Well look at us, we’ve gone on fourth camping trip of this year. Over the years there have been plans for a girls only camping trip. As late as this winter we were talking about a week long (or at least a long weekend) trip to somewhere exotic (Maine?), canoe camping, maybe even biking etc, etc, etc. Once Reality had its say it turned out to be one overnight in the Gatineau Park with all the kids. Well, I’ll take it.

We had picnic and hung out on the beach the first part of the day.

Yes, they could not wait to get their bathing suits on before they got into the water.

The day was perfect for the beach. We even saw a loon or two.

Our campsite was close to the yurt we rented this winter. I was hoping to go and take some pictures I can compare side by side with pictures from this March, but the logistics of camping with three little kids did not allow it.

Chantal built an amazing fire and we roasted marshmallows after supper.

Luisa’s brother lent us the four person tent and it was nice to have extra room. I still only brought three mats and I arranged Owen and Markus on the opposite sides of the same mat once they were asleep.

I must admit that camping when there are at least as many adults as children is much less stressful. In the morning, by the time I had taken each boy to the bathroom, Luisa and Chantal made breakfast and put the campsite away.

Though there seemed to be a lot of people camping when we got there on Sunday afternoon, by evening most people had gone leaving us with only a few families on our stretch of the camp.

On Monday morning we rented a canoe and went to another beach for picnic. Again, pictures would have ben lovely, but balancing a canoe with three kids made the cell phone camera out of reach (I forgot to pack the real camera). I managed to turn on Endomondo for the first part of the trip.

Our campsite as well as the yurt we stayed in this winter are inside the “eye” made by Trail 50 and the other road on the lower part of the map.

We were satisfied with our camping experience and headed home. When we got to Kanata we congratulated ourselves on making use of the last bit of wonderful summer weather as the thunderstorms started. As is the case any time it rains in Kanata, we lost power. Though we managed to not use the camping stove while actually camping, we ended up pulling it out and making the rest of the food we brought with us but did not end up eating in the park.

Kitchen camping party to close the summer!

After a few unsuccessful attempts to locate a powered bathroom I could borrow before bedtime, the power returned in enough time for me to scrub the kids for the first day of school.