I am very glad that at the beginning of the year, we inadvertently started an awesome family camping project which has brought us many cherished family memories. We nicknamed it "Sleeping Under the Stars". Twelve months later we have "completed" our family project's goal which was to...

Camp outdoors for at least one night, each month for the entire year

Now you may ask why there are quotes around "completed". If I had followed my own rules, we should have camped in December but we didn't. Why? Well it wasn't because the weather was bad (Is the weather in California ever bad?) or that we did not have time. The reason was my pregnancy...our last camping trip was pretty painful to sleep on my luxury camping pad, I knew that it would only get worse if we camped a month later.

But the "Sleeping Under the Star" results are in...

21 nights camping, over 11 months in 12 different campsites in two states
We camped at five (5) California State Parks, two (2) National Parks, two (2) Regional Parks, one (1) Private Campground
One WHOLE week of continuous camping and two successful backpacking trips with our toddlers in tow!

I still haven't had a chance to write about all the locations we visited but I still wanted to share the bits and pieces our year long project! So here I go!!

January 2014 ~ Half Moon Bay State Beach: Francis Campground - Half Moon Bay, California

Camping by the beach is always fun, throw in a Mavericks surfing competition, friends, and crazy big waves and it becomes very memorable! The huge crashing waves sounded like fireworks all night long. Half Moon Bay was a great location to start our project.

February 2014 ~ El Capitan State Beach: Francis Beach Campground - Goleta, California

California winter camping is beautiful, especially when we were having record break warm temperatures for February! We spent a Valentines Day grilling up the BEST heart-shaped rib eye steak and enjoying the California coast with our little family! We love camping by the beach.

March 2014 ~ O'Neill Regional Park Campground: Trabuco Canyon - California (Orange County)

When you think of Orange County, camping is not usually the first thing that comes to mind but we had a very relaxing time at O'Neill Regional Park Campground. Dry creek exploration along with a visit by some beautiful tropical birds definitely ranked high on our "outdoor fun" list!

April 2014 ~ Pismo State Beach: North Beach Campground - Pismo Beach, California

We love to road-trip! Throw in some camping are we bound for a great time. We made a one-night stop at Pismo State Beach on our way to Los Angeles. We had some delicious Mexican food that night and enjoyed sand dollar collecting the next morning before continuing on down the road to LA.

May 2014 ~ Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve: Stewartville Backpack Camp - Antioch California

Our first family backpacking trip of the year with so many firsts! From rattlesnakes, to carrying in our own water, to trying some dehydrated meals, this hike-in campsite was a great way test out the "backpacking with toddlers" water again!

June 2014 ~ Sequoia National Park: Dorst Creek Campground and Pear Lake (Backpacking)

Our longest camping trip EVER! Six blissful days at Dorst Creek Campground in Sequoia National Park. Wildlife visits everyday and countless memories made on this little piece of National Park.

We decided to incorporate a overnight backpacking trip at Sequoia National Park and do an overnight backpacking trip to Pear Lake. The kids had a blast on this 7 mile (14 mile Round Trip) in and out hike to Pear Lake, and our 4 year old son hiked the ENTIRE way!

July 2014 - Lake Camanche: South Shore Campground - Valley Springs, California

When we camp, we normally just camp with our family and a few close friends! But once a year we attend my church family camping trip of about 100 people! This campground might not be my first choice but it sure does have a great place to cool off: Lake Camanche. A great "plus" of someone else organizing the camp is that someone else does all the cooking!

Pregnant Camping Month #1: This was also the first month, of "Pregnant Camping" but no one knew about it yet except my husband and I!

August 2014 - Salt Point State Park: Woodside Campground - Jenner, California

Not only do we love camping with our children, but we love taking our Jr. High and High School students from my church, camping! Thanks to our partners at Latino Outdoors, we were able to take our group camping at Salt Point State Park. Our students hiked through the Pygmy Forest, played soccer on a beautiful Northern California beach, learned to chop wood, make fire, and cook over an open flame!

Pregnant Camping and Hiking Month #2: This is where I started noticing how even in early in my first trimester, I needed lots of WATER and snacks!

September 2014 - Mount Diablo State Park: Live Oak Campground - Clayton, California

I wouldn't call this a "failed" camping trip, but we were so confident in our camping skills we failed to check something very important, our cooking options. We planned to cook all via firewood but didn't realize because of the drought and Mt. Diablo's fire danger level we could only use stoves and coals. Thankfully we brought our backpacking stove which we used a lot during our one-night camping trip on the "Devil Mountain"!

Pregnant Camping Month #3: I needed to bring more padding and pillows for my ever growing belly.

October 2014 - Shenandoah National Park: Big Meadows Campground - Stanley, Virgina

I think this was our most memorable overnight camping trip because it was our only "Out-of-State" camping trip, we were dying for cold weather and we finally got to test out how warm our tent and sleeping bags kept our little family! We still had some hiccups, like not being able to find the water spigot until the morning and running out of diapers. YIKES!

Pregnant Camping Month #4: For some reason this was the best night of sleep I remember so far in my pregnancy!

November 2014 - Spring Lake Regional Park: Group Campground - Santa Rosa California

Photo Credit Latino Outdoors

As a Regional Coordinator of Latino Outdoors I was able to get my Wilderness First Aid Training Certification! That was a goal that I really wanted to complete this year. Of course the training was held outdoors and we camped for two nights at Spring Lake Regional Park! Not only did I get my certification, my children were able to come along, my husband and fellow church youth worker Nate also got their certification! Thank you so much Latino Outdoors!

Pregnancy Camping Month #5: This was it...it was pretty rough couple nights sleeping, even with lots of pillows, and thus ended camping for 2014.

Chasqui Mom Last Thoughts...

We had a BLAST camping this entire year! This family project started off as a "well let's take advantage of the warm winter weather" and turned into an epic year of camping and backpacking for my family. It has helped us become better campers, our kids LOVE camping and ask to camp all the time now. Many more posts will come of this project because I have experienced so much and can't wait to impart the things we have learned enjoying to be outdoors as a family.

Related Posts and Links:

"Sleeping Under the Stars" Family Project

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