Expedition Wilderness

Camping is a wholesome, educational activity for the whole family to enjoy. It's a great way to teach kids about the great outdoors, creatures big and small, and what it is like to 'rough it'. We headed out to the great wilderness of Alaska and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for a camping expedition.


In reality it was our back yard. Dad set up his ultralight tent and thought it might be nice to camp under the stars with Charlotte. You know, have a little campfire, make some S'MORES, snuggle up in a tent, and listen to the wind blow to fall asleep. For some reason he couldn't find his tent stakes, so he decided to make a quick run with Charlotte to WalMart for replacements.

WalMart with a 2 1/2 year old is an experience in itself. LUCKILY she was strapped into the cart. Dad has never noticed that WalMart actually has some isles that consist of nothing but pink items. A little girls heaven. Next time you are there, look for the pink isle. Marketing genius.

In the camping section we passed an inflatable mattress. Of course dad wanted to by the cheap $12 one for Charlotte. However, she talked him into the $29 deluxe princess edition. There is something fundamentally wrong with the idea of anything pink in the wilderness on a camping trip. But if it got her to like the great outdoors, he was all for it.

Also on the list of purchases:
Glow Sticks - great nightlight replacement
Lemonade - the man in the yellow hat on Curious George loves it
Tent Stakes - no justification needed
Pink Princess Air Bed - dad is a sucker
Queen Sized Air Mattress - dad thinks his has a leak, so he bought a new one
Marshmallows and chocolate - SMORES
Charcoal - to cook the marshmallows outside on the mini Weber
12 pack Dr. Thunder - Dr. Pepper rip off that is exactly the same for $2.88!
Nylon rope - every wilderness guide needs rope
Cool Touch Pull UPs- per moms request. Charlotte is potty training
One Infant outfit - per moms request although of course it is wrong. She said it was a boys outfit. I said Yellow is universal.

As soon as we got home, dad realized the small ultralight tent he had already set up was not going to fit both Charlotte's princess bed and dad's queen bed. So he pulled out the gigantic deluxe family tent (which does has tent stakes so in reality he never needed to go to WalMart). Presto Chango and the big tent was set up to replace the small tent. However, dad now couldnt find the airpump for the mattresses. However he did know exactly where the leaf blower was! Would it work? YES Great idea dad. (notice the leaf blower in the picture)


We ate dinner then started the fire outside for the marshmallows. As soon as the package was opened, Charlotte quickly shoved multiple in her mouth and began chomping. Dad used a stick to heat up a good amount (we are not telling you how many SMORES we ate) and made the delicious camping treat. Into the house we went to bathe, get pj's on, and then camp outside!

Wooo hoooo! With laptop in one hand and Charlotte in the other we entered the tent. She LOVED her princess bed and quickly snuggled in. Dad of course being the tech geek he is fired up the laptop to watch movies with Charlotte (and wireless internet works in his back yard). As the sun set, we snuggled in and she was just about asleep. Dad shut off the movie. It was like a switch went on in Charlotte's head sounding the siren to wake up. Moving from her bed to my bed. Wriggling and writhing. Talking up a storm about nonsense things like going to school and eating grilled cheese sandwiches. Essentially talking about anything and everything to keep herself awake.



By now it was dark and Charlotte said, "All Done Camping". That was it. He wasn't about to torture her with one of the things he loves the most. Disappointed and broken hearted like the expedition that attempts to climp Mt. Everest and has to turn back, we headed inside. Next time he will leave the movie on until she falls asleep or perhaps he will skip the marshmallows with all their sugar. Im sure she would sleep very well in a big new pop-up camper.

***UPDATE- I did not want "cool touch" pull ups, just plain pull ups. What kind of chemical or ingredient is in them to make them "cool", no thanks against my child's skin that has crazy skin sensitivity.
Also, I asked for a one piece outfit with long pants and short sleeves. He came home with two outfits with no sleeves and shorts. They were yellow, green, light blue and orange. It's not quite warm enough for the little dresses and short sleeves.