I’m not a big outdoor camper. Never really went as a kid growing up. My idea of roughing it is outdoor seating at the Hyatt. But last year, Nathan and I went camping for 2 nights at Cub World, which is basically “catered camping” where all of the meals are prepared for you and all you bring is your tent and sleeping bag. Ever since then, Nathan has wanted to go camping so 9 months ago we booked a reservation and reserved ourselves a Yurt.

What is a Yurt you ask? Well, if you’re like me and don’t have much camping experience, a Yurt is a wonderful thing. The word yurt is originally from a Turkic word referring to the imprint left in the ground by a moved yurt, and by extension, sometimes a person’s homeland or even kinsmen. The term came to be used in reference to the physical tent-like dwellings only in other languages. In Russian the structure is called “yurta”, whence the word came into English. ¹

Now, what can you expect if you stay in a Yurt? Well, in an Oregon State Park at least, you’ll find that each Yurt is approximately 16 feet in diameter. Plenty big for up to 8 people to sleep. There is a futon which sleeps 2, a bunk bed which sleeps 3 and room on the floor for additional sleeping bags. Fortunately for me, there is electricity, lights and even a heater (which we didn’t need on this trip).

Interior shot of our Yurt. Children not included with your Yurt.

The two Yurts in the Wallowa State Park had covered porches with small picnic tables. A fire pit and larger picnic table were out front as well.

Chief Joseph Yurt in Wallowa State Park, Eastern Oregon

Yurt covered porch.

I highly recommend staying in a Yurt especially if you’re new to camping and…

• You don’t like the idea of being in a cramped tent with your family for 2 or more nights;
• You don’t like the idea of having to walk hunched over;
• You like the idea of having electricity;
• You like the idea of having lights on inside after dark without the use of a lantern;
• You like the idea of being able to lock your stuff securely when you venture out during the day or at night to keep the bears out;
• You like the idea of only spending $29 per night for lodging; and
• You’re a city boy like me who just thinks that roughing it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

The other nice thing I realized is that Oregon State Parks are much nicer than I remember as a kid when I went on a camping trip with a friend from school. The Wallowa State Park had a nice registration desk, sold firewood (no kindling though, more later…) and flushing toilets, showers (no hot water though, crazy), a nice playground, running water at our yurt and a nice marina where you could rent boats and more. All in all, very nice. Great to see my tax dollars being put to good use, seriously.

Okay, enough about the Yurts, here are some of my favorite photos from our trip.

"Hey Dad, you call this a fire?"

When we arrived around 5pm on Sunday, the first order of business was to get dinner ready. Above, you’ll see my lousy attempt at making a fire with some bad, over priced firewood from Fred Meyer. Of course, it might have helped if I had some kindling wood. You won’t get far without kindling – which I should know as a Den leader in Cub Scout Pack 718 – and I didn’t have any because I left my hatchet at home. ² Hot dogs were eventually cooked and edible. Nobody got sick.

Running water at our nearby river

There was a nice river right by our yurt and we walked over to it many times so the kids could throw rocks in and make Chris and I nervous as they walked right up to, and sometimes past the line we gave the kids to keep them a somewhat safe distance away from the swiftly moving river that emptied into Wallowa Lake.

Devyn got excited about a massive tree trunk while Chris tickles Nathan

Down at the river, I shot this photo of the family. Devyn escaped getting tickled. Nathan wasn’t so lucky.

$76 and all I got was 10 minutes and this picture atop Summit of Mt. Howard

The Wallowa State Park lies in the shadow of Mt. Howard and on it, a path has been carved out of the side of the mountain for the Wallowa Lake Tramway, the steepest tram in North America. ³ The kids saw the tram from our campsite and really wanted to go and we figured it would be fun as well.

We drove the 5 minutes from the park to the tramway and found out that it was going to cost $76 for all four of us to go. Children 3 and under are free and I thought of trying to pass Devyn off as a 3 year old but knew if she heard me, she’d rat me out and exclaim her new found 5-year-oldness. Lying in front of the kids doesn’t set a good example I suppose, so I ponied up the money justifying that I was doing my small part to help the local economy.

