Easter Camping Fun Activites - Part 3 Traditions

I have written the last few days about camping. I will continue today as we have so many fun activities that we do when camping. We don't do them all each year but it seems like each year we come up with something new.

I will just highlight some of the fun things we have done while camping on this post. Of course jeeping, exploring copper and other mine sites is always fun but we never allow anyone into the mines even though many are still open. One we rather enjoyed last year was rappelling off the bumpers of our cars. Of course, we have experts with us that have all the safe equipment. We have several cars and park one at the high end, one in the middle and one at the lower end of the drop so we can have those that are a bit more daring go off the higher drop offs.


Last year I found some colored sand and so we did sand art at camp. Each child made some artwork of their own and we had a great time. I made this masterpiece to show them how to do it. I bought some mustard and ketchup containers to make pouring the sand easier. I never looked into coloring my own sand but I bet you could find instructions online.

I think every member of my family owns some type of guns. One brother in the military has more interesting guns and all of my brothers and in-laws have hunted so they all own rifles. I have a shotgun and handguns but have never taken them camping. Three of my siblings brought guns this year and they shot skeet. Last year, my brother in the military helped me and my girls shoot several types of guns.

We go to sand dunes of several types, national monuments, lakes, fishing, hiking, bat caves, lizard hunting, sports, games, movies, ATVs, motorcycles, buggies, accidents and more.

Here is a photo of me at the bat caves last year. It is a huge cave but when the kids start running around the dust makes it hard to see as you can see in the above photo. We have never seen a bat in the cave but the ground is inches thick with fine dust so we know it has bats.

The memories of camping are for the most part wonderful. We enjoy sitting around the campfire hearing stories of my dad's life. So many times he has had crazy situations while camping or hiking. It amazes me that he has survived all these years. Just this week, he had my oldest in the 4 wheel and there was a huge crevice in the road in the center that he came upon and didn't see. It came down to the fact that his hitch caught on a rock and saved them as they were heading in and he had to use his winch to get them out. It traumatized my eldest Princess and she came in as I was typing this post to tell me that she thought grandpa was getting to be a scary driver and perhaps she shouldn't ride with him anymore. I laughed and showed her the post from a few days ago where I wrote about looking out the window and seeing nothing but the bottom of a canyon.

I am GRATEFUL for my dad who pushes the limits of his environment and creativity who makes our lives exciting and fun but has kept us safe as well. The memories have lasted my lifetime and now my children's as well.

Thanks Dad, Grandpa, we love you!