Aix-en-Provence and Camping on the Ardèche River

We went to Aix-en-Provence and camping along the Ardèche River the last weekend in September. I had been to Aix with Beth in spring and wanted to go back and do a little shopping to get some gifts before coming back to the US this fall. We also went to the Pont d'Arc on the Ardèche River back in July and decided it would be great to come back and camp along the river in September - when it was cooler and less crowded. It finally worked out for us to go down the 26th and 27th of September.

We went down to Aix-en-Provence on Saturday morning, and did a little walking and shopping around the old town.

boys playing in the fountain

This was my favorite pottery store in Provence from my previous trip with Beth.

Unfortunately, it was a crowded shopping day and while I was in this pottery store, Piper ran off into the crowds! It was a scary time for us as we looked and looked for him and couldn't find him. Long story short, he was found and retained by a kind man and returned to us when other volunteers spotted him and recognized him from our description. We were very thankful for the wonderful people of Aix-en-Provence and their willingness to help us look for him. And we were especially thankful to God for keeping him safe and bringing him back to us unharmed!

We left after that terrifying experience and went to the Ardèche river to set up our campsite.

The camping was pretty scarce in September, so we got the site closest to the arch!

Swimming in the Ardèche River by the Pont d'Arc, a natural arch.

Piper, safe and sound!

Our oldest trying to teach CJ how to skip rocks :)

sunset behind the Pont d'Arc.

The next morning we drove up out of the gorge.

View from above of the Pont d'Arc over the Ardèche River. Our campsite was just on the right side of this photo - you can't see it through the trees.

View down the Ardèche River.

View the other way down the gorge.

We spent the day on Sunday swimming and enjoying the river.

Throwing rocks into the river kept the boys busy and happy for hours. We took video, but I figured this series of pictures is about as good!

With the exception of losing Piper on Saturday, we had a wonderful weekend. The weather was perfect and we loved camping along the river. September was the perfect time for us to go, we still had lovely weather and avoided the crazy summer crowds!

We learned our lesson about letting Piper out of our sight even for 3 seconds. Hopefully he learned his lesson about running from us as well. Hold your loved ones tight tonight. Every day is a gift from God.