Camping With Bears - Post 3

Our entire camping trip seemed like we were always close to cool, refreshing water yet never got our feet wet. Especially annoying since most of the time we were hot and sweaty because we climbed hills to see these beautiful refreshing places of water. So on our final day of camp we decided to check out the local tubing outfitter. That’s right we wanted to see if they would allow us to take our 2.5 and 1.5 year olds down class 2 rapids.

We went to Cool River Tubing (http://www.coolrivertubing.com/) in Helen, Georgia. They said that tons of people took their kids down but they discouraged infants. INFANTS?! I felt I was slightly nuts taking my toddlers, yet other people are trying to take their infants down the river.
I wanted to have Kaitlyn with me as she is the baby and I’m too neurotic to trust her to anybody but me. So Daddy was in charge of Teagan. We got little life jackets for the girls and grabbed two tubes.

We linked our tubes together and I sat down with Kaitlyn and Daddy sat down with Teagan. To make sure everything was workable we stayed near the beginning for a few moments. Good thing as Teagan looks over to Daddy and says “You need to get out.” Daddy asks “what?” “Daddy, you need to get out.” Up the hill he went and grabbed a kid’s tube for Teagan and we were off.

At first I was in severe Mommy mode and was clutching Kaitlyn like she was the last bag of chocolate left on earth. While I also lectured Daddy to watch Teagan and pointing out he wasn’t being as diligent and apprehensive as he should be. To which he laughed and told me to lighten up.

It didn’t take long and I was enjoying the ride with the rest of them. Teagan was definitely nervous at first but that diminished after the first rapid. Instantly a perma-grin lined her little face and she was ready for the fun. I held Kaitlyn in a sitting position so she could see what was going on. Sometimes she would fidget and I’d lay her on me. At one point I suppose she “rested” too long and actually started to fall asleep. Ah, she is her Mother’s daughter. I love to sleep in the sun and my many sunburns can attest to this partiality. I sat her up and she discovered a new enormously cool game; slapping the water with her feet. This became the ultimate amusement on and off for the remainder of the hour long trip.

I have been white water rafting, canoeing and tons of boat trips but this was hands down the best time I have ever had on the water. I’m positive the exhilaration and delight of my girls was the major factor of the enjoyment. I wish I could say that everything went without a hitch but alas this is reality.

Towards the end of the trip we came up to a solid class 2 rapid. Now by myself this would not have been an issue. However I was not alone and my sight was slightly obscured when we hit. Kai-Bear and I went over the rapid and my big feet planted which caused us to flip. Neurotic Mom to the rescue. I was under water but I held that baby up so her butt didn’t even touch the water. I stood up with some trouble due to the rapids but luckily Daddy had gotten the tubes to stop and held them until we could get to him. During this time I seriously don’t recall any fear all I know is that I was going to get my baby to the tube and safety. Which we did with help from Daddy, since I have a bulbous butt and squeezing a donut lover into a donut is tricky.

Even with the little tumble I had more fun than I thought was possible. We will definitely do this again and hopefully soon. And might I add that once in the car Teagan passed out from the adrenaline rush and just shy of refused to get up to eat dinner. Below are some photos for your viewing pleasure.

Camping With Bears - Post 2

This was not the first camping trip for the bears. It was, however, the first camping trip where both were mobile.

The main rule when taking children of any age camping is you have to be resolved to the fact that they are going to get dirty. Very dirty. Within minutes of arrival Kaitlyn was covered in mud, eating rocks and trying to wander away from camp. Luckily it stopped raining and I didn't have to deal with mud the entire time but the first night's clothes are ruined. When either Kaitlyn or Teagan felt that their hands were too dirty they just wiped it on their shirts. A habit that has to be broken.

Camps do not have bathtubs. You are lucky if they have nice showers that do not cost money to use. Our camp did have nice free showers but that point was lost on the bears. They HATE showers. Now I tried to prepare them for this for a couple of weeks before we went. At home it was okay because they still had the bathtub to be in while the water came down. Not so much love at the camp shower. We used the handicap stall because it had a pull down bench which I sat them on as I scrubbed them down. Both girls screamed, not cried, not whimpered, screamed the entire time the shower was on. As they were being dried off. And basically until I opened the main door to leave the restrooms. The next night it was seriously considered to just let them be dirty. Unfortunately I wouldn't have been able to live with it so I decided to use our dish tub. Daddy boiled some water and added it to lukewarm water in the tub. Kaitlyn was first and complained a little to the sponge bath but sucked it up rather well. Teagan even stood by the sidelines and tried to help scrub her down. When I put Teagan in she just plopped her butt down and assumed it was her little bath. Certainly not an ideal way to get them clean but neither is being partially deaf because of their caterwauling.

