Manassas Ward Campout 2023

We did a LOT of camping this summer.  Way more than I usually do.  But when my good friend Emma texted that she was back organizing the Manassas Ward campout, I couldn't say no.  This didn't happen the last couple years (ironically, it was not canceled due to Covid; the camp out happened in the fall of 2020, but then it didn't work out for Emma's family), so I HAD to go now that it was back on!

Craig was uncharacteristically unenthusiastic about the whole thing.  He'd been busy at work getting teachers and schedules and everything all ready for school to start and we're still pretty worn out from everything else we've had going on this summer.  But he knew it was important to me, so he agreed to go.  I threw together a bunch of foil dinners and even pulled Kendra out of band camp early.  Craig loaded all our usual stuff into the van and we were off!  

Each time we do this it surprises me how long it takes to get there.  Shenandoah is so close, and yet so far, especially when you have to drive through town at 5pm on a Friday.  It was slow going.  But we'd left way earlier than in years past (it helped that Craig didn't have to be at a football game like back in 2016!), so it really wasn't too bad.  The Johns family and Betsy were already there, so that was nice to get started visiting right away.  And we still had plenty of daylight when we got there to build a fire and put up our tents.  By the time the tents were up we had good enough coals to get those foil dinners cooking (and they turned out pretty good!  It helped that we also brought plenty of condiments to go on them).  Everyone also roasted hotdogs for themselves while they waited on the foil dinners.

Yup, the foil is on fire here.  But the food inside (wrapped in another layer of foil and parchment paper) was fine!

Craig and Betsy

Other people started arriving as we were eating.  Some we didn't know, but our friends the Atkinsons came, and we've met the Haights at other campouts.  So there were MORE than enough people to hang out with!

After dinner and s'mores, the kids were having the best time ever playing hide and seek in the dark until we finally chased them off to bed way too late.  Bentley and Kendra decided to sleep in hammocks, which meant Ryder, Colton and Camille had one tent to themselves, and Craig and I had the other tent.  Which was great!  No one was too crowded! 

Who decides how many people fit in these tents, anyways???  Those numbers are always ridiculously off!

And then the grown ups and big kids sat around the dying fire talking more and watching a possum come nosing around eating all the food we'd dropped.

Those things are so creepy.  And it was NOT afraid of us or our flashlights!

Next to seeing my friends, my next favorite thing about camping is getting to really see the stars at night.  There were too many trees to see a lot of the sky, but what I could see was spectacular.  (It even made up for having to get up at 3am to use the bathroom.)  The weather was chilly, but in a very refreshing sort of way.  Burrowing down into my sleeping bag was cozy and nice.

I woke up early to the kids making noise and tried unsuccessfully to shush them from my tent.  But then I guess I fell back asleep, because an hour later I heard someone announcing that breakfast was ready.  Oops-- I'd meant to actually help out!  It was nearly 8am, the latest I've ever slept while camping!

After breakfast we got a group photo:

We quickly packed up our gear and then headed off on a short hiking loop around the campsite.  It was still cool enough that the gnats weren't out.  Usually those gnats are the bane of my existence, so that was great.  

Scenic overlook where a tiny baby bunny hopped out in front of our van and a rough-looking biker dude got super excited and made heart hands at it.  Also, our clothing colors are surprisingly well-coordinated here!

These little flowers were so pretty!

Christina and Emma, some of my besties!

Large rocks are always a big hit when we hike!

We had to leave at check out time and give everyone hugs goodbye.  Plus it was getting hot and the gnats were finally appearing.  We stopped at the base of the mountains at our favorite hamburger dive for lunch, then Craig drove us all home and I nodded off as I we went through town.  Craig was happy to admit that he had really enjoyed himself-- it was nice to not being the bishop and being in charge of running everything and making sure everyone felt welcomed and greeted.  So I was glad he could have a break!  And for me, it was nice that it was such a quick trip, not multiple nights!

We got home and unloaded the van, hung the tents to dry, everyone showered, and I started laundry before I took a real nap.  That that evening I drove a van full of youth to a multi-stake dance in Waynesboro with my friend Megan.  It was fun to see the kids having such a great time together, but boy, was I tired by the end of the night!  Funniest moment of the evening was when we were just leaving the parking lot, and I noticed some sort of film on the inside of my windshield and was complaining about it to Megan.  She took one look and said, "I think that's all the hormones."  😂

Ew!  But, yeah, probably!