Josiah's first camping trip, Crater Lake National Park

A couple of weeks ago we set up our tent in the living room and camped out to see how Josiah would sleep. He slept great so Jason and I decided it was time to go camping. So we packed up and embarked on our first family camping trip to Crater Lake National Park. We all had a great time hiking around and enjoying the beauty of God's creation. We took over a hundred pictures so it was hard to narrow down the pictures for the blog. I guess if you want to see them all you will have to come visit. :)

The first day we got settled into our campsite and went to Watchman's Peak for a hike. At the top of the peak is a platform the National Park service uses to watch for forest fires. From the top we had an amazing panorama view of everything. This is Jason and Josiah at the top looking down on the lake. The island in the background is Wizard Island. It was formed by volcanic activity after the lake was formed.

Another picture of Jason and Josiah at the top.

The peak in the background is Watchman's Peak, the peak we just hiked.

The next day we took the trail down to the lake. Crater Lake is an amazing blue color and is really clear. On a clear, sunny day you can see over 100 feet down. The water is really cold, around 38 degrees, but Josiah enjoyed dipping his feet in it.

As we were hiking back out Josiah was just too tired to stay awake. He finally checked out halfway up the trail. When we got to the car he couldn't even open his eyes as we were transfering him into his car seat. He slept for the next two hours.

While Josiah was sleeping we drove around the lake and took pictures. This is a picture of Jason and I with Phantom Ship in the background. Phantom Ship is supposedly a reminant of a little volcano.

Then it was back to camp for lunch. This is a picture of our camp and Josiah drinking from a camelback. Dehydration was never an issue for Josiah because he thought drinking from the hose was fun. He was constantly asking for a drink.

After a long nap and some food, Josiah was ready to play again.

Josiah playing in the black volcanic ash.

This is the beginning of Josiah's first hike, a 1/4 mile hike to a view of the lake. I think he is pointing at a tree.

Headed up the trail.

About half way up he started to get tired so he laid down in the dirt to take a breather. We were willing to carry him but he wanted to keep walking on his own.

As we were hiking along the trail, Josiah really taught us how to stop and smell the flowers. Every single flower along the path. :)