One last camp trip to blog on this last day of summer. I won’t let myself be blue about the changing of seasons – we seized the heck out of Summer 2025.
This ended up being another Mama-Isaac trip, as Juliette had a soccer tournament and I couldn’t bear to let go of the Salt Creek site I’d booked back at midnight sharp on New Years Night. It was a trek to get out there, more than three hours on the road, so Isaac bounded out of the car begging to scoot as soon as we rolled into camp. Tent setup could wait.
We scouted the full series of overlooks and eyed the beaches we’d explore once the tide receded.
TO THE PLAYGROUND!
Eventually, we landed back at our site for setup and dinner. Isaac laid claim to the tent stakes, which he insists on using to ward off incoming monsters.
They’re maybe not the wisest toy for for a three year old, but I mean…that face.
I bought a new pair of walkie talkies and spent several minutes trying to teach Isaac how to hold down the button and talk, then let up on the button to listen.
He could not get the hang of it at all, but had plenty of fun trying.
We scooted a bit more after dinner and sat for awhile on what would become our favorite rock.
And then, as we were heading to the bathroom with our toothbrushes, deer!
Isaac tried to follow close behind them, but he’s not really the kind of kid that can sneak up on a wild animal.
Yes, yes, bedtime, but…beach! We’d walk past a staircase and Isaac would ask, “Can we go look?”. Absolutely.
We cozied in after dark and Isaac did his typical first-night somersaults for about 30 minutes, but then we both conked.
Friday! Up and at ’em!
The tide was extra-low that morning, so we took our coffee and hot chocolate down to the beach to explore this whole new world that had been hiding under high tide the evening before.
Kelp bubbles are called “pops” and Isaac can’t walk by one without stopping to give it a squish.
This was meant just to be a quick scouting mission before breakfast, but it turned into quite the expedition.
Sweet boy:
Scary boy:
He really is the worst at hide and seek, but I can’t break it to him.
We went back to camp for breakfast, but then Isaac asked if we could go find more crabs and I said I’d love nothing better. First though, POPS.
Score!
He loved scampering over the rocks and more than once I asked could I please help him get down from a particularly sharp, barnacle-covered boulder, but he assured me that he could do it. Turns out, HE COULD.
Two thumbs up for Salt Creek thus far. This place was magic.
The tide started rising mid-day, so we traded the tide pools for a visit to the general store.
Isaac spent several minutes at the toy table when I told him he could pick just one thing to buy. The agony of decision-making!
Surprise! He picked a car. I could have saved him seven minutes and handed him that out of the gate.
From Joyce, we drove over to Lake Crescent to check out the Devil’s Punchbowl hike. I’d heard the terrain was easy and I had a fanny pack stocked with Mike&Ikes to coax Isaac along the two and a half mile route.
After making our way through the tunnel, we headed to the shoreline to find a place to sit and wowsers. The colors of this water! Incredible.
I got a text from Shane that Juliette had scored two goals during her game that afternoon and I was thrilled for her, but also, I really really missed them in this moment. They would love this lake.
The last half mile back to the car was a slog – Isaac rode piggy back for awhile and then we made up a song to pass the steps and finally we arrived.
He earned his noodles.
Back to our favorite rock for post-dinner Teddy Grahams and a little sun-gazing.
This scooter covered all kinds of terrain it was never meant to cover.
Saturday dawned with our usual scoot to the bathroom, followed by the long loop back to see if the little boy Isaac had been eyeing as prime friend material was at his campsite. He was there and shy hello’s were exchanged, and then we went back to our site for pancakes and sausage.
That fifty-cent general store car was money.
It was another ultra-low tide morning. To the beach!
We explored the tide pools for awhile, but found we were much happier and much more sure-footed on the sand.
We really let ourselves just go where the wind blew us. It was perfect.
I wish I could personally thank whoever built this driftwood fort. Isaac played in here for a good 30 minutes, serving me pretend breakfast from his makeshift tabletop.
Time to tidy up…
Bedtime!
We each had our own bedroom and I got in trouble for not keeping my eyes closed.
Back to camp…
I loved Lake Crescent so much that we jetted back over there mid-day to spread out a blanket for a picnic lunch and an afternoon of water-gazing.
Isaac ran his cars up and down this log while I read my book and for a hot minute I thought, “Look at me, relaxing on a camp trip with my three year old!”
We packed up our things and then walked a couple of the nearby forest trails before hitting the road.
What started as a walking stick soon turned into a monster-poker. Whatever keeps him moving…
One last sit. I had a hard time wanting to leave this place.
Eventually, though, dinnertime called. We stopped at a little diner on the road back, scarfed down our burgers, and then ordered up a couple of heavily-sprinkled soft serve cones from the ice cream counter.
We savored our last Salt Creek sunset that evening from the rocks, then played tag on the grass.
We were both pooped and got ready for bed before the sun officially dipped, but again, Isaac asked to head down the stairs on our way back from the bathroom, and again, I stuck our toothbrushes in my pocket and said “When at camp…” It was windy that evening, so I wrapped us up in the towel we were carrying and we watched the sun go down, down, down. I’m so thankful for these chances to follow his lead.
I wanted to head home relatively early on Sunday to spend the afternoon with Shane and Juliette, but also, Isaac awoke all smiles and I couldn’t pass on some extra morning cuddles.
Isaac did a couple of scoot loops with his new camp buddy, I tossed everything in the car, and then it was time to head home.
Were there moments during the weekend when Isaac whined or didn’t listen and I lost my patience with him? Of course. On Saturday morning, when I wouldn’t fetch his cars because I was focused on keeping the pancakes from burning, and then he threw a fit, did I put him in the car for a timeout? I sure did. And then did the pancakes burn, anyway? They sure did! But there were so many more smiles than tears that weekend. Joy won out. By a landslide.
