and just like that, another year at the grey's has come and gone. i've got this kind of poetic-y essay i scratched down in bits and pieces during the trip that i'm thinking about sharing. i really paid attention this year. to the details. i wanted to remember how everything looked, and where it all was, what it smelled like, what we said and all those tiny things, because this place truly means that much to me. i never want to forget a single thing about it.
but anyway. devin and i have been so lucky to find a way, each year so far, to spend time with both families, somehow always able to overlap the two trips and spend a couple of days with each side, and it's like two totally different trips. i mean, it's the exact same trip, and they've been happening for almost the same amount of time, but the johnsons and ashbys do grey's completely different and it's kind of cool to get both. i'm a little biased, but i still love those once-a-year-hard-core-angler ashbys!
the drive up is long and ugly. this year, we were able to take momentum's truck and tow four 4-wheelers for my parents. we got to moose flat, mile 23, in the evening and set up camp right away. for christmas last year, devin's parents gave all us kids a 10-man tent. it made camping for 8 days such a breeze! my fellow tent-campers know what a blessing it is to be able to stand up inside your tent! much, much more bearable.
my entire family was able to come up this year, even though the morck's only came for two nights, it was still so fun to all be together. my grandparents and my mom's sister kristin and her family came up as well and we had so much fun.
devin did plenty of fishing, we went on a fair share of 4-wheeler rides, we drank from ray's spring (this amazing, natural spring), we played bingo (camping with grandma means playing bingo for prizes like tapioca pudding snack packs and kitchen scissors and garbage bags), and hours and hours around the campfire. i read almost an entire book and got a killer sunburn (on day 3. true katie fashion), and devin and i took more than one "bath" in the icy cold river! also, i'm pretty sure the entire time Scarlett was there, the only time she wasn't being held and ogled by one of us was when she was sleeping, and even then…
we always joke that my dad is only a good cook when we are camping, and i'm afraid it's true! his pancakes taste better, and his omelets could win awards! and hot chocolate never tastes that good at home?! we always leave grey's feeling a little sick because we usually always never eat anything but junk… ha!
after four days with my family, we packed everyone up and said goodbye. my dad stayed there at moose flat for a few more days with his best friend, Kevin (kevin and dad have been making this annual trip to grey's since 1987. they've made hats about this. it's a huge deal for them, and it's adorable.) and devin and i headed down to murphy creek, mile 13, to spend the last half of our trip with his family.
it was just us, his parents, and sean and chloe with ben and moe. we had so much fun! more good food, endless entertainment for the cutest and busiest little boy i've ever known and you guessed it: more fishing! i didn't get a fishing license at all this year, so chloe, vicki and i stayed at camp the first day while the boys fished and we hung out at camp, talked, snacked and watched ben play in the kiddie pool vicki brought for him. it was still so much fun! i loved having chloe there, we always seem to go to grey's at the different parts of the week, but this year, she and sean moved a few things around so they could come up the same time as us and i'm so glad they did!! we had a blast. i love having friends built in to my family!
the second day with them, sean's allergies were so bad and ben wasn't sleeping well so sean and chloe decided to go home a night early. we were so sad they left but they picked a good time because it rained almost the entire next day! i didn't mind because rain at grey's means less dust, less bugs and less heat. while devin fished with his parents, i got to read - just what i wanted! i read for probably 4 hours while he and his parents fished in the drizzly weather that turns everything even greener. it was such a perfect afternoon.
grey's river truly is my happy place. devin is trying to convince me to cremate him when he dies and send his ashes down that river, and whether or not that will actually be the case, we won't find out for hopefully another couple decades, but it just goes to show how truly incredible this place is.
i've said it before, but i really am so lucky to have married someone who i didn't need to try to explain this to. he already felt the same way about grey's. it's hard to try and get someone else to understand why this dinky yearly camping trip is such a big deal, but devin totally gets it, because he feels the same. we can't wait to take our own kids there some day and continue the tradition!
