wouldn't it be nice?: a camping we will go

The last weekend in September we went camping! Pope Francis came to Philly that weekend and we were warned that millions of people would be flooding into the city and all the bridges would be closed so it would be wise to leave town. In reality there were maybe 150,000 people at the papal mass on Ben Franklin Parkway, so maybe we would have been okay at home, but it was still nice to get away for a couple of days.

We were happy to find out that even though our tent is a smallish backpacking tent, it's still a little roomier than the tent we were camping in this summer so we were feeling pretty regal. We did stay at a campground with some friends who decided to opt for an RV so maybe not so regal as their setup, but I feel like I'd rather stay in a hotel than stay in an RV so you might as well go big or go home, right? Anyway. We camped at Dingmans Ferry campground in the Delaware Water Gap recreation area and got the last of the camping spots along the Delaware River. It was amazing! Apparently that spot of the Delaware is the cleanest river along the east coast so you can swim in it, but it was a little cold for that, though Robbie swam across from PA to NJ on Saturday afternoon just so he could say that he did. Aside from freezing river swimming we did a little hike and played around on the big field by our campsite. I feel like we did more than that since we were there for two full days but I guess we mostly spent the time enjoying being outside in perfect fall weather.

The view downriver from our site

Almost fall! So pretty!

Throwing rocks and wading in

Running around on the giant field across from our tent site

The field had horseshoes too! Reminded me of camping with my family as a kid. Robbie's posing with his ringer here. I never got closer than two feet away with my throws.

The end of a little hike to Dingmans Falls

More river, this time with bridge (what would Marie Kondo say about all of my meaningless scenery shots?)

The weather was beginning to turn a little colder this weekend so I'm glad we came prepared... with this one extra blanket.

Full moon rising over the river. Robbie and I walked down to our private "beach" with our camp chairs after we put Rhoda to bed and pretended like we were on a romantic date. Actually what we did was talk about what it would be like to be a Native American or early settler and paddle down the river in a canoe with no light but the moon's.

Foggy morning view from our campsite

Doing meals right this time with a Dutch oven and cast iron skillet. This summer we ate MREs and bagels for breakfast and that just wasn't hitting the spot.