Every time our extended family gets together we always say we want to do a camping trip and this is exactly what happened at our Easter gathering. I finally decided I was going to make it happen and after some talk and checking different campgrounds we found one that had a group site open and was at a reasonable price so I booked a group campsite for Labor Day Weekend.
Camp Lotus is located on the American River off of Highway 50.
Walked down to the river edge below camp. The water was just starting to rise while we were there. Later in the day when we got out at this spot the water was all the way up to the trees.
Another thing about our family is there is never a lack of food. Saturday was a pretty relaxed day as we waited for everyone to arrive.
After lunch though it started to get warm so that meant it was time to get the tubes ready to go down the river.
Some of our party are pretty white so the better get their sunscreen on. Of course parents always enjoy embarrassing their children not matter how old they are.
Everyone has to wear a life jacket on the river. Lucky that some people brought some extra life jackets that looked a little better than the orange ones.
So we drove up the road and pulled into a day use drop off location.
Some areas are pretty shallow.
Some areas are a little scary and rocky. This rock caused some problems for a few of us throughout the weekend.
Some areas are very calm and relaxing.
We did go through some white water areas. We floated by the Thousand Trails campground.
Most of us had River Run tubes which worked really great. There is a rope that is connected around the tube so you could hold onto others in the group. Which for some was a good thing and for others not so good.
There was an area just below our camp that we floated too. Just what you want right someone taking a picture of you as you are in the awkward position of trying to get out of a tube. But hey that is what family is for.
So of course once we got back to camp it was time to eat again. Tonight was some wonderful authentic Italian spaghetti thanks to Bob and some yummy Mexican food provided by Lorraine. That is what is wonderful about this type of camping every meal is a potluck so you are sure to find something delicious to eat.
Another late night family poker game. It is a requirement when the family gets together.
Sunday morning we got a much earlier start so right after breakfast we started getting ready. Definitely need to wear sunscreen.
Some of the tubes needed some extra air added.
The water was definitely higher Sunday morning. The group is excited to get into the water.
We even got Jarred out for one run down the river.
The nice thing about the
River Run inflatable float tube is that it has a mesh bottom so you can sit up inside the tube when the water is deeper.
Sometimes we would be close together and other times we could get pretty separated. There was a group of us that did a second run on Sunday and the experience was a lot different. The morning run the water was at its highest of our three trips. Sunday afternoon areas that we had floated over rocks were now totally exposed. But during the morning we had to compete with a lot more rafting companies that were taking groups down.
There were times that we had to be careful about looking up we had a whole flock of geese fly just over our heads. It was a real sight to see as they were flying just above the water.
Back in camp we told the older ones in our group that they better keep moving otherwise the buzzards might think that they were their next meal.
As much fun as we had together on the water. It was a lot of fun just being together.
Of course they did play poker during the daylight hours also.
So to sum up the weekend we lived, we laughed and we rafted with the ones we love. We can't wait to do it again next year.
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