Camping in Big Bear!

We took a long weekend and drove up to Big Bear for a fun camping adventure!

We were able to leave at a normal hour so we were much more awake than when we left for the Big Sur camping trip. I was even awake enough to pack snacks! 

Mmmm! Gotta love an Udi's almond butter and jelly!

It is only about a 2 hour drive from LA so it took no time at all! I forget how close it is, we should go more often!

When we got there, I was only a teeny bit car sick, from all the twisting and turning up the mountain. As soon as I was out and got some fresh air and smelled the pines, I was cured!

We had a site reserved at Hanna Flat Campground. It is out there, you have to drive on a dirt road for a few miles, so don't plan on having a clean car!

 Our site was really big and had a lot of tree cover so we would have plenty of shade during the day to keep us nice and cool. We were kinda close to our neighbors, but we could not have predicted that they would be singing all night long.

We got our tents and sleeping bags all ready, then got corn hole set up! 

If for some reason you are not familiar with corn hole, it is one of the best yard games out there! You basically throw bean bags in a hole for points. I have no idea why it is called corn hole. I guess I could probably google it.

The name isn't important though. It is super fun! Even if you aren't any good at it like me. I tend to get lucky and make it in but I usually have to rely on my partner. 

Kim and I may have had less points, but it is not about winning or losing. We had more fun, so technically we won. 

After all the fun and games, we carried wood. It is kinda like carrying a watermelon, but cooler!

Can you tell we had some built up energy from sitting in the car? We were ready to go for a hike!

When the rest of our crew finally made it we let them set up their tent, then took a hike to check out the area before dinner. 

The area surrounding the campground had been pretty damaged in a fire and it was pretty crazy to see the black trees and open space where prior to the fire it must have been a very lush and green area. 

It was pretty sad, but there were quite a few of new trees planted throughout the hike. Hopefully, people will be responsible and let it grow again. I'd love to return in about 10 years and have it look like a completely different place.

It kinda looked like the "in-between" area in the Lorax movie where all the trees had died. 

As the Lorax would say, "Who will speak for the trees?"

Well, us girls beat the boys back easily, who knows what took them so long. Other than the fact that they thought we would have dinner ready when they got back to camp.

Nope, no dinner, but we did get the fire going without them! 

Yay, Girl Power!

So I had a lot of fun planning the meals in advance for this trip.  I had pre-made both of these so all I had to do was take them out of the cooler and toss them on fire pit. quick easy and no need to search for a clean place to prepare them. 

The grilled cheese was Udi's bread with cheese and pesto and the quinoa was mixed with squash, zucchini, and mushrooms!

Mmmmm!  Great dinner, but of course marshmallows are the required dessert when camping! I could eat a whole bag. I never craver marshmallows but when I'm camping I can't go to bed without one.

We were all tired that first night so we went to bed pretty early, I was also really cold! I wash't expecting it to get so cold. I won't tell you how cold exactly because I'm pretty sure I would get eye rolls from all my upstate NY friends. Lucky for me I have an awesome sleeping bag so I slept like a baby!

Stay tuned for the rest of the trip! So much happened I just couldn't fit it all into one post!



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