Bighorn National Forest- Family Vacation Days 2-3

After spending an early morning in the Badlands, we drove through fields of prairie dogs and antelope and headed West to the Bighorn National Forest.  The landscape changed to golden hills and I fell asleep.  Silly me!  An hour later, I woke up with no cell service (gone for the next two days) and a huge mountain right in front of us.  A winding dirt and gravel road snaked up the side of the mountain.  It didn't take me long to snap wide awake!

I gripped the car door as we drove up, up, up. The road was really bumpy at first, but after a while it smoothed out.  The bottom of the mountain was made up of vast, golden meadows.  Antelope, deer, and beautiful log cabins dotted the landscape.  After a while, the meadows faded into evergreens and big rocks.  Jacob took that opportunity to give me instructions on what to do if I see a bear.  Awesome.
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We kept going up though, and the big bear-cave rocks went away and all that was left were tall, skinny pine trees, green meadows, and mountain streams.  The only strange part of the landscape was all of the cattle!  Black Angus cows were everywhere!  In the road, in the trees, around the streams.  No matter where we were on the mountain, we could hear them moo-ing! 

Get outta the road!

We found East Fork Campground and set up camp.  We expected wild, ungroomed, vaguely marked campsites.  Instead, we found this amazing campground five minutes from a ranger station with clean sites equipped with soft dirt for the tent, a grill, a fire pit, and beautiful views.  The campground had a bathroom (yay!) and clean water from a pump, which I thought was
pioneer-y and totally up my alley. 

We stayed around camp the first day, set up our tent, and met some of the other people in the campground.  There were four other families staying around us, along with the "camp host", Tanna.  Tanna was kind of like the camp mom.  She brought us firewood for our first night, stopped by and talked a few times a day, and told us the best places to explore.  Reed had her wrapped around his finger before too long, and they zoomed around on her ATV to check out the campground by the end of the second day.

We made a yummy dinner over the campfire of steak tips and baked potatoes.  It was easy and super satisfying!  I've posted the recipe here.  As TLO says, "Deeeee-licious, Mommy!"

We sat by the campfire and watched Reed dig and play in the dirt and trees with his bulldozer toys, a gardening shovel, and his new favorite toys- "clampers".  For those of you who are not informed "clampers" is TLO's term for any type of tool or toy he can squeeze to pick up something.  His current clamper collection includes 2 pairs of tongs and a plastic pair of tweezers from our first aid kit.  He plays with them for hours.  Whatever!  Maybe he will be a doctor someday?

 So anyway, Reed's clamping away when, behind our campsite, Jacob spots a moose.  Yes, a MOOSE!  Just hanging out!  Jacob went crazy and took a bunch of pictures while I asked Tanna what to do if the moose came close to the tent.  She just laughed and said that he hangs around the camp with another moose and they are friendly.  Oh, geez.  I am SO not in Cincinnati.  So I got Reed ready for bed with one eye on the moose.  Sheesh.

The night got pretty chilly, but Reed slept a full 10 hours without waking and was snug as a bug in his sleeping bag.  I wasn't so snug, so Jacob got up early and made me a big fire to warm up.  He's so awesome.  After the sleepyhead woke up, we decided to explore the mountain reservoir before lunch, and that's how I found my new happy place.

Words and pictures don't do it justice.  It was at the very top of the mountain and was flat and clear and beautiful.  Truly breathtaking.

We stayed for quite a while, throwing rocks, taking pictures, and just looking around.

After a couple of hours, we made our way back to camp for lunch and Reed's mid-day nap.  Jacob went fishing, I took a nap in the hammock, and a storm rolled in really fast!  After nap we all cuddled warm and dry in the tent for an hour, watching Bob the Builder on the portable DVD player as the rain pattered on the tent.

So here's the thing.  We bought Bob the Builder at Walmart before we headed up the mountain on the first day, and Reed watched it all the way up the mountain.  We thought it sounded strange but didn't really think much of it.  We realized in the tent that the DVD was playing in French.  And it had bothered TLO not at all.  I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure he will have the theme song memorized in French before too long.  Why would French be the default language on Bob the Builder​??  Just wondering.

After the storm, we spent the remaining few hours of daylight working hard- drying wood, building a fire, drying our clothes, and making dinner.  Maybe not the most glamorous night, but we enjoyed the time together just working around the campsite.  Reed and Jacob spotted the moose again before bed, Reed rode on the ATV with Tanna, and we hit the sack early.  Camping is hard work!

I've enjoyed our stay in the mountains.  The air was refreshing, the sights were breathtaking, and the time with my family is really special to me.  But I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to that stay in the hotel on day 4.  But I also want to go camping in the mountains again very, very soon.  It's all so confusing!  For now, I'm happy to be back in WiFi in time to remember all of the details of our days in the Bighorn National Forest. 

Off to new adventures!