Camping, Mountains and Lakes.... Oh My!

For this Fathers's Day, the kids and I treated their dad to a "back to basics" weekend, in the mountains! Which meant, 3 days of NO electronics. Of course we brought a cell phone, in case of emergencies... but we left it in the van the whole trip.  The weekend was full of a lot of "firsts"... Here's how it went... Photo Overload :)

We went to Keowee-Toxaway State Park in Sunset, SC.   Blue Ridge Mountains are a province of the Appalachian Mountains.  It's about 50 minutes northwest of Greenville, SC. The drive through Greenville, and the foothills were absolutely gorgeous. 

When we arrived, we set up camp. This was the first time the kids stayed in a tent.

Since we had, nothing but, time... we decided to drive around the park and see where everything was. We tumbled upon an access point to the lake, and -although we told Madison we can only put our feet in for now- we wound up swimming cause Madison jumped right in! 

It was worth it, everyone had a great time, including Sienna - who we found out is part dog/part fish. This was the first time the kids were in a lake.

Back at camp, later that night... We had dinner, sat around and talked... I showed the kids how to make friendship bracelets and we had S'Mores... yum. 

Madison was the entertainment, as she danced and sang for us.

Joey helped dad with the fire.

It truly wasn't dark until 9:30/10pm, so about that time is when we jumped inside our tent for the night. But first... campfire stories

Something about a sunrise over a mountain is actually spectacular and refreshing.

Now it was time to prepare for our mountain trail hike. We drove to the next State Park which was Table Rock and set out for natural waterfalls and mountain views. Then spent the day swimming, lounging, and anything we wanted.... It was a GREAT trip!