[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Last weekend was our annual Pollard Family Reunion Camping Trip. We have 2 new additions to the family this year, so it was a big group. We needed 4 motorhomes to accommodate all of us!

Sometimes the backpacker in me is embarrassed at the amount of lux we haul into the desert every year, but I have to admit that a hot shower after swimming in the cold, muddy Colorado River is basically the best thing ever.

Dad always brings lots of gasoline-powered toys for everyone, and I try to coordinate at least one common meal that is extra special. This year I made smoked pork green chili to make green supremes for breakfast on the last day. If you’ve never had a green supreme, stop what you are doing and go to Pufferbelly’s now. I did all my work in advance so I could lounge by the fire and tell Tim how to properly cook hashbrowns. It was awesome.

Anyway, no one came here to read my drivel, so here are the photos![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][image_with_animation alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” img_link_large=”yes” img_link_target=”_self” image_url=”3650″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][image_with_animation image_url=”3652″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” img_link_large=”yes” img_link_target=”_self”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][image_with_animation image_url=”3653″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” img_link_large=”yes” img_link_target=”_self”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]

Thursday night Brian and I headed up to claim our pre-scouted camping spot early. I was furious when our group spot was taken up by one truck and a 2-person tent. Seriously guys? So we drove down the road a ways and found this awesome sauce spot.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]The next morning Brian and I drove down to the Jug Rock (I named it that)- a spot we thought would work for a group site. We spent the whole day cleaning up cactus and cow poop from the clearing. When I saw the first of the motorhomes appear around the bend, I scaled jug rock in my bare feet and jumped around furiously so they could see me from the road. The first thing the kiddos did when they spilled out of the RV was climb up the rock to join me. They made it look a lot easier than I thought it was.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]

My nephew Connor is too little to climb, so his mama helped him ride his brand new 4-wheeler. He just learned to drive it 2-weeks ago. He’s 4…. about the same age I was when I learned to ride on our farm in Montrose. ♥

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Dad wanted to show us a spot he knew about with an impressive amount of dinosaur bone fossils, so we all rode up to check them out. After the little kids left, the Brians found a ton more. We were literally stepping all over them.

After the hunt it got close to 90 degrees, so we rode down to the fish ford (a spot where you can cross the river in a jeep when the water is low) and swam in a Colorado for a while. The water felt so nice that we then rode down to another spot  that Brian and I have always loved, right at the end of Westwater Canyon, and swam some more.

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We did more lounging and chatting around the campfire on the last night, and after I photographed my sister and niece in pretty dresses on the top of Jug Rock at sunset, the boys tried to spell the word “JOY” with their fire sticks. It was a great trip. ♥

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