What's that hitting our tent, dear?

Yesterday afternoon we left right after school and headed east, to Utah. Our son-in-law Bryan is graduating from BYU, and we were anxious to attend his graduation. We planned to drive until we got too tired, and then stop for the night.

We figured we would probably stop at a motel along the way...but we put the tent and sleeping bags in the car, just in case we found a convenient campground. It's always nice to save a little money. And we love camping.

We stopped to eat a late dinner in Pendleton. By 9:00 pm we were on the road again. We figured we could make it as far as La Grande. Or maybe we'd find a campground in the meantime. No rain, a little overcast, but nothing to worry about. We had our warm camping gear with us.

Eureka! We found Emigrant Springs State Park just a short way out of Pendleton. We pulled off the freeway and followed the signs to the camping sites. What was that under the trees...snow? Yes, it was, but the road was clear, and many of the campsites had non-snowy areas big enough for our little tent. It was in the 40s, not too cold out.

We circled the loop and selected our spot. Close to the restrooms, not too close to neighbors, just enough space for the tent...perfect!

We had brought double thermarest pads, and two sleeping bags each. So cozy! We slept well all night long. Our bladders woke us up at 4:40 am.

"What's that hitting our tent?" Mark asked.
"Ugh, I hope it's not rain," I replied. "I don't want to have to pack up a wet tent."

Mark unzipped the tent and found...SNOW! About 1/2 inch!
We were really surprised. We had been so toasty warm all night, we never would have guessed.

Well, we were camped at almost 4,000 feet, near the summit of I-84 in the Blue Mountains, so we shouldn't have been all that surprised.

Since we were wide awake, we decided to pack up and get underway. By 5:30 we were back on the road, headed to our sweet family. After a long day in the car, we arrived in Provo about 4:00 this afternoon.

Here are a few photos to make you chuckle. I have no idea what our campsite looked like in the daylight. We arrived and left in the dark.

Good morning!
Mark snapped a photo of me sticking my head out of the tent.

Mark loading gear into the car.

Snowy scene.

Almost ready to go.

Did I mention how much I love having adventures with my sweetheart? We'll be reminiscing about this for a long time, I am sure. Tonight we're in a motel room in Utah, with the tent spread out near the heater...it's almost dry...