15 minutes and 30 instances of assuring the kids that the tram was safe ⁴ we arrived at the Summit of Mt. Howard. All 8,150 feet of it. While we had some very nice views here and there along the way up, guess what? The summit was fogged in. Couldn’t see much. To top it off, both of the trails that lead you around the summit were closed off with about 2-3 feet of snow about 30 yards from the tram station. Thanks for the warning tram station ticket seller person.

But, we did get this photo thanks to another dad who got soaked for over $100 for the same privilege to show his family of 6 the same view. Cloud cover is nice for photography when you’re at the bottom of the mountain. Not so much when you’re at the top. Oh well, we made the best of the 10 minutes we spent poking around and the 15 minute tram ride each way.

"Excuse me, I asked for the big chair please"

Right next to the tram station on the way back to the camp site, we saw this chair. I mean, how could you miss it? So we stopped and the kids eagerly jumped up and allowed me to take their picture. Not much else to the story about the chair, though I was half expecting someone to come out of the trinket store next door asking for a sitting fee.

Chris preparing S'mores!

Back at the campsite, I was able to beg and borrow a hatchet from a nearby camper to make some kindling for our campfire that night. If you’ve ever made a fire, you know that kindling is as important as the matches or lighter wand. As the camper behind us ⁵ said to me “You’re not going to get very far without kindling”. As you saw from my pathetic fire on the first night, he is right.

Not to let my manhood or Den 8 leadership status come into question any further, I was determined to get a fire that would cook our dinner that night, but more importantly, one that would keep going to allow us to make a box full of S’mores. Proper materials in hand and with Devyn and Nathan looking on, I went about creating a campfire worthy of the Camp Fire Hall of Fame. That fire roared on for hours ⁶.

Just look at how happy Chris is with the fire in the photo above. She found a pocket under that back log that was glowing red and perfect for roasting marshmallows. The photo was a bit out of focus ⁷ so I put the Aged Photo effect on it in Lightroom and now you’d never know it was out of focus. Well, now you know I guess.

Nathan enjoying a S'more

Nathan helps Devyn get a drink of water.

We went for a walk after we got our campfire started (that fire just burned and burned – in it’s fire pit). Not sure if they were actually thirsty or if it is just a phenomenon of seeing a water fountain and getting thirsty all of a sudden, but the kids stopped and Nathan helped his little sister get a drink. Devyn adores Nathan. She wants to marry him right now and gets very upset when we explain to her that you can’t really marry your brother. Maybe in Arkansas I tell her, but not in Oregon. ⁸

Devyn posing in front of the wild deer in the park.

Sadly for me, Devyn has reached an age where she isn’t 100 percent willing to let me take her picture. I had it good for quite a while where she’d let me shoot away without a care. She’d even pose. Now, I get the hand a bit or a grumpy “No more pictures Daddy!” Ah, but if we see some wild deer in the park on our walk, that’s another story. “Daddy, take my picture with the deer!” When she sees that I focused only on her and purposely blurred out the background ⁹ I bet she’ll think twice about standing still for me again.

My fire on night two. What a difference kindling wood makes.

When we got back from our walk, I was happy to see the fire was still going, but it was slowing down a bit. So I threw a couple of additional logs on the fire and in no time, we had a wonderful source of warmth as we huddled round the campfire, ate S’mores and drank a couple of beers. Manliness – check. Unquestionable leader of cub scout Den 8 – check. Hero to my kids – check. Whew.

Deyvn hiking around near the river.

The next morning, we got up and the weather was perfect. Just a few clouds in the sky but otherwise sunny with blue skies. It actually was really warm. We hiked and marched around the river again before finishing up and packing the MDX back up for the 6 hour drive home.

"Enough pictures already Mike!"

Just before we left, we let the kids run around the camp’s playground one more time to get some of their energy out before we got back in the car to return to Portland. As we were sitting there, I tried to take a picture of Chris. Up went her hand (now I know where Devyn gets it from) to tell me she’d had enough of me taking pictures. But it didn’t stop me. These are some of my favorite photos.

All in all, a great trip. I would even go so far as to say that I’d do it again. It’s cheap, it’s fun, it gets the family together and it’s a great opportunity for me to take more pictures of more interesting things. I hope you enjoyed reading this and seeing some of our photos.