The Only 2013 Camping Trip

     Last weekend we went on our one and only camping trip for this year. It was a little cold but we still had a lot of fun. It was also close to my birthday so my husband let me have my gifts early so I could try them out. He got me a rod holder for my float tube and a life vest so I didn't have to wear my tubing lifejacket anymore on the tube. I had gotten my waders, wading boots and fins at the end of the summer so I was ready to try out my full set up.

 

     The rod holder was great for "trolling" and having the life vest that is flat until you need it made sitting in the tube a lot more comfortable. I love fishing from my float tube!

     The water was really cold so I only lasted abut 20 or 25 minutes before I had to get out of the water. Getting in and out of the water is a little different with full gear than it was with my snorkel fins and swimsuit this summer. I didn't fall over into the lake when I was trying to get in and out of the water. See my new fins in the photo below? I was letting my legs float a little to warm my legs in the sun.

     On this trip we found all but 1 of the geocaches located around John Martin Reservoir. The one we couldn't find is missing so hopefully we can go find it once it has been replaced. We have been to this lake many times and have never stopped to look at the signs or walk the trails. Geocaching took us to all of the signs and trails and to a few spots we've explored before.

 

     My husband took this photo. You have too look really close but you can see we saw a heard of does and instantly his hunter instincts kicked in and he took off to "shoot" the does with my camera. I didn't have time to switch lenses for him so it's a little hard to see them.

          We also enjoyed some great views of the lake from one of the geocache areas.

      I love taking photos of dams. I think they are interesting and am amazed at their construction, but also they usually make for some really pretty pictures.

 

     We didn't get to drive across the road because the dam road was closed. (That sign makes me laugh every time I see it!)

Since it was so cold outside we had to get creative with drying my waders and float tube. The shower in the new camper is the perfect size to dry one float tube and gear.

 

 

     Here is a view of our campsite. We really didn't do much outside at camp because of the temperatures. The new camper worked great! We were able to go exploring and not have to reset once we got back to camp like we did with the motorhome, but we did miss having a bathroom with us while we were exploring.

 

     The girls love the new camper, too. They especially like having a couch to crash on after a long day of exploring.

We didn't catch any fish during the trip and we didn't see any fish jumping or fish shadows in the water. The pelicans that are usually fish catching machines weren't even trying to catch anything either.

     I took some time to do some fly casting practice and since my husband also got me a case to carry my fly rod and reel in, It was pretty easy to pack it down to the water with us. When I am in my backyard I can cast to the exact spot I want to and make the line do what I want to. Put some water in front of me and nothing goes right. I tied some flies (that post is coming soon) so I had plenty of flies to practice with and surprisingly, I kept the same fly on the entire time! I did lose 1 strike indicator and the 2nd one flew off but I was able to find it on the hill behind me a little later.

 

     I was pretty proud of my fly casting on that day. I even had to deal with some pretty strong winds, but I only got tangled up in a bush once and I only cracked the whip once. The fly landed close to where I wanted it to almost every time so I was really pleased with that, too.

 

     I got a little creative with my camera and fly rod during a break. I think once I figure out how to add some red to my fly gear, I'll get more comfortable with it.

 

 

          Next summer we are hoping to do a lot more camping, fishing and riding. This was our transition year and now that the transitioning is over, we are ready to play. It has been hard to write posts about the outdoors when I wasn't doing many fun outdoor activities. Next summer hopefully I am having so much fun with outdoor activates and have so much information to share that I will have a hard time narrowing down what to post about and when to post it.