Our Family Vacation…The Good, The Bad, The Ugly...

The Good….

Our family vacation to the Black Hills was planned and we were excited! A friend was letting us borrow his RV and we reserved a campsite at one of the most beautiful lakes in the hills, Sylvan Lake. Only 45 minutes from our house and $125 for the whole week for the campsite!

The kids were pumped. They could not wait to swim in the lake, make a fire, and sleep in the camper.

We had fun when it was not raining. We fished. Made s'mores. Rode the 1880 steam train through the hills. Roasted hot dogs over the fire. Found our own firewood. Played with balls and frisbees. Picked dandelions. Ate junk food. Climbed on rocks. Made sandcastles. Rode in the canoe. Caught a fish. Slept all night.

They had fun being kids in the forest!

The camper was nice, we had a stove, fridge, freezer, sink, air conditioning, heating, a toilet and shower. Because it rained nearly every night we were there (and hailed) we were SO glad to be sleeping inside! Leah and Paul shared a bed and the kids slept ALL night every night!

Leah was not that fond of the bugs or the fire. She's become quite the girly girl, she didn't like her feet wet or dirty and liked hanging out in daddy's arms.

Paul had no fear and jumped in the cold water without a second thought. He'd scale rocks and lean over edges and make this momma very nervous! Josiah was afraid of animals and was very concerned when we were hiking around that we would meet an animal and was certain we were getting lost. He kept saying, "This is not a good idea, we need to turn back now!"

The kids enjoyed our camp meals consisting of hot dogs, sloppy joes and soup with chips and cookies. Justin's one request was junk food, so I bought it. :-)

I am very thankful we got to take a week away, be in the beauty of God's creation, and relax.

Sylvan Lake

They jumped in the water with all of their clothes on so they had only spare underwear in the car to ride back to the campsite in. They thought it was great fun!

 Our sleeping arrangements.

The Bad….

Rain. Hail. Cold. Dense Fog.

The weather was less than desirable. We spent far too much time inside for a camping trip. We were thankful to have the RV though, otherwise we would have been miserable. We watched movies and drank hot cocoa during the rain storms.

RV problems… We were the first to use the camper after winter. The person who was supposed to have winterized it and checked it before we used it did not do his job well. When we got the camper there was a horrible smell any time you turned the water on. After much difficulty, Justin finally got things working but we were told the smell was coming from the hot water heater, so not to use the hot water. We bought our drinking water and decided only to use it to wash hands and dishes and not use the shower. We were also told the tanks had all been emptied and we would be good all week without needing to dump the sewage tank.


On the very foggy day, we took the kids to Flintstones Park. We didn't stay long because the fog turned into constant mist and it got cold.

After naps one afternoon the sun was finally shining so we hurried to the lake! 

A few hours later the fog rolled in. You could see it rolling in through the hills and between the trees and on the lake. It was fascinating to watch. Then the thunder came!

 The next day, after a stormy night, the sun was shining again, so we rode the 1880 Train through the hills.

 

 

 Naps were glorious. She is the best napping partner. We can snooze for 3 hours together…

Paul loved the fire! Everything was wet so Justin had to use lighter fluid to get it going good… because another storm was coming in the distance. 

 

 Going to find more wood.

The Ugly….

Those previous pictures were the last we spent at our campsite. We were supposed to be there 1 1/2 more days.

As we were getting the kids ready for bed, we noticed a wet spot on the floor outside of the shower. Smelling it revealed a most unpleasant smell. We pulled back the shower door and Lord have mercy, it was overflowing with NOT clear water. Smelly water. The grey water and sewage tanks were over flowing and it was bad. Justin went to ask where the closet dump station was and it was 40 minutes away. We were freaking out. There was no way it could have filled up that huge tank…. oh wait… the smell from the beginning… someone did not empty it completely before winter… gaaaahh rossssss!

We got a bucket and one of the kids sand buckets and scooped out the water from the bottom of the shower so it wouldn't slosh out while the camper was moving.

It was 8:30pm and I started throwing everything in the camper and shoving everything in cabinets and containers so we could leave. Luckily a guy told us there was a campground just 5 miles away that would let you dump for $5. We went there and I immediately had flashback to this movie scene --> RV Dump scene Movie Clip

At the dumping place… I got to hold the tube in place into the hole as Justin opened the valve to let it free… and I closed my eyes and mouth in preparation for the worst. Thankfully we were spared. I have no words to describe the nastiness of it all. There may have been a significant amount of dry heaving on both of our parts. We will never own an RV, ever.

The kids cried on the way home, they did not want to leave… but they eventually fell asleep. We got in late and Justin and I unloaded everything from the camper and Justin took a bleach bath, we finally fell into bed, exhausted and grossed out to the max.

The weather for the next day looked beautiful so we packed up our minivan with the canoe on top and drove to a different lake about 40 minutes away with a beach area. The kids had so much fun! We had a picnic lunch, Justin fished from the canoe, all 5 of us took a ride in the canoe around the lake, the boys swam and swam and there was digging and sand castle making and a lot of laughter.

Regardless of the "ugly" part of our trip, we ended on a high note with a family day to the lake and loved every minute of it!