In case you didn’t notice, I took a few vacation days to celebrate the Fourth of July. My husband and I, our daughter and son-in-law and two grandchildren packed up the RV and went to Boysen State Park near Thermopolis, Wyo. Both my daughters served in the U.S. Air Force and my son-in-law is in the Air Force, so we take Independence Day very seriously.

Boysen State Park is gorgeous and surprisingly not very crowded, which was perfect for us.

We had a camping spot right along the river and the lake was nearby. We spent our mornings sipping coffee and bird watching and the afternoons floating on the lake.

It was a great trip but there were a few hiccups, which is not unusual during Johnson family outings.

The first was when we were ready to cook supper the first night we were there. The stove in the RV wasn’t working. Supposedly, it needed a new regulator. Luckily we had a propane stove top that we brought along so we cooked on it.

Note to self: Make sure the hubby checks out all the working parts in the RV before we take it out.

The next day there was a nasty storm that produced gale-force winds and hail. We didn’t get hailed on but the propane stove was blown off the table and broke, and our RV canopy was a mangled mess.

We went to Thermopolis the next day to find a regulator but had no luck.

At that point we were relegated to cooking everything over an open fire. Not a bad thing but it slowed things down a bit.

Other than that one squall, the weather was hot and dry, I mean really hot. It was so hot that we spent most of our time in or on the lake.

Now I am slathering on aloe lotion and trying not to itch my many mosquito bites.

But it was great to celebrate the Fourth with my family and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Hope your Fourth was as fun and eventful as mine.