Camping at Valens and African Lion Safari

My sister M and I had decided in the spring that we should take her two oldest kids (her daughter H, 4 1/2, and son N, 3) camping sometime this fall. The original plan was to head up to Algonquin for a few nights, but M didn't want to drive that far, so after tossing around some ideas, we decided on Valens Conservation area. We didn't bother booking a site because seriously, who camps in the middle of the week at the end of September? And anyway, there were only five other occupied campsites the night we where there.

M picked me up with the kids just after lunch on Wednesday afternoon and after filling the cooler (I was in charge of food for the trip), we were off. There were a few sprinkles of rain as we drove, but nothing major - it was actually the last rain we would see until we left! After setting up M's massive tent (it sleeps 8) and giving the kids a snack, we dragged them around the campground on a hike. It was a challenge to keep N out of the mud puddles, they're like magnets to 3 year old boys! I was the only one who stayed clean - H tripped and got mud on her knees, and while M was carrying N around a giant mud puddle, she tripped and poor N got a face full of mud. The kids seemed to like the boardwalk the best - playing with the reeds, looking in the water. It was work for M and I though, trying to make sure they didn't fall in.

Back at the campground, we collected wood from some other campsites and started a fire (another thing we had to keep N away from, he kept wanting to touch sparks!). For supper, we made sloppy joes, or "woppy woes" as N calls them, and tried to make s'mores for desert. I gave N a roasted marshmellow, but he didn't like getting his fingers sticky, so spit out what was in his mouth (which then went down his chin and jacket) and started smearing the marshmallow goo from his hands onto his pants. Neither kid wanted to try a s'more, so M and I finished off the chocolate (which didn't melt - it was too cold!) and graham crackers.

After treking to the washrooms, we got into the tent, put the kids in as many layers of clothes as we could, and bundled them up in their sleeping bags. M and I told the kids a few stories, then read by our flashlights while they slept.

Everyone managed to sleep until 8 am (so the kids got about 11 hours ... not quiet enough, but not too disasterous either). M got the kids showered (and used up all the hot water!) while I made the batter for the poffertjes. The first batch of poffertjes got a bit too crispy, but once I figured out what size flame I needed on the stove, the rest worked great. The kids ate some poffertjes, but mostly jsut the peach slices. After cleaning up the sticky mess that kids always make, we made sandwiches for our lunches and drove to the African Lion Safari.

We had a great time at the park - feeding the llamas and the goats (and being jumped on by them), riding the boat and train, taking the bus around the reserve, watching the shows, and playing in the balls! It was funny how H would be studying the animals while N was more interested in the vehicles - boys! Sigh.

Back at the campground, I was put in charge of roasting the hot dogs over the fire in the "popcorn cage" (not sure what it's actually called), but the kids didn't want to eat the cooked ones, only raw hot dogs. They must get that from their dad! We made the meal a bit healthier with some carrot sticks.

Around sunset, we drove to the "fishing bridge" to take a short walk along the lake ... well, mostly just over the bridge and back again. Both M and I had forgotten to take our cameras out of the van and the view with the setting sun was awesome, but H didn't want to let us go back and get a camera for a picture. Even after M told her that we needed a picture for daddy, her response was, "Daddy doesn't need a picture. He's seen lots of sunsets".

There was an old man fishing of the bridge - we watched him a bit and then went to check out the other side of the lake. As we were coming back, he finally caught a fish, so called us over and let the kids pet it before releasing it. H and N were walking a bit ahead of us when he said something else to us, we turned back to the kids 2 seconds later, and there was N, 2/3 of the way through the railing with H hanging on to him. We have to keep an eye on that brother of her's!

Back at the campsite, we made some popcorn and watched the raccoon keep tying to get close to us - while M was putting the kids in bed, he even jumped up on the table behind me! It was another cold night, but we all slept well.

Our last morning, we made French toast for breakfast, then packed up the tent while N tormented his sister with a large stick he kept swinging around. Everything was in the car and we were dropping of our garbage when it began to rain again - and it didn't stop for a week!