Fourth of July -- Camping in KY

For the 4th we met up with the South Carolina Moss' and Oma and Opa at Red River Gorge to go camping!

I was a little nervous about my selection in campsites since I had never been there, but thankfully my worries were quickly put at ease. It was a beautiful place! Our campsite was a long a river, and there were lots of hikes and plenty of fun things for us to do.

 It was a long drive for us, made longer by faulty tires and the need to purchase new ones. But the kids made it (they always do so well). We were pulling up to the campsite and everyone was trying to get unbuckled. Lucy had just woken up from her nap and was struggling a bit. From the back we heard her cry out, "I'm going to be stuck in here FOREVER!" All we could do was laugh. 

As soon as we were out of the car the kids went off exploring with Oma and their cousins. Lucy caught a butterfly!

 We wanted to go down to the river to play and throw rocks, all the kids found sticks while we were exploring.

 Down by the river there was a little pond where the frogs and crawdads lived. Here is everyone trying to catch the above mentioned creatures.

 Leigh was successful! I was amazed it wasn't crushed, but she was incredibly gentle with the frog.

 Walking back from the rive Sadie had a lot of practice walking-by-herself on this trip.

 Hanging out at the campsite that night. Roasting hot dogs and marshmallows!

 Friday morning, Lucy was up bright and early. She and Alden were the early risers of the group...

 

 The kids played cards with Oma while we got ready for our morning activities.

We headed up to the Gladi Museum where they had a lot of information on the Gorge and activities for the kids. We took the long way to the Museum and explored some of the old barns and fields around it.   

 All the kids got to ring the bell! I was impressed they got it to ring so loudly.

Brothers...

   

Alden and Cole  

                

Leigh and Lucy 

 

 Sadie

Lucy and Devin playing the Dulcimer.

 

 I really appreciated that this was a hands on activity!

 There was a table full of furs that the kids could feel and hold. This was a bobcat and the softens one. It was Cole's favorite.

We headed out on our hikes after the museum. 

 This was 'Whistling Arch'. It was amazing! 

 Here is the part that whistles :) 

 The kids just kept climbing up through the arch around and up through again.

Our second hike was to 'Angels Windows'

 While there all the kids wanted turns taking pictures of everyone. Surprisingly some turned out :)

 Oma and Opa

 Sadie fell asleep on the way to this hike. She walked the entire way to Whistling Arch and back. It wore her out quite a bit.

I love this picture :)

 The windows

 Driving around the gorge was beautiful!!

That afternoon we got to go canoeing! Sorry no pictures of it. The two babies weren't allowed on the boat for insurance reasons, but the older four kids all got to go. Oma and I stayed with Caelyn and Sadie while the first group went out. They all enjoyed it except for Alden, poor kid. I guess he was worried the boats would tip! But every time Lucy stuck her hand (or arm!) in the water the boat would rock and it made him nervous.

When I went out Alden and Lucy decided they were done, but Cole and Leigh wanted to go out again. So Patrick and I went with the kids while Oma and Opa took the other one. I wish I could say I rowed but Leigh and Cole did most of the rowing :) Sorry Pat! I have to admit I was probably as nervous as Alden was! Evertime Leigh and Cole stuck their arms in the water the boat rocked and my heart leaped into my throat :) haha! I'm just happy they all had so much fun!

That night we had dutch oven and Toffee cake! We roasted some more marshmallows and let the kids stay up until it was dark enough to run around with flash lights and catch fire flies! 

They caught so many. Everyone slept better that night :) 

Saturday we packed up and got everything ready to go. Then we went on one more hike! We went to "Military Wall", the closest one, hoping that it would have something fun for the kids to play on along the way. We were super LUCKY and found what we decided to call 'Military wall', I'm sure the actual wall  was a sheer cliff, and the path past this rock was pretty steep. We opted to stop and let them climb through here.

Lucy and Cole headed down the other side.

 There was a small passage the kids found between the crevice and the pathway back down. Sadie insisted on climbing everywhere the big kids did.

 Here is everyone coming up through the crevice.

It was a wonderful weekend! We were all pleased it ended up going so well. I guess we are campers after all!!

The ride home was mostly uneventful. Lucy had an accident which caused us to stop  and everyone woke up from naps a little earlier than they would have. but the kids are pros at driving long distances now, so I think Devin and I were more sick of driving by the end then they were :)