This is part of our Oregon State Park challenge! Check out our progress here.

The drive to Prineville Reservoir State Park is long, but worth it. We arrived after dark, but this is what greeted us the next morning:

We’re…not tent campers. We like our comforts. Fortunately, Becky is good at jumping on bookings when they become available, so we had reserved a “deluxe cabin” for our stay – with a bathroom, a bedroom, a barbecue, and a kitchenette with a refrigerator. It was perched on top of a bluff, and had an amazing view.

One of our days, we didn’t even start the car. This probably sounds normal to you regular campers, but we’re usually out and about, seeing the sights. This time, we set aside lots of time to just hang around the park.

We brought the kids’ bikes, and after showing them around the park, we turned them loose to ride on their own (eek!).

We made sure to bring lots of things to keep little hands busy. Lucy stole brought a bunch of stuff from her art class to do crafts with, and Becky organized a rock-painting group. I…was nerdy.

Some homework was done as well.

The camp hosts had a new pug puppy! His name is Wally.

Will and Lucy built this “fairy castle” together, and decided that the princess that lived there was named Purplina (she’s a purple crayon). The radio-control truck was friends with her maybe? I lost track, but they had a ton of fun.

The cabin’s futon wasn’t really lit well, so we improvised for reading time.

Did I mention that this trip was over Easter weekend? We had the kids hide plastic eggs for each other, and had a prize party when they liberated the goodies from inside.

We hiked about 2 miles along the bank before turning back, and never saw another soul.

Will and Lucy both love taking pictures, so we worked in some practice time.

These were taken by schoolchildren:

On our way home, we decided to make a stop at Little Crater Lake (which isn’t actually a crater at all, FYI). Becky’s dad brought her family here when she was a kid, and she still has strong memories of that moment when she first saw the “lake”. This time, the campground was closed, but the short trail was gorgeous and peaceful, and the lake itself was stunningly clear.

The weekend was long, and we returned tired, but it was well worth it. Both of these parks are great. Prineville is one of the nicest campgrounds either of us has ever stayed at, and we highly recommend it if you’re in the area.