School's Out - Let's go Camping

Our first little trip of the summer -- camping at Grover Hot Springs on the east side of the Sierras with my brother-in-law Jason and two youngest girls and my brother Alan and his two boys. Though a bit of a drive (3.5 - 4 hours), we decided we'd definitely go there again. Well, that's only if our crazy California politicians can keep it open...

On the way up we stopped at Black Chasm caves. The descent into the cave:

Jason with his girls - well, two of his girls plus our Eliza who fits right in with his girls:

Outside the visitors center we sifted the gems from the dirt and found treasures. Jeff, every souvenir shop's favorite customer, bought hard hats for his two youngest children. I guess I can thank(?) Jim and Colleen for instilling in Jeff a love for souvenir shops.

Fishing - Alan and Drew wishing for a bite:
What joy! A rock!

Everyone tried fishing:

My first time really fishing. You can't tell from my face, but I really did enjoy it.

We need a very social dog like this one ... Panda:

The "rock slide." Ethan put his tools to good use to climb (his shoulder bag is packed with plastic exploring tools - he wore it the whole weekend until the strap broke)

Ben demonstrating the slide aspect of the rock slide:

The most popular guy at camp because he made the bacon:

Livvy and Eliza enjoying breakfast:

Another very popular spot at camp - the last thing packed up on departure day:

Eliza telling nonsense knock-knock jokes ... everyone laughed so it went on for a loooooooooooong time:

Sophie, the campfire supervisor:

The last day - a perfect family hike to a beautiful waterfall. Ben was really dragging until we noticed a "gas station" on the trail. He tanked up and sped off. He needed a couple more pit stops, and a complete engine repair, but kicked in the "5 wheel drive" to scale the rocks at the end. phew!

A really great picture of Eli and Drew: