Copalis River RV Camping Trip - Day 1

 We try to go camping with the Kuch family every summer, but last summer it didn't end up working out. This year we were determined to make it happen. Back in 2021, we went camping at Copalis River RV and the kids couldn't stop talking about it. They had such a good time! We figured why try to go somewhere new where we might not enjoy it as much. Let's just go with something we know the kids are going to love. On Saturday, June 24th just a day and a half after getting back from our first camping trip we were off to our second camping trip. 

We were hoping that we'd be able to get the same sites that we had last time, but they were already taken. We ended up getting sites that were closer to the newer bathhouse and we loved it even more. 

We had the site on the left and then the Kuch's pop-up was on the right. We took over the whole grassy area in-between the two sites. It was so perfect. 

Here's the Kuch's pop-up. We ended up always congregating at their fire pit. 

We brought both the picnic tables together and put them under our two canopies. It made for a great place to eat, play games or color. 

We always split up the menu where we fend for our own family for breakfast. I feed Ga-Ga & Pa and Miss Ellen. Christina and I split the dinners and Ga-Ga provides for lunches. Ga-Ga and Pa brought so many snacks. We were hooked up! 

Right between the two trailers were these perfect trees to hang the hammocks from. I didn't even realize until the end of the trip that I happen to capture a rainbow when I took this picture. 

Not only were the trees good for hanging hammocks from there was also this perfect climbing tree...it honestly looked like a ladder. 

After our first trip to Oasis, I got to thinking about modifying my upper shelves that Michael designed and built for the trailer. I ended up having him add another full section. It's the far section you see on the right side of the kitchen. Now the shelves can hold about twice as much stuff. With us going on longer camping trips this is going to come in handy a lot!  

We had fun sitting in the trailer visiting a bit before we were ready to venture out to see the water. 

Just a couple sites down there is a walkway that takes you out to the river. The weather was so beautiful...a little chilly, but not too bad. 

This area was so much nicer than the last time we camped here. The last time you could barely go out because it was so marshy. 

I was able to walk all the way down to the river. So pretty! 

The main reason the kids enjoy this campground so much is this rope swing. They will spend hours in the woods swinging on this thing. 

They climb up on this big root, jump on the rope and swing away!

The guys hanging around the firepit....what's missing here? 

Oh yeah and nice big fire!!! 

To keep things easier the first night we decided to have hot dogs for dinner. 

We brought regular Hebrew National Dogs and then Johnsonville Jalapeno Cheddar Dogs. The Jalapeno ones were really tasty.  

So many fun memories around the fire! 

Pa with Jackson. 

Jack and Owen only stayed one night of this camping trip. Jackson needed to be back in order to go to Puget Sound Skills Center on Monday. 

Oasis Camping Trip - Day 4 & 5

Our 4th day of camping was just more of the same...golfing, games, eating, reading and relaxing. 

The kids love to bring their money with them and go up to the little store at the campground and buy stuff. Owen got one of the king sized drumsticks and he was a happy guy! 

On our fifth and last full day we were supposed to be spending it with friends who live just a bit north of Ephrata, but unfortunately it didn't work out. So instead we were determined to get a hike in somewhere. 

We ended up driving to Quincy and just outside town there is a trail called Ancient Lakes.

Driving down toward the Columbia Gorge was so beautiful! 

On the trail we found a painted rock! 

The weather was supposed to be only about 63 degrees which we figured would be perfect. 

Look at these huge rock cliffs. 

We couldn't have asked for a nicer day. And truly it wasn't hot. Michael did read that almost no one hikes this trail in July & August....it's just too hot! The majority of people that hike it do so in April and November. 

The clouds were so pretty! 

I found this huge dandelion! 

 

I had Ella hold it up so you could really see how huge it was. It was almost as big as her head! 

Unfortunately our sweet girl was not feeling the best this day. She had a headache and was sick to her tummy. She wanted to go back to the truck, but it was about the same distance to keep going as it was to turn around. Also sitting in the truck wasn't going to make her feel any better, but maybe walking around and seeing nature would help get her mind off it. 

Right after I took this panoramic picture Ella bent over and puked. This is just what happens when she gets a headache. She has to puke and get it over with. We waited for a bit and let her relax and then we continued on. 

 

We finally actually saw some lakes. 

The water was the prettiest shade of turquoise! 

Of course if there's a tree Zeke will climb it! 

This lake was surrounded by tons of frogs....good sized ones too. It was so funny we'd just be walking along and then you hear this grumble like "Meh" and then a frog would jump in the water and disappear. It was so funny! 

While we were checking out the lake Ella sat on a rock to rest a bit. After this we started the trek back. According to Google Maps this was a loop. I asked the kids if they wanted to go out the way we came or do the actual loop and go on a different part of the trail. It was same distance so it didn't really matter. We decided to go on the part of the trail we hadn't gone on yet. 

Well, evidentially that part of the trail isn't used much....I guess most people just come in and then go back out the way they came in. Also it wasn't helping that Google was having a hard time finding exactly where we were. The nice thing was because we were in a valley we could see where we needed to go by looking at the rock formations. We knew we were headed in the right direction. Michael did have us cut across a field a couple of times trying to get us on the right trail. The only annoying thing about that was all those sticky weed things that get stuck to your socks. We all had to pick those out of our socks before continuing on. 

The nice part was by this point in the trip Ella was feeling great. She really turned a corner after puking and didn't have any issues the rest of the day. Finally after a couple course corrections we were on the right trail and we got back to the truck. What Michael had thought would be about 2.5 miles ended up being 5.4 miles. We did say we wanted to go on a nice hike and it was a nice hike. The funniest part was listening to Owen who kept informing us that going off the trail was how people ended up dead. That kid is hilarious! We did tell him that in most cases that would be true especially in the woods, but since we were in the dessert and could literally see the rock formation that the truck was parked next to he had no need to fear! 

 The next day was our pack up and head home day which I never ever take any pictures of. First camping trip of 2023 was in the books! 

Oasis Camping Trip - Day 3

After relaxing at the campground for a full day we wanted to go out and explore somewhere new and go on a hike. Michael researched and found Summer Falls. It looked like it would be a fun place to go and it wasn't very far from the campground. 

Summer Falls is right next to a power paint by the same name. It had a really nice grassy area with picnic tables, but unfortunately there really weren't any hiking trails like it showed online. They've blocked those areas off most likely due to safety concerns. 

It was still gorgeous to look around though. 

According to the weather app this was going to be the nicest day. 

The water was so clear near the edges! 

We ended up seeing a turtle sunning himself on a rock. Unfortunately he jumped in when we tried to get closer. 

So long Summer Falls! 

Since it was a nice day the kids wanted to go swimming. 

They had a good time in the water. Of course we had to buy some new goggles since a couple of the old ones broke. One of the new pairs from the store ended up breaking right away, but thankfully the lady was so nice and gave us another pair for free. 

One of the things we do every time we come to Oasis is we stop at Thorp to buy a couple of these. Spring Creek Lavender Farm in Ellenburg makes Sparkling Lavender Lemonade & Sparkling Hibiscus Lemonade with a hint of Lavender and it is one of the best things you'll ever taste. They are $4 a bottle, but they are worth it!

Something new that I tried this camping trip was using those Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies instead of graham crackers for smores. My cousin Melody introduced me to these and oh my goodness...they were so yummy! And no the cookie is not on fire it was just a happy accident that ended up making for a cool looking picture! :)