The end of summer came too quickly so we tried to fit in some more out-of-town time before the madness began. One of our favorite paces to visit is Cloudcroft, New Mexico, so we headed there to camp, this time in Silver Campground. We decided to leave the camper and tent camp.
Usually, a campground is a good idea if you like to take daily showers and have the use of bathrooms. Unfortunately, Silver Campground, while costing about the same as any state park camping spot, uses pit toilets and charge $5 extra for showers, which are a short drive away. If there's anything I dread more than a port-a-potty, it's a pit toilet. We had a nice spot, but decided we'd stick to finding our own space in the secluded Lincoln National Forest, where your dogs can run free and you can ride your dirt bikes on the roads and trails.
The sky was overcast and the forest was a little spooky.
Mary found a neat pine cone covered in frosted looking sap.
Big Daddy's Diner is always a hit. Hummingbirds in town.
It was Smokey Bear's Birthday, so we went to his birthday party. Apparently, the living version of Smokey Bear was actually named Hotfoot Teddy, but was then renamed after the mascot which was already in existence. There's a bit of useless trivia.
Daniel experienced his first worm.
Andrew took us to Bluff Springs. The trail from the waterfall back to the source of the spring takes you through a gorgeous meadow of tall grass, trees and pretty views out across the valley. You can camp here if you don't mind trekking all your gear up the trail.
More pit toilets. Ugh.
Frolicking
The dogs love to be out, running free. The same can be said for Andrew.
A few days later, we visited Lubbock and spent a few hours in Gander Mountain. Then we left to do some other stuff and returned to Gander Mountain for a few more hours. We decided it was time to upgrade Mary's bow and arrows. After trying soccer, tennis, and gymnastics, it looks like archery might be Mary's thing. If she continues to enjoy it, we'll get her a real set. A "real" set will apparently set us back quite a lot of money so I'm waiting to see if she really, really enjoys it. This is really all just a backdrop to the real motive; Andrew wants a real, cool, expensive bow with arrows to play with.
Towards the end of the month, Mary started back at school, now a fourth grader! Armed with a new backpack, new lunch kit, new school shoes and freshly sharpened pencils, she was super excited to be back with her friends. I'm now writing this post in November so her shoes are scuffed (and I think we lost one of those), her backpack is torn, her lunch kit smells sour, and her teacher sends notes home to say they entire class is out of supplies. Again.
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