Weekend Review - Chenango Valley State Park

We love to go camping, and this was an ideal weekend for it.  The oppressive heat that swept over the east coast definitely needed escaping.  It was still hot, but hiding out in the woods was so much cooler than hanging out in town.  Here's our campsite announced by the sign I made here.

Yes, those are golf clubs.  Chenango Valley State Park has a nice golf course, and the boys wanted to be prepared just in case.  CVSP also has a number of really nice hiking trails, but one of our favorites is the bog trail.  For those unfamiliar, a bog is a wetland that accumulates a layer of dead plant material(in our climate, mostly mosses) on top.  They're kind of spongy on top, and if you jump on them like a trampoline, you can watch the spongy ground move underneath and around you.

Trails through the bog are a good deal less groomed then typical hiking trails.

There's my daredevil Whirling Dervish climbing out on a dead tree over the stagnant water.

I eventually joined him, but my backpack kept shifting weight, so it was none too pretty.

He reminded me that last year, I abandoned the backpack before trying to walk out on dead trees.  I wasn't letting go this year.

After the morning hike, we packed a picnic lunch to eat by the little spillway waterfall.  It was nice listening to the sound of the water.

It's just a short walk over the bridge from the waterfall to the swimming area.  One of the lakes at CVSP has a swimming area complete with diving boards, changing rooms, and snack shop. 

It was nice to splash around in the water and cool off.

There was plenty of nature to be found.  The kids found a toad by our campsite, but let it go before I could find the camera.  They got to watch a gypsy moth lay her eggs, and found all manner of butterflies including this white admiral,

and this tiger moth.

You can't go camping without a campfire, and even when it's still hot out, a campfire is a must.  Yes it was still hot, and yes the girls are wearing fake fur.  I'll explain about that later this week.  It really deserves it's very own post.

You know it's a good camping trip when everyone sleeps this good.

Thanks for popping in and camping with us.  I'm linking this up to Decor To Adore's Wayfaring Wednesdays.