The Garber Family 4th of July Camping Extravaganza

For the 4th, Mom, Dad, Chris, Taunya, Taylor, Jadon, Moriah, Ian, Mike and I all went camping at Lake Moomaw. The lake, as always, was so gorgeous. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the independence of our country than by appreciating one of the most beautiful parts of it!

We even got to see a bald eagle! As for the other wildlife, we saw some deer and a not-so-cuddly hognose snake that sent us running down the trail like scared little girls. I am also told that my brother's family saw a very rare bird while on a hike.









We also got out on the lake with the boat quite a bit. Both Mike and I skied, though it took us a few tries to get up on the skis. We were a bit rusty. All the sore muscles from being pulled around the water and sleeping on the ground stayed with us and reminded us that we were a little older than we used to be. Mike and dad went fishing and had a good time catching a lot of fish, but there are no photos because none of the rest of us were feeling the need to get up at the crack of dawn.

















We did a lot of sitting around the campfire. My brother strummed on his guitar, and I helped sticky-faced kids make smores out of marshmallows that resembled lava rock.
















Of course, no 4th of July would be complete without a few fireworks. We soon discovered that the kids could create some very cool photos with their sparklers, so they had fun swirling them around for the camera.

I probably could have done without packing up all of our gear in the pouring rain on Sunday morning and the very soggy and cold ride home that followed. But it was worth it. What a great trip!