Pioneer Camp!

This last week I joined Elise and her class at Pioneer camp. Although we only traveled about an hour, we went back in time about 150years! Here we are hiking to camp, it was just beautiful!Once we got to camp, we changed into period clothing for the time.

Doesn't Elise look just like Laura from Little House on the Prairie!!


I also wore pioneer clothes, the bonnet was really nice in the sunny weather. Behind us is the tent that we called home. We slept in sleeping bags on the ground, which would have been fine if there weren't HUGE red ants! No one got bit, so I guess we worried for nothing!

The kids did all the camp chores of serving meals, and cleaning up after each meal.

Here Elise is washing dishes with some friends.

These kids look like they are waiting to go to school in 1850! It was so fun to see everyone dressed as pioneers, it really helped to make you feel like you had gone back in time!

Elise relaxing in the shade on a porch swing with friends!

This was a one room cabin for a teacher to sleep in.

Candle making!

Rope making!

We learned that when the settlers were coming west, the kids would walk behind the wagon and turn rope. They also tied jars of cream to the wagons in the morning so that by evening when they stopped for supper, the butter was ready. The pioneers didn't waste time(even while traveling) and were very efficient multi-taskers!

This is 'Ole Coot', he is a local trapper who was raised by a bear in a local cave!

He taught us to make pouches, shoot a gun and showed us blacksmithing.

He was also a fantastic story teller!

The last morning we made tamales for lunch. We love to eat them, but had never made them before. Now that we know how easy it is, we will be making them at home also!

We had a great time at pioneer camp!

I think the kids really grew in their understanding of pioneer life, I know I did!