Campin' at Paiute

For the weekend of July 24th/Pioneer Day, we went on our first camping trip of the summer, up to Paiute (PIE-yoot), in the mountains outside of Beaver, Utah. We went with my mom, dad and two younger brothers Travis and Jared. Ryan's family has been going up to Pauite for years and he absolutely loves it there, particularly because there are lots of great trails for dirtbikes and fourwheelers. Not to mention that its beautiful! Originally Ryan and Travis were just planning to go there and go dirtbiking for a day or two, but since Travis was soon to be departing for several months (see next post) we decided to make it a family trip...one last hurrah before Trav left. We decided to rent a camp trailer, which we had long talked about trying sometime. I'm so glad we did, not just because we got rained on quite a bit, but because I am not a big fan of tent camping with Thomas! He does not sleep well in tents, so Ryan and I don't either!

It was a fun weekend...we did lots of eating (doesn't food taste way better when you're camping?), sitting around the fire, playing games, reading, taking walks and exploring, and of course, four-wheeling/dirt-bike riding. Thomas absolutely loved it up there! Whether it was going for little rides on his Powerwheels ATV or on the big four-wheelers with Daddy, or just playing in the trees and rocks, he had a great time! We even bought him his own riding helmet and goggles for the trip. We got the smallest helmet available and it was still quite big for him, but he actually loved wearing it! He sure looked cute, and I'm glad his little noggin was protected...and at least he'll be able to grow into it for awhile.

Lucky came along for the weekend too...she managed to climb up into our camp chairs on her own and spent a lot of time just relaxing!


The boys did most of the riding, but I did take one good ride with Ryan and Travis. Its been awhile since I've done some serious four-wheeling, and I have to say I still do ok! I kept up with the boys really well, even though the trail was quite curvy, rocky, and muddy in places. I was pretty darn dirty when we got back, though I tried really hard to avoid the big mud puddles! The photo really doesn't do my dirtiness justice! Our four-wheelers are sport four-wheelers, not the big, cushy utility ATVs that go over rocks and bumps pretty comfortably. Ours are very fast and nimble, but considerably less comfortable, and a little more difficult to operate.

My husband comes from a big dirtbiking, four-wheeling family...you could say its a tradition, and its definitely carried over into our little family. For us, camping is not camping without going riding! Ryan already had a dirtbike when we got married, and he bought me a four-wheeler and taught me how to ride it before we had been married 4 months! I had to learn to operate a clutch for the first time when we got our ATV...I didn't even know how to drive a manual car yet! In the years before I got pregnant with Thomas we used to go on quite a few riding trips, especially to the Little Sahara sand dunes. Back then I used to think I was a pretty good rider. Its nice to know I still do pretty well! I gotta keep from getting too rusty, because I'm sure Ryan will have all of our kids zooming around on real dirt-bikes or four-wheelers by the time they're 4 or 5 years old! I have to at least keep up with the little kids, right?! =)

We had originally planned on staying over through Saturday night and driving home Sunday morning, but it was raining so much Saturday we just decided to pack up and go home. We were all pooped! And I was happy to get home and get thoroughly clean. Camping is fun, but coming home from camping is wonderful! =)

This photo was actually taken on the way up to Paiute...Thomas was chowin' on Doritos and conked out with his hand still in the chip bag! Thought it was pretty cute. =)