Firewood, Tents, and a Moose

Kendra and I LOVE to go camping. Of course, once Addison was on the way, camping became a thing of the past. By the time the winter snow had melted, and we could camp again, Kendra was uncomfortably pregnant. So we hung up the hiking shoes for the year and focused on raising our new baby.

10 months later, we were ready to embark on our first overnight camping trip! We chose this weekend so we could spend three nights at our favorite New Hampshire campground, Dolly Copp. Our first night was foiled by 3/4 inch hail and massive thunderstorms. We opted to stay home, and instead, headed up to New Hampshire early this morning. Our friends Kate and Mark joined us as well.

Today was rather uneventful, though we did enjoy hanging around the fire. Addison loved playing with Kate’s dog, Tallulah. Before dinner, we took a walk around the campground, stopping to look at the remaining foundation of Hayes and Dolly Copp’s home, for whom the campsite is named. (You can read more about them, and the history of the site here.)

By the time we finished dinner, Addison was tuckered out. We put her down for the night in her bed, an awesome pop-up tent that fit right in our tent.

Soon after, Kendra and I went to bed as well, but Addison woke up crying around midnight. This was a first for us – usually when we camp, we go to sleep and wake up when the sun rises. Of course, we were woefully unprepared for spending the night in a tent with Addison. Because we are so used to her sleeping 12 hours a night, we didn’t think to bring diapers, wipes, an extra bottle, or formula, into the tent with us. After creeping back and forth to the car several times, and trying everything we could to soothe her, we decided to pack Addison into the car and prayed she’d fall asleep during the ride. Luckily, she did!

As tired as we were, it was a nice ride for me and Kendra as well. True to my usual self, I got excited when we saw a “Moose Crossing” sign, and as always, told Kendra I hoped we’d see a moose… as always, she teased me. I have been wanting to see a moose ever since we first started camping together. I grew up a city girl, and never have I seen a moose before. Until… tonight! I saw something move out of the corner of my eye, and realized I was looking at a gangly moose in the shadows of the trees. Kendra didn’t see it, so naturally, she started backing the car up, which freaked me out because I was convinced we would back into the moose, and I assumed it would be just as bad to hit a moose with your rear bumper as it is to hit one with your front bumper. While she was backing up, the moose ran across the road in front of us! The moose sighting made the midnight ride worth the trip.