Camping During Covid
It may have only been 1 night of camping but we are so grateful to have had 1 night! We had planned to stay the entire weekend but the weather in the area wasn’t cooperating with us. With thunderstorms coming Saturday afternoon and moderate rain the rest of the weekend, we decided to leave that morning. Being in a tent during a thunderstorm just didn’t sound that fun or safe to us! Another Washington State Park has been checked off our list! Ike Kinswa State Park was a delightful spot to camp and we hope to go back for a full weekend. Side note – it is amazing that after almost 3 years we still have so many new places to explore! We’ve been discussing trying to camp at every Washington State Park and still have a LONG ways to go on that.
Sam booked this campground so I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was impressed! It was a couple hours drive for us and to a part of Washington that we haven’t been able to explore yet! We had a great camp site with lots of privacy and a trail that led to the lake. The campground is wooded and makes you feel small when you looked up and noticed the height of the trees! I love the feeling of being surrounded by such tall trees. Most WA state parks are open for camping now but with limited campsites open. Everything was kept very clean, especially the bathrooms. It was encouraging to see everyone being so respectful of distance in such mutually crazy times that we are in.
Even thought it was short, this was the perfect retreat to take a breather and reset. We have had some of the best conversations with our camp neighbors on previous camping trips. Odin and Aspen usually find other kiddos to play with at the camp ground and of course Freya loves sniffing and playing with ALL the dogs. So to not do any of those things this time felt a little strange. People were definitely still friendly but cautiously kept a distance, unsure of how others felt about social distancing. Because of all these things, this camping trip definitely felt a little different but we are still so grateful it even happened. It was nice and relaxing to just spend time at our camp site though. We really enjoyed cooking over the fire, eating too many s’mores, ukulele tunes, just breathing the fresh air and going to bed smelling like a campfire!
Sam picked a great camp site! It had a trail that connected to the main trail which takes you to the lake! The trail follows the lake and was a nice easy hike. Mayfield Lake is huge and so beautiful. Whatever water activity you want to do, you can find a spot to do it at Mayfield Lake. Freya swam her heart out and it was a challenge to get her to leave. This would such a fun spot to come back to with our paddle boards and kayak.
The rain came Saturday morning as we took down the tent but we were long gone before any thunderstorms. The drive home was made more enjoyable by taking a few scenic detours to explore more of the area. This is the closest we have ever been to Mount Rainier and ironically we never even caught a glimpse of it this trip!
As I am typing this post out I realize just how much we needed this time away. I turned my phone to airplane mode and enjoyed the silence. I recently took a break from Instagram. That is the main form of social media I use. I enjoy sharing our adventures there and connecting with other outdoor families! It has been a fun way to connect with other like minded families in our area. But recently even that platform has been causing me a lot of stress and anxiety. So I took a break from that and have made a big effort to just leave my phone down and not look at it. I can’t believe how good it has felt to take a step back from all the craziness right now. I know I can’t ignore all that is happening but it also isn’t good to just sit and obsess over it either. We are soon to set out on a longer camping trip and I can’t wait to once again enjoy the silence. This time away from home and technology is even more important for our family than ever before!
So thankful for the opportunity to camp again!
On to the next adventure…