Summer Camping

Recently we returned from a beautiful fun-filled camping trip.

It's been a crazy summer with too much going on and I hadn't really felt relaxed since school got out.

But put me in the mountains with...

Chilly mornings

Warm sunny afternoons by the pool

Cold evenings by the campfire toasting marshmallows

Full bodied red wine (yes, red wine even while camping)And I actually started to unwind! 
Because there is nothing quite like being in the mountains. (except maybe being at the beach, but that's a story for another day)

While there I went for an early morning run with breezes in the dense leaves, laughter of kids on bikes in their pajamas, scents of bacon cooking on open fires, coffee brewing in the open air, early campfires lit to chase the morning chill..  and I finally hit my stride. Literally.

Summer Sketchbook, "Leaves", watercolor and ink, Erin Rogers Pickering


Relaxed, calm, happy, totally chill and feeling wonderful.

Summer Sketchbook, "Leaves with Patterns", watercolor and ink, Erin Rogers Pickering

As I was finishing up my run a leaf fell right in my path.

One perfect orange and yellow Autumn leaf.

The first sign of fall - and just as I was hitting my summer stride.

Lakeside - Summer Sketchbook Project

"Lakeside", watercolor & ink on paper, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

There is nothing quite like a weekend by a lake... so relaxing and restorative!  Quiet mornings of reading, sketching, walking, and canoeing. Sunny afternoons filled with boating, skiing, swimming and corn hole. Fun evenings playing board games and ping-pong, and roasting marshmallows over a blazing campfire.  

Great times with family! And our daughter now has friends her age at the lake... so the weekend was perfection.  And, hard to say goodbye to.

I finished up my sketch with paint this morning and it brought me right back to the peacefulness.   Looking forward to the next time and holding on to that relaxed feeling until then!!