Our sporadic car-camping trip to the Sand Dunes

Have you ever done something crazy and sporadic or something outside of your normal routine?

That was the Hall family a couple of weeks ago!

Those that know me know that I am a Type A personality- I love a good schedule and good list. You will hardly ever see me without my planner. When something does not go according to plan or I don’t accomplish at least 50% of my “to-do” list, I feel unaccomplished. I like to plan things out at least a day or two in advance so as to give myself the mental capability to prepare for the future.

Jacob, on the other hand, is not that way. He likes the fun of spontaneity! Life is an adventure to be enjoyed, and he takes any opportunity that he can to do an adventure! Of course, he will plan things in advance for many things, but if an opportunity comes up, he is the one to jump on board.

Of course, writing this out makes me sound like I am absolutely boring! I promise I am not! I joke and tell Jacob, “I can be spontaneous if you give me an advance notice!” 😊 This is just one of those things about our personalities that are different, but we have worked together to make them complement each other.

So when Jacob came up to me on the last Friday of his spring break and said he wanted to drive three hours up to see the Bruneau Sand Dunes, I was a little hesitant. We had never gone camping with Abram and I wasn’t sure how he would handle it. But Jacob really wanted to go. He had called the Sand Dunes center and asked the price for staying the night, and upon being told it would cost $5 a night, and since I’ve been trying to put myself outside of my comfort zone, I helped him pack up our car and off we went!

I would suggest if you are about 3 hours away from the Bruneau Sand Dunes that you don’t leave after 5:00 P.M., which is exactly what we did. Grant it, we did stop and eat at Olive Garden with Abram (who is 9 months and can’t handle being still for more than 5 minutes. Toys didn’t really help since he kept throwing them to the ground from his high chair, so I pulled out the draw string that was in my jacket and tied it to the toy so that I could tie it to the chair to prevent it from falling to the floor. #momlife #mommygenius) and so it did put us a little behind (by almost 2 hours).

I swear it was darker than the pits of despair when we arrived. In addition to it being night time, the clouds were also rolling, so there were no stars out. I felt invasive as we approached the campsite, where we saw on the sign that it did not cost $5 like we were previously told, but a lot more. And we could not find a spot to camp anyways!

So, note for parents (or anyone really) when it comes to finding out prices for camping-

1. Make sure that the person telling you the prices know what they are talking about.

So, what did we do? Parked outside the site and car-camped! We had packed an egg mattress, sleeping bags, and pillows. We made our bed in the back of the car and went to bed!

2. Make sure you have the right amount of pillows and blankets, and if possible, bring a foam mattress.

Our son, Abram, did amazing!

The next morning, we drove down to the Visitor Center and renter sand boards. There are two different mountains to slide down- simply called the Small Mountain and the Big Mountain. While Abram took his morning nap, Jacob and I climbed up the Small Mountain and slid down. The climb is EX-HAUS-TING! Serious work out! And once we got up to the mountain and I looked down, anxiety seemed to trickle down me from my head to my toes. I sat down and pushed myself on my sled.

I forgot that God gave us feet to not only keep us going forward, but also to stop us in our tracks when we need it.

And I definitely failed that. You know the movie, The Princess Bride, when Buttercup pushes Wesley down the mountain, and then she realizes that it’s Wesley so then she throws herself down the mountain and tumbles like an idiot?

That was me down the sand dunes, sand slipping into my shirt, bra, pants, shoes, hair… everywhere! I looked like an idiot, but it was still worth it!

3. Go with an attitude to try anything (or mostly anything)

Later, we hiked to the highest mountain and did the same thing. The second sand dune mountain was exactly that- the steepest mountain of sand just waiting for us to climb. The higher we climbed, the steeper it became, the sandier the steps. And let me tell you, climbing up a tall, steep, sandy mountain with a 9-month-old in a back carrier ain’t easy.

But the view, though! It made everything worth it.

*picture*

*picture*

4. Check the weather report before you go

Because it was too cloudy, we were unable to see the planetarium, which is what this area is known for. So in the end, we gave back the sleds and headed home. We were bummed, but we were grateful for the experiences that we had!

All in all, this trip was super fun and made for awesome memories! Comment if you have any tips for car-camping with an infant!