• About
  • Speaking
  • Consulting
  • Amber Hinds

  • Journal
  • Press
  • Contact

Amber Hinds

Eleven Mile State Park, CO
Camping
/
September 24, 2015

Last Camping Trip Of Summer

Today’s the first day of fall, but it’s been hot and still quite summer-like in northern Colorado, so I’m still feeling every much in summer mode.  It’s all most a month late, but I’m finally getting around to sharing our last camping trip for summer, which as at Eleven Mile State Park.  This was an interesting trip for us because there were no trees at our campsite.  Normally we tend to gravitate toward wooded, more private camping spots, but Chris booked this trip for the water, and we were able to visit some caves in Colorado Springs on the way home.

IMG_9569IMG_9570 IMG_9574 IMG_9577 IMG_9586 IMG_9590IMG_0859 IMG_0861 IMG_0870 IMG_0872 IMG_9604 IMG_9636 IMG_9638

I won’t say that I loved the spot we were in, but we all had a good time.  We hiked a lot – I had 10 miles on my Fitbit by the end of Saturday – and the girls had their first kayaking experience thanks to a rental place on the reservoir.  Then Saturday we packed up camp early and went caving which was also a fun discovery experience for the girls.

I think I have figured out what I loved so much about our camping trips, especially now that we’re back into fall routines and have been more than a month without camping… I love that they force me to slow down.  Once every four weeks all summer long we would spend Friday morning packing up the car, then drive out somewhere remote where life was simple.  We pitched a tent, set up camp with only the minimum of what we needed to survive, and just lived life according to our own rhythms.  Spending weekends camping forced me to slow down and disconnect from the craziness that is the life as a small business owner and nonprofit founder.  I got more sleep because I went to bed earlier instead of staying up late trying to cram in more work, and I didn’t feel like I was at the mercy of technology.

I’m still mostly pretty good about going screen-free on Sundays, although I have been occasionally falling back into the habit of checking in on social media/email after we put the girls to bed.  What I’ve determined is that going screen-free for a single day isn’t enough.  Experiencing the peacefulness of entire weekends disconnected has shown me that I need to work harder at making that be a given in my life, and finding more time to just be with my family and with myself.

I’m revisiting and adjusting a lot of goals for the end of this year, and our summer of camping trips was helpful in guiding us toward those new goals.  I’m hoping that by next year there will be a lot more than three trips to post, and that our little family will have made significant progress toward our new fantasy lifestyle.  For some reason the change of seasons always excites me and makes me feel like looking at life in a new way.

I’m wondering, does the change of seasons do that for you?  Do you have goals for the rest of the year?

⇗ Open full size image
0 of 0
0 Comments
Share

Leave a Comment Cancel Comment

Recipe Rating




Previous Post
Weaning Zara
Next Post
Pittsburgh

Life Right Now

aucoeur

View

Jul 16

9 1
Open
Z was Raja in an Aladdin production through her dance studio @pasgeorgetown this evening and she did such a great job. I loved watching her. She took a year off dance and is getting back into it and you'd barely know she took any time off, plus she had a big smile on her face the whole time - I could tell she was having a ton of fun. ♥️

aucoeur

View

May 29

15 0
Open
What happens when you go on a long weekend trip with only your husband, no kids, and no agenda? 

Lots of walking, cocktails in the middle of the day, singing at a piano bar, and time to write a blog post for the first time in nearly two years. Which I did! 

😮 For real. LOL 😊

Read it at https://amberhinds.com/2022/05/celebrating-15-years/

aucoeur

View

May 28

29 4
Open
Today Chris and I have been married for 15 years. We're celebrating with our first weekend away from children while my mom watches all four girls. We rented an old Victorian from the 1800s near the coast in Galveston, Texas and spent the day at a spa, eating delicious food, walking the beach under the stars, and finished the night with a bottle of bourbon saved from when we lived on Nantucket. I'm not sure I could have asked for a much better day. I even had an oppotunity to get out the lightship basket purse Chris gave me for our 5th anniversary. ♥️

aucoeur

View

Apr 2

6 0
Open
Multitasking between performances at this weekend's dance competition.

Image Alt: open laptop showing the Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker website in the foreground and an empty stage in a crowded auditorium.

aucoeur

View

Mar 13

12 1
Open
We had a cold snap and yesterday we had to get all bundled up for Zara's soccer game. It was 30 degrees and, despite these pictures, Vivi's patience for being out there did not last long. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 80 degrees and we're really looking forward to warmth again.

By the way, my awesome gaiter came from our client @isacattostudio. Isa paints patterns and makes really beautiful textiles and notebooks with her patterns. ♥️ her work and team.
  • Start Reading
  • Explore Topics
  • Get in Touch
  • Subscribe

COPYRIGHT © 2020 AMBER HINDS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Site Powered by Pix & Hue.