camping at Timothy Lake

We went camping this weekend at Oak Fork campground, on Timothy Lake in the Mt. Hood forest. It was splendid - gorgeous weather, beautiful campground, fun adventures on and around the lake. We biked and hiked, swam and floated, carved sticks and roasted marshmallows.

Some noteworthy achievements: Sebastian and I built our own campfire four times, for the most part successfully. It's funny, I used to be able to build a fire easily, without thinking too much about it. But it's been 20 years and I've forgotten the skill and method. It took us a few tries to find a groove, but we did, and I was so proud of Seb for overcoming his fear of fire to build the fire and nurture it with me. It's so cool to see him learning these outdoors skills.

Both kids rode their bikes on the trail circumnavigating the lake, handling the tree roots and rocks and sharp turns with ease - it is fun to see them becoming somewhat capable mountain bikers. Jasper and I ran alongside, with frequent breaks to explore and snack and play in the water.

Jasper chased innumerable sticks into the lake, swimming and swimming until he was utterly exhausted. He loves to swim now and it's a source of endless amusement for Seb and Liesl to throw sticks and cheer as he fetches them. We went out on the water too, floating on our alligator floatie and paddling around on it - although we all agreed that it would have been even better with a real boat, like a kayak or paddleboard. Future goals!

We left Friday morning, stopping for a picnic lunch on the Salmon River in Zigzag.

We arrived at Oak Fork campground around 3 and decided to play in the lake before setting up camp.

 But first: blowing up the alligator floatie!!!

The lake was gorgeous and calm - so clear and blue and clean! We had a wonderful late afternoon playing in the water.

Setting up camp together: we all set up the tent; Sebastian built the fire, and Liesl set up the sleeping pads and bags. I made dinner on the Coleman stove.

Roasting marshmallows!!! Liesl's favorite part of camping.

Post-dinner exploration of the dock - Jasper refused to jump off the dock into the water, instead preferring to go back to shore and swim out -

Sunset over the lake