And Just Where Is Hooper, Colorado?

I have 47 mosquito bites.

Oh, and then there was this:But that story will have to come later. Other than those two minor things, our camping trip in Hooper, CO, was simply wonderful!

Hooper is a little teensy town about five miles outside of the Great Sand Dunes Wilderness National Monument. And it is home to an amazing hot springs pool and campground. You can trailer camp or tent camp...we did a little of both. We called the weekend "The Great Second Annual Conlin-Simonds Camp Out at the Dunes" because something this fun requires a fabulous title. Our first summer living in Colorado we camped in Hooper with the Simonds over Labor Day weekend, celebrating Ben's birthday all together. Last summer was skipped because, quite frankly, camping along with the bugs, heat, and uncomfortable sleeping conditions that come along with it during my fifth pregnancy sounded neither fun nor desirable in any way. But this year we were back on!

And it was just as fun as we remembered it! Adam and I really enjoy spending time with Valerie and David, the parents of 7 kids; the three oldest have already graduated from high school and the four younger kids ages range from 7 to 11. It's great hearing the perspectives and experiences they have on parenting, having "been there, done that," but also still being in it. They have been great friends and neighbors to us. And their kids are a constant presence in our home during the summertime, and vice versa. Krista comes up to our house frequently just to hang out with me or play with Luke, who loves her so much he wails every time she has to go home. Our boys and theirs are constantly running amok between our two houses and a few other neighbors' homes.

We pulled into our campsite kind of late, so we had to get set up and dinner going right away. Fortunately we had planned a quick and easy meal of hot dogs over the fire. Buzzzzzz.... What's that sound?! Oh no! We were welcomed to our site by huge flocks of mosquitoes! And they were the especially nasty kind that not only make you do the slap dance and itch like crazy, but actually hurt when they bite you. We sprayed as best as we could, but those buggers were NASTY. While Valerie and I sprayed cedar oil on everyone, everything and everywhere (it smelled like a freshly-cleaned hamster cage around our camp) and got dinner prepped, Zach and Josiah tossed the Frisbee and Ben, Josh and Krista were off to the nearby pond to hunt for frogs and fish.

Ben remembered the frog hunt from two summers ago and I think that was what he was looking forward to the most this weekend! Last time we came late in the summer and all the frogs were nice and big, with just little tiny tails left. This time around they still must have been in the egg stage because the kids only found little mud fish. But that was good enough for them! Luke was SO excited about Ben and Krista's catches! He loved those little fish. One of them he loved a little too much. When he realized he had accidentally killed it he was heart-broken. I think he cried for 15 minutes!Once the tent was up and dinner was ready, the kids gathered 'round the fire to cook "spider dogs." The hot dogs were cut with "legs" so that they kind of curled when they cooked. Ewww. They were a big hit with our mostly-boy crowd! The older boys, Zach, Ben, Josh, Josiah, Micah and Ryan all had big plans to sleep sacked out in the tent in one giant pillow and blanket jumble, while the adults, Luke, Tommy and Krista (the only girl in the bunch!) were to sleep in the trailer on all the various magical beds that fold out and down from everywhere. How nice to "camp" sleeping in a bed! It feels kind of like fake camping...I'll take it! Although I did find that I had a hard time sleeping with the kids outside and away from us.
The night wouldn't have been complete without a swim in the hot springs pool, so even though we didn't get to Hooper until 7pm and had to eat dinner first, we still went swimming before going to bed. The pool is so nice and warm, it was perfect in the coolness of the evening. The kids and dads stayed for a little over an hour. I had to call it quits and take Tommy and Luke back to the trailer after about 30 minutes. The "baby" pool that ranges from 1 to 2 feet deep was like the mosquito night club, for mosquitoes who like to be out after dark. My shoulders, the only part of me sticking out of the water, were covered in bites and I was worried Tommy was going to be eaten alive. Slapping at the bugs swarming T and I made watching Luke hard to do, and he freaked out anytime his face went under water which freaked me out too, so we made a hasty exit and got ready for bed in the bug-free confines of the trailer. But the kids were having a great time!After everyone returned it was late enough that we considered forgetting s'mores for the night...YEAH RIGHT! That's the best part! Plus, it was so late that the mosquitoes had finished their twilight feasting and had retired to their buggy beds to sleep off their night of revelry and indulgence. Oh yeah, we definitely got our s'more on! Yummy. Nothing like gorging on s'mores before trying to fall asleep!
Day one had come to an end, but our camping trip had only just begun!