we can't take the heat.

I've lived in Houston my whole life and have never hated the heat as much as I did this weekend. Maybe I'm getting old?

With a 3-day weekend ahead of us, of course we wanted to plan something big so we loaded up the dogs, the coolers, and the camping gear then met Dave and Kim for a big weekend camping in the Sam Houston National Forest. 

We arrived a few hours before the others and were on a mission to locate a camping spot. I remembered a particular place from a few years back and it was so ideal, I was determined to find it again to show the group. Armed with a 4-wheel drive vehicle and mountain bikes, we ventured into some seriously off-road trails and eventually found my utopia camping spot - it was GORGEOUS! Fluffy grass, constant breeze coming in off the water, easy access to the lake and more. However, we could only get there by bike... and it was at least 4 miles in from the main road, making it impossible with all the gear we had to carry! So we settled for Plan B: a spot not as cool, breezy, or photogenic, but still near the lake and accessible by car. 

We built a great fire and ate some delicious hotdogs while telling stories and talking about upcoming events... I love my brother and Kim, they are so adventurous and interesting! In fact, the next morning they headed out for an Adventure Racing challenge while DK, Kenai, Katie, and I stayed at the Forest for more adventure. I took a nap in my camping chair and DK stayed busy, "tending to the campsite". The sun was rising and so was the temperature... we figured the best way to stay cool, especially with the dogs, was to get into the water. So we tromped through some marshy land and dove into Lake Conroe. Though it was nice at first, the sun began to drain every last bit of energy, hope and positive attitude from us both.

It was about 2p.m. that we resorted to sitting in the A/C in DK's truck - mostly to protect the dogs from heat exhaustion - and then around 3p.m. DK checked the current temp. (100 degrees!!) that we finally decided we were ok with planning for another experience soon once the weather changes and salvaging the rest of our weekend by heading back to the (air-conditioned) city. 

Since we came back, we've watched lots of movies and really felt the toll the heat took on us... feeling unusually tired and dehydrated. I'm sure I sound like a total wimp, but it seriously is scary to think of what the extreme heat is capable of doing if we're not careful. We've also been nerds on the tracking radars, watching Gustav, Hanna and Ike activity. 

All in all, it's been a great weekend full of teamwork, relaxing and taking care of one another. Hope yours was great too!!