P is also for Prince William Forest Park

We camped a lot when we lived in DC.  One time, we camped at Prince William Forest Park, a site managed by the National Park Service, and the largest green space in the DC area.  Its 15,000 acres are heavily forested with streams and waterfalls and contain many ways to see the park, including hiking trails, biking paths, and a scenic drive.

Yes, that's a Harry Potter Book we're reading together!

There are a lot of things I remember about that campout.  First, it wouldn't have been a Schwamb family campout without a hike.  This particular trip, we chose a pretty short one just to get out and experience the park a little.

Additionally, the kids took their bikes on this campout, and the park was secluded enough that at ages 9 and 6 we felt comfortable letting the kids ride around on some of the trails and up to the ranger station without us having to be with them.

This was also the big kids' first campout setting their tent up by themselves.

What I remember most about this campout, though, was Lauren.  This was our first campout with her.  She was very mobile but was just starting to think about walking.  We put her down initially to start getting the camp set up, and before we knew it, she was crawling all over.  In the dirt.  She was a hot mess as she crawled all over the site.  Initially, we were concerned about that until we realized we would be fighting a losing battle if we thought we could keep her clean all weekend.  By the end of the weekend, she looked like a refugee, but she had clearly had a great time.