished The Girls of Atomic City during the car ride up to our campsite. I really liked that book too. The author clearly did a lot of research. She interviewed a lot of people, and she included information from those interviews throughout the book. I also really enjoyed the pictures that the author included at the end. I always like it when nonfiction books include photographs because it makes the people and events feel more real.

Tommy was reading Dungeon Crawler Carl, which is a book I want to read too. We share our books on Kindle, but because we didn’t have internet at the campsite, I couldn’t sync his Kindle library and start reading it. I was a little disappointed about that. So, when I got home on Monday, I synced our Kindle libraries.

Kel took a nap while I was reading. Tommy took a nap too before he started reading. I probably would have taken a nap myself if it weren’t for my Ritalin. It was definitely the kind of afternoon where everyone was tired and comfortable enough to sleep.

We had lunch and then hung around the campsite for an hour or so. It was nice to have a lazy afternoon with nowhere particular to be.

Eventually, though, we headed into town. Tommy was doing his fantasy football draft at the local McDonald’s. Unfortunately, the McDonald’s didn’t have Wi-Fi, so I think he ended up having to use the hotspot on his phone. While Tommy worked on his fantasy football draft, Kel and I went over to Walmart. We walked around for a while and got a drink.

After Tommy finished his draft, we picked him up and went to the grocery store to get dinner. Tommy wasn’t completely sure about the meat we had bought earlier because it had been sitting in the ice chest. So instead of taking any chances, he bought steaks. We brought them back to the campsite and had steak for dinner.

After dinner, Tommy made blackberry cobbler over the fire in the Dutch oven. It was very good. There is something about having dessert cooked over a campfire that makes it feel extra special. Maybe it’s because you’re eating it outside, or maybe because everything tastes better when you’ve spent the whole day camping. Either way, the blackberry cobbler was a perfect end to dinner.

After dessert, Kel went to bed while Tommy and I stayed up again.

Monday

Monday morning was our last morning at Williams Creek. And, once again, I was the last one up. I got dressed and came out of the tent, and we had breakfast. We ate bacon and eggs along with some of the leftover blackberry cobbler. It was a pretty good breakfast for our last morning at camp.

After breakfast, we started taking everything down. The tent, canopy, cots, sleeping bags, and everything else that had seemed so simple to set up (well, except for the cots. Those were annoying to set up. The tent was only mildly annoying to set up) now had to be packed away. Tommy packed up the car while Kel and I walked the trash down to the dumpster.

The tent was surprisingly easy to take down and put away. I was actually surprised that we managed to fit it back into its bag. I was also happy that everything went smoothly with putting the canopy, cots, and sleeping bags back into their respective bags.

Once everything was packed, we walked around the campsite and made sure we hadn’t left anything behind. I always like doing that final check because I would hate to leave something behind in the woods.

We finally got into the car and headed back into town. We stopped at McDonald’s for lunch before beginning the drive home. The drive back was actually pretty nice. Both Tommy and Kel drove. They didn’t want me to drive. With my eyesight, no one really wants me driving anymore. Since I’m not crazy about driving anyway, I really don’t mind. It’s actually nice not having to worry about it.

We stopped at the state line and took some pictures before continuing home. I think we got home around 4:00, although I don’t quite remember exactly. By that point, everyone was tired and ready to be home.

Chris and Karissa helped us unpack the car. Karissa washed all the camp dishes we had used. We had washed them at the campsite, but we wanted to make sure they were really clean before putting them away. She also put away the food. Chris unpacked much of the car, while Kel went and started working on her homework.

Tommy and I put things away in the garage, and then we went into the office to relax. We were all so tired that we decided not to do arm day for our weightlifting. And that’s okay. We had just spent four days camping, hiking, driving, cooking, setting things up, taking them down, and generally being busy. We needed a break. Sometimes skipping a workout because you genuinely need the rest is the right thing to do.

Tuesday

Today is Tuesday, and we’re back to our normal routine. Honestly, it was nice to get back to the routine. I really enjoyed the camping trip, but something is comforting about getting back home and doing the familiar things again.

I showered after Tommy left for work. Kel stayed until about 10:00 because she didn’t have to be at work until 11:00. After she left for work, I started studying. I walked down to the mailbox before lunch to get the mail, then came back and had lunch. After lunch, I went back to studying.

I also did laundry because most of our clothes smelled like smoke from the campfire. Everything we wore seemed to have absorbed the smell of the fire. I actually didn’t mind it too much because it reminded me of the camping trip, but eventually the clothes needed to be washed.

I did okay with studying today. I did have some trouble staying focused because I kept thinking about what I wanted to write in my journal. I would be reading, and then suddenly my mind would wander off because I was thinking about something from the camping trip that I wanted to remember. A few times I realized I had completely lost track of what I was reading. I didn’t really have much else to do today.

The girls had a few things they needed to take care of besides their homework. That’s probably one of the harder parts about letting them do more things on their own, like calling the school or calling the doctor. I can’t always do those things myself anymore, so I have to rely on them to make the calls and take care of things. The difficult part is that I can’t just do it myself when something doesn’t get done. I have to keep reminding them and hoping they remember.

I hate feeling like I’m constantly bugging them about things, but these are things that need to get done. I know they’re capable of doing them, and I want them to learn to handle these things themselves. At the same time, it’s hard for me to let go and not worry about whether something is going to fall through the cracks.

I guess that’s part of the adjustment for me… learning when to remind them, when to step back, and when to trust them to take care of things.

For today, though, I’m glad to be home, back in my routine, and still thinking about our camping trip. It was a really good weekend. I had a lot of fun, and I’m already thinking that I would like to go back to Williams Creek someday. Four days away somehow felt like much longer, but in a good way.

We’re doing weights today. I forget if we are doing full body or if it’s leg day. I guess I will find out tonight.

So, on the topic of books… and movies. Hollywood is apparently out of ideas, so they’re adapting every book they can get their hands on. There are over 20 movies coming out that are based on books, and quite a few of Emily Henry’s books are being adapted for Netflix, too.

I’m not sure whether I should be excited about having so many things to watch or just laugh and go back to reading the books. But I do actually like it when a book is adapted into a movie because it’s almost like getting to relive the story all over again. If they do it well, that is.

Tommy just called. We are going to the store, assuming for dinner stuff, when he gets home. I wonder what we should have for dinner? Something that is pretty quick since it’s pretty late in the afternoon. And we don’t want to eat dinner that late.

I should probably post this now since I will be making dinner when I get home.