I've never had a campfire around the bears as I felt they were not old enough to give it respect. They now understand "no" and listen to it as well as a 1 and 2 year old will, so we made a campfire. They stayed away because of the smoke even more than me telling them to be careful.

You know having a campfire means you have to have s'mores. Teagan and Kaitlyn were completely under foot as soon as the chocolate bars came out. "Chalkit? Chalkit?" over and over. Hubby toasted the marshmallows to a golden brown, took out the graham crackers and put down the chocolate to make little s'mores for the bears. They didn't even get a full bite into them before they spit it out. Not marshmallow lovers. So I took out the chocolate and left it at that.

Overall the girls were extremely well behaved and listened to us. I gave them more freedom to roam and play than usual so it was a give and take adventure that I think they understood as well. But we ran them everywhere. Up mountains, into gorges and down rivers. But that’s tomorrows post.

The special moments I’ll remember the most are morning bottles in their director chairs, the girl’s first watermelon slices with rinds, huddling in one bed to watch Monsters, Inc. on a laptop and witnessing the exploring spirit budding in each of my little bears.

Camping with Bears - Post One

Five days and four nights spent camping in North Georgia is a lot to post in one blog post. So I'm going to split it in three parts. First part will be the hiking to see the nature spots. The lots and lots of hiking we crammed into two days. Second will be the ultra cute things the girls did and experienced. Third part is going to be a surprise and I'll let it be the cliched save the best for last.

We took the Bears to North Georgia and there is so many natural areas to see that it was rather hard to narrow down the sites we wanted to visit. We started with Tallulah Falls and Tallulah Gorge. This is a granite walled gorge that has a combination of five waterfalls through a 1,000 foot chasm. Lucky for us the rains had been heavy for a few weeks so the falls were spectacular. They have a path that is 1 mile total that we took the girls in their B.O.B. walking stroller. Now at one of the viewing points it offered a closer look at the falls by going down what they call the "Hurricane Falls staircase" which is 310 wire steps down to an 80 foot swaying suspension bridge and of course 310 steps back up. Hubby offers to take the girls on to the other areas while I went down to take a few photos. This walk is posted in several areas as very strenuous. Posting that I failed to read. Note to self, if someone took the time to make a sign I should take the time to read it. I must make note of the tremendous sound that surrounded me while down on the bridge. A thundering roar that vibrated my body and made the experience viseral as well as visual. It was beautiful but I was pouring sweat by the time I hoofed it back up the stairs. It did not help that while continuing the wooded trail I couldn't find Hubby and Bears nor reach them by phone/radio which just made me go faster. By the time I had made it to the end and almost back we got a hold of each other and they were around the corner at the car. I was drenched and out of breath as I found them sipping water and eating lunch. Next time Hubby can take the stairs.

Our next waterfall was Toccoa Falls located at Toccoa Falls College. It's only a 150-yard path to the 186-foot high Toccoa Falls. We decided to let the Bears stretch their legs and walk it. I've never been so close to such a massive waterfall. A few large rocks separated us from a torrent of water flowing into a hazy amber pool. I climbed some of the rocks to get closer while the girls played safely in a rocked playpen. The cool spray coming off the water was refreshing while the sound emphasized the power coming down the cliff facing. Not as enveloping as Tallulah Falls but just as poetic in it's utterance.Our last waterfall was Anna Ruby Falls. This is a merging of twin falls with Curtis creek dropping in at 153 feet and York Creek is 50 feet to form the double falls. This hike was moderate for most but pushing two bears up was calf burning fun. Out of all the falls this was my favorite. It was beautiful and tantalizing for as you are approaching the falls the sound builds with the crescendo of the combined falls. We didn't see a lot of animals during our camping adventure but on this trail we saw a chipmunk and two beavers, a parent and child, run across the path. It was really cute but I doubt the girls saw them as anything but cats with no tails.

On the next day with the waterfalls appreciated we wanted to visit the highest place in Georgia, the top of Brasstown Bald 4,784 feet above sea level. The Brasstown Bald Trail is 1.2 miles total and is extremely hard. Just as an example it climbs 500 feet in half a mile. The trail is well maintained which made the struggle with pushing the girls a little easier. They have a tower at the top offering magnificent views. We went on a virtually cloudless day and seeing up to the horizon was incredible. From the tower's vantage point you can see the neighboring states North Carolina and South Carolina as well as Atlanta. This was certainly more of treat for Hubby and I but the girls did roam around and play in the tower's historical center.