Every year Nate's family gathers in the Pocono Mountains at Spruce Lake Retreat for 3 or 4 days of camping together. It's like a reunion for his family, and everyone always has a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the weather this year was not so great; in fact it rained most of the time we were there. With the threat of heavy rain looming, our first task upon arriving was to rig up a tarp covering that would keep us dry for the next few days. Thankfully, there are several engineers in the family who were able to pull this off.

To add to the mess, there was also an infestation of caterpillers in the Poconos, and they were everywhere! They found their way into everything we had. We had to do some intense cleaning of our gear after this camping trip!

Uncle Scott, Grandpa and Nate put their engineering skills to good use!

Scott and Nate discuss the tarp design

After erecting a pole to tie the tarp to, we had our covering!

We saw caterpillers by the thousands!

Staying dry under the tarp

Our impromtu group picture

Nate finds the melody within

We spent a lot of time in the great room staying dry and playing games

This was the first camping trip Jen ever went on, and thankfully we had great weather! Nate's family was very welcoming, and the trip went smoothly. Jen was hooked on camping after that!

Nate is in charge of breakfasts and takes the task seriously

This tent housed 5 of us with room to spare

Grandma joins Nate in the early morning hour

Who says camping food has to be dull?

The festivities are in full swing

Scott, Jen and Susan engage in a little chatting around the campfire