Weather and Such

So, we (the Smitheroos) just went camping up at Yankee Meadows all last week. That's why I didn't comment or anything till now. Ferf thought it might be helpful if I let you all know what it was like up there right now.  We weren't in the exact camping spot, we were closer to the lake, so it may not be exactly the same.

Weather wise, it is gorgeous! While we were there, most of the days were warm enough to wear shorts by mid morning, but not hot. Zade wore pants the whole time and never said anything about being too hot. It did rain on us and when it rained it was a little chilly. When we left on Friday after lunch, it was overcast and about to rain and it 64 when we pulled away. Most evenings we were still in shorts till bedtime, but on the rainy days, the kids changed into pants a little earlier. Nights started out quite warm, but by the wee hours of the mornings it was in the mid 50's. Tasia was cold more of the time than anyone else, so if you have scrawny kids, bring them extra warm stuff.

There were bugs when it wasn't raining or breezy. I saw mosquitos at the lake, but not tons and they were more interested in the water than in us. Maybe because we used bug spray. Lots of flies. There were brown ones that bit. I'm not sure that bug spray is totally effective against them. Kaebri usually gets eaten alive, but with bug spray, she only got 2-3 bites. Tasia got 2-3. Zade and Derek didn't get any. I got 15 on my feet alone and 4 on the rest of my body. Maybe my flip flops stunk and attracted the bugs. :) It was the brown flies that got me but their bites are like mosquito bites--ouchy and itchy! Like I said though, we were closer to the lake and to other camps, so there may have been more where we were.

There were campfire restrictions in place. The only type of fire that could be had was stoves. I don't know if all the rain will change that, but I wouldn't count on it. Everything was still lush and beautiful and green, I think they were just being cautious.

Maybe it was because of the weather, but we didn't catch a thing at the lake. We had read that fishing was good, but we didn't see anyone catch anything and we went a few different times in different weather conditions, using all kinds of bait. Maybe it'll be better when we're there for the family camp. I would just suggest you don't plan on that for your meal! :)

We saw quite a few deer. We had one that just wouldn't leave us alone till Derek threw rocks at it. It was trying to lick off our camp chef at 11:30, then it was on our trailer at 3 am trying to get into Max's dog food. I think it was a little too used to humans. We closed up the camp chef and put everything else in the truck after that and for the other nights it stayed near, but outside the camp. We also saw the resident bald eagle of Yankee Meadows quite a few times. It landed in a dead tree right above us at the lake and just chilled there for a good long time one day! The next day, Derek and the girls watched it catch a big fish, but it dropped the fish when it landed in a tree and couldn't find it. It was really cool! Trigg, Zade and I watched it flying around on our hike around the lake. Apparently, that is bear country, but I think we're all smart enough campers to be safe and if there are deer around, there probably aren't too many bears nearby.

It's going to be so much fun! It's really beautiful and I wish we could have stayed another 4 days! Can't wait to go back and hang out with you all! See you soon!