Camping 2011 - Scotts Flat Lake!

I have a lot of pictures and not a lot of time. So you might have to think of witty captions in your head, should some of these pics be caption-less. Sorry!

We went camping earlier this month at Scotts Flat Lake in Nevada City, CA!

July 7, 2011. Kids in a tent!

Uncle Phillip and his tent. In 20 minutes he had put up his tent and unpacked most of the gear from the truck.

Excited to be camping at last!

Derek starts to assemble our new tent.

Helpers!

Why. WHY did I come camping with the Alffs???

Phillip is a Master of the grill. Terri tries to look like she's helping.

The Master.

Enjoying nature, and the mosquitoes.

July 8, 2011. Morning! The kids go exploring in their jammies.

Then they pretend to be prehistoric predatory reptiles.

THIS WILL BE DINNER

Fire... fascinating.

A trip to the sandbar!

Derek after a mishap involving an overturned cooler, a slope, and water rushing toward our tent.

The troops, back from the beach!

Maren and Uncle Phillip.

Afternoon: fishing!! Uncle Phillip gives Deacon some tips.

Elias: catch #1 of 14! He was the undisputed champion.

Deacon caught a fish, too - here it is!!

Fisherkids.

Maren's catch! #1 of 2!

Wearing his trusty 99-cent flip flops, Deacon eventually slipped and sustained an abrasion on his foot.

Happy to be fishing!

Another catch for Uncle Phillip and Elias!

Maren hauls in a baby trout!

Off-camera, Derek is trying to lead the gang in a rousing rendition of that campfire classic, The Battle Hymn of the Republic. All 8 verses. Really.

Later... Jiffy Pop!

Neighboring campers can be very, very loud, very, very late into the night. All except Maren ("I slept great!!") found the conditions to be less than restful. So on the morning of July 9th, the weary campers set their sights on the oasis of civilization that was this IHOP in Grass Valley, CA.

Back in Fair Oaks! Now to unload...

Terri will be leaving tomorrow morning for Sacramento, Part II (Electric Boogaloo).

Derek will be joining us on August 6th to see the kids in The Jungle Book (info above right!) Deacon plays the King of the Monkeys, and Maren plays the Coconut Tree. Don't miss it!