An Eggscellent, Eggstraordinary, Egg Hunt in Camp

If you really want to know how gross and boring you are, ask your tween. You'll get an earful. Anyhow, being stuck with Mom and Dad in a place without WiFi - ugh! Right? Tweens one minute want to be babied, and the next minute want to be treated as adults. So I decided to do something just for fun to enjoy to the younger side of my tween Ams while there is still a little bit of it left - a surprise Easter egg hunt!





I kept my plans hush-hush, and Ams didn't see me pack the goodies. Our family was successfully on our way to kick off the 2019 camping season. We headed out to Mauthe Lake Recreation area thinking Easter weekend would be quiet, but much to our surprise found the campground packed. Turned out the drive-in sites were, for the most part, elbow-to-elbow and very tiny. Luckily we snagged a walk-in site between two reserved walk-ins. This got us up away from the road and bought us a bit more privacy and space.

Down tree along the trail - a good bit of blow down in the area.

When we arrived, I thought for sure Ams would notice the baskets and such when our family unloaded the car. I guess her keeping busy trying to find ways to avoid helping Mom and Dad has one positive outcome. She still didn't see the Easter things hidden in brown grocery bags.

Enjoying the most beautiful weather day of 2019 to date, we decided to go look at Mauthe Lake and walk on the path around the lake. Before we knew it, it was time to cook dinner. We feasted on brats and loaded baked potato soup with bacon bits, along with sides of carrots, cucumbers, and fruits. Campfire time came all too quickly.

We slept soundly, but so close to the neighbors that we heard snores coming from both directions. The proximity to others made me long for time in the wilderness. In the morning I filled the Easter baskets and hid them in plain sight. I put them in 2 grocery bags and set them on the picnic table. Then I took the candy-filled plastic eggs and hid them around the campsite. When my husband rose, I toasted bagels, and cooked bacon and eggs. Ams declined to wake up and eat breakfast with us in true tween fashion.

Egg hunt video - it's on!

Finally the time came to take the tent down and go celebrate Easter with extended family. Ams reluctantly stumbled out the door of the tent and started piddling around. I waited for her to find an egg or notice the baskets. She brushed teeth and combed hair. Still nothing. Finally she came to sit next to me and what did she find in the camp chair? An egg! She checked the other chairs and gathered a few eggs. Assuming they were her Dad's, she said, "I'm stealing it all." She still didn't get that it was an egg hunt.

The light finally came on when I said, "I hid 24 of them." It was on! I thought she would look in the bags and find her basket right away. Instead she searched high and low for eggs, stuffing them in her pockets as she went. When her pockets got full she complained that she needed an Easter basket. She still didn't look in the bags.

Eventually all eggs were found and finally, after we all had a few good laughs along the way, Ams found the basket. Before we knew it, our time at Mauthe Lake Recreation Area had come to an end. By now Easter Sunday had become a warm and wonderful day. Warm enough to melt a chocolate Easter bunny in the car while we stopped to see family. But that is another story for another time.

That's all for now, let's get outdoors and keep our wild places wild.

Please note:

The Mauthe Lake Recreation Area is located at N1490 County Rd. GGG, in Campbellsport, Wisconsin in the Kettle Moraine State Forest - Northern Unit. The Parnell Segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail runs through the Mauthe Lake Recreation area and heads north. The Milwaukee River Segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail heads south from the Mauthe Lake Recreation Area.