End of June and I was itching to hike a few miles and sleep outside. Took the kids with me to Harriman for 2 nights so we could hike some miles,  swim/float in a lake and camp with some nice views.  For this trip we decided to all sleep in our bivies under 1 larger tarp. The tarp was needed because rain and thunder storms were 70% chance of happening on night #2. The first night at the lake we did not need the tarp, but I chose to pitch it so they would be familiar with setting it up, since night #2 it was sure to be raining and after a grueling 15 mile hike I knew they would be tired. At least they had some familiarity with pitching it and there would be no surprises.. plus it would make it a bit easier for myself too.  Yes we inflated our sleeping pads and floated around the beautiful lake enjoying the sun and relaxing after our first day of hiking 10 miles in.  A rope swing?? Epic failure into thorn bushes!  This trip greeted us early on with a bear sighting about 25-yards away from the trail we were hiking on.  Blueberry shrubs all around for miles on end.  3 Bucks, 1 of them with velvet on its antlers..  3 Doe and 1 little fawn.  What are the chances of that?  We also heard a pack a coyote get a kill early in the evening so close to where we were camping on the first night!  Some steep climbing and longer harder miles on day 2 led us to another beautiful place to call home for the night. Wonderful views to sit and eat dinner,  Talk and laugh together before the dark clouds took over the sunset and rain began to dump down as we settled under the tarp for a solid night’s sleep.  This was a great time out again,  all of my planning worked out perfectly.. from miles hiked, water sources passed, camping destinations,  food and gear.