cooper did so well on this trip! he was awesome in the car, especially. we always have a really hard time getting him to eat whenever we take him on trips, so this year we brought wet food and it seemed to work! he turned 2 while we were up there, and i planned on making him a little birthday cake, but he threw up a few times, so we decided to skip it. he played well with the other dogs, and it slowly starting to get the hang of swimming in the river (he doesn't understand the current, he's used to swimming in a lake!)
my favorite part about grey's is how cold it gets at night. it's wretched hot all day long, but once the sun falls, it drops at least 20 degrees, and devin and i hunker down in our warm bed, and wake up so warm and comfortable with cold noses. i absolutely love that feeling! nothing more relaxing than a warm cozy bed on a cold morning, especially when it's raining.
8 days later, i was pretty ready to be back home. but that first night back at home, back in our bed, i slept so horribly. the air conditioner, which usually lulls me to sleep, was just not doing it. i missed the sound of the river. and the air was too warm, i wanted to suck in cold, dewy air from my warm bed, not this 70 degree crap. i tossed and turned and couldn't get comfortable, and laughed because i had slept amazing the last 7 nights on an air mattress.
but that's the grey's. that's the kind of thing it does to you, i guess.
this dog has a sixth sense. he knows when an adventure is about to happen.
our rig! we really loved driving that nissan titan! we were so lucky that momentum let us borrow it! it was perfect for the trip, and pulled that trailer full of 4-wheelers so well!
did you want to see a zillion photos of cooper sleeping in the car? oh, good! because i took more than enough:
we've arrived! i love this river.
devin wanted to do a little solo fishing, so off he went.
i really need to work on my camping attire, because a few hours after this photos is when my wicked sunburn revealed itself (and it's still pealing, by the way.)
coop's our little river rat. he loved it! he loves water (except when it comes to baths)
my aunt's GIANT newfoundland. he's only 10 months old! he is such a sweetie.
cooper?
i love river rafting! it was cold, but so much fun. being in the river gives you a much better view than standing on the bank ever will.
here's the part of the trip where we went fishing at murphy lake and caught, like, 30 fish in 2 hours. they were going crazy! the guys just waded out a couple feet and fished right there! i stopped taking pictures because it was happening to fast! my brother kyle is showing off the ones we kept for dinner. we threw back at least three times that many, and they're big fish!
do fisherman come any cuter? they don't.
this is where they were catching all the fish from! barely in the water at all!
even cute little claire caught and reeled one in!
i can't get over her outfit. little chacos!!
murphy lake! this lake has a lot of amazing memories for me.
don't mind my camping nast.
scarly bird is the center of attention wherever she goes! she's the happiest, smiliest baby. she's got that high pitched, squealy laugh going for her right now and we can't get enough! she was an awesome little camper.
barstow lake
aunt kristin and her husband rich at barstow
most of the girls stayed back at camp while this group hiked to barstow lake. probably one of the prettiest places i've ever been in my life. i decided not to hike this year, but now i'm kind of sad i didn't go! (dad, sean, kyle, zac, devin, lincoln, kristin, rich)
then we took all our guns out to play! i love getting a chance to practice, and i'm slowly getting better! i also shot some of my dad's and brothers' guns, but i'm still a sucker for that beretta devin and i got earlier this year!
this is a better depiction of what cooper looks like camping. wet, dirty, and happy.
is that 5 star camping or what? it was so luxurious to have such a big tent! and we had a cot for our air mattress. it was so nice!!!
okay i know ben looks like he isn't having fun, but he was just so intensely concentrated on what he was doing! this kid is the busiest boy i've ever met! he is so funny! he loves playing in the dirt and the water!
be still, my heart!! nothing beats those big dark eyes and long dark lashes. he is too much!!!
ben was also way into the 4 wheelers! we took him on a few rides around camp, and we kept catching him climbing up on the 4 wheelers by himself! devin is such a good uncle with him, i love it!
and a true farewell from grey's: rain and fog. it was too beautiful to be mad about.
