Happy Campers
I've been talking about going camping with my friend and neighbor, Brad Burgess, for eight years. Each summer comes and we'll be hanging out on the patio and we'll say, "Man, this would be a perfect night to be camping." Then it gets to be 100 degrees and the idea fades away. All talk, no action.
But this year we actually made it happen.
It had been more than twenty years since I went camping. As a kid, we went on camping/canoeing family trips and annual Boy Scout trips. I remember being prepared for outside cooking, cold nights on the hard ground, campfire songs, fishing, hiking and wildlife.
Aubrey and Hadley went to the store with me to stock up for the adventure. Sleeping bags and mats, check. Fishing gear, check. Snacks, check. Water and Mellow Yellow, check. Bug spray, check. Beef jerky, check. Matches, check. Batteries, check. I bought everything possible to plan for the worst and hope for the best.
We picked Clinton Lake State Park in Lawrence, KS for our camping excursion after Aubrey helped research top rated camping places. There really aren't a lot of camping reviews. We found one 5 star rating that pointed us in right direction. Bloomington West Cedar Ridge Campground seemed promising as it was close to swimming and fishing, had on-site grills and most importantly, flushable toilets.
The girls packed themselves, I loaded the car, we met Brad and his two boys at their house and headed west with a "Camping or Bust" attitude.
We really had no idea if this was going to be fun at all. Camping sounds fun when you're sitting on your patio on a perfect night within 10 paces from air-conditioning, cold beer, food and beds. But would it live up to the hype?
After an hour drive, through the rolling wheat field hills of Lawrence we pulled up to the Cedar Ridge Campground only to find that it's really just a huge R.V. park. Think Sturgis with R.V.'s for retirees. Lucky for us, the Bloomington East Walnut Campground right next to B.W. was the perfect set up for tent campers. We literally staked our claim on one of the few open sites due to the 4th of July extended holiday weekend.
Brad and I set up camp in the heat of the day while the kids hiked down to the lake to check for bears. We unloaded the gear, set up the tents with ease with the help of Hadley and got the fire pit ready for action. Although it was hot, it felt great to be away from the internet, traffic and the bubble.
We played wiffleball, Bubbey helped me gather sticks for our fire kindling, we set up our chairs around the campfire and just enjoyed hanging out together. I told Brad it was like a family reunion with your cousins you only see every 3 to 5 years. The girls and boys played like family and had a blast even through separation from going to different schools and busy lives had kept us apart for awhile.
The normal temperature in July in Kansas is 95 degrees plus. For this trip, it was mid-80's and perfect for lake swimming. We walked down to the lake near our campground to find a good place to swim. The mud-lined bank, dead catfish and shallow entry made it impossible to enjoy.
So we hopped into the truck with a beach gear and found an awesome swimming beach less than a mile away from camp. All the kids and me had a blast. Sydney, Chase, Aubrey and Owen ventured out to the floating deep water barrier while Carley and Hadley and I stayed near the bank collecting rocks and enjoying the sandy beach. After a while, swimming turned into mud slinging between the kids. Brad and I watched from the bench after playing catch on the beach.
A red cell storm started rolling onto the lake so we had to head back to camp to take shelter. It only lasted about an hour but the lightening kept us in our cars for a bit but not long enough to ruin the night. After the big storm passed, we grilled brats, cooked hot dogs on sticks and boiled baked beans and vienna sausages right in the can through the steady rain, but it was fun and we liked it! No complaining from this crew. Then the sun burned through the clouds to reveal the perfect camping night. 70 degrees, no clouds, no bugs, millions of stars and no bears.
We made s'mores, sang classic rock and campfire songs to B's awesome guitar playing, looked at the stars, ran around with Dollar Store glow sticks and had a tent shadow puppet show staring a T-Rex eating a small puppy. It took us back in time when high tech was lead by fire, warm clothing and laughter.
The only thing that wasn't fun on the trip came after 12 midnight when our rowdy neighbors wouldn't stop playing army with flashlights and machine gun noises after many requests to stop. Let's just say I politely asked them to go to sleep with a few choice words. Then I spent the next two hours standing guard with my dead i-Phone and sharp keys.
The next morning I got up at the crack of dawn. Some racoons had ransacked our trash to eat our leftover pork and beans and vienna sausages. I cleaned up the mess and got breakfast of champions consisting of chips and Tara's amazing salsa, breakfast bars, pop and juice prepared and a fresh fire started. After we ate, Brad and I broke down the camp while the kids played one more game of wiffleball. It was the perfect end to a great camping adventure.
We finally talked the talk and camped the camp and I can't wait to continue the tradition next year.
But this year we actually made it happen.
It had been more than twenty years since I went camping. As a kid, we went on camping/canoeing family trips and annual Boy Scout trips. I remember being prepared for outside cooking, cold nights on the hard ground, campfire songs, fishing, hiking and wildlife.
Aubrey and Hadley went to the store with me to stock up for the adventure. Sleeping bags and mats, check. Fishing gear, check. Snacks, check. Water and Mellow Yellow, check. Bug spray, check. Beef jerky, check. Matches, check. Batteries, check. I bought everything possible to plan for the worst and hope for the best.
We picked Clinton Lake State Park in Lawrence, KS for our camping excursion after Aubrey helped research top rated camping places. There really aren't a lot of camping reviews. We found one 5 star rating that pointed us in right direction. Bloomington West Cedar Ridge Campground seemed promising as it was close to swimming and fishing, had on-site grills and most importantly, flushable toilets.
The girls packed themselves, I loaded the car, we met Brad and his two boys at their house and headed west with a "Camping or Bust" attitude.
We really had no idea if this was going to be fun at all. Camping sounds fun when you're sitting on your patio on a perfect night within 10 paces from air-conditioning, cold beer, food and beds. But would it live up to the hype?
After an hour drive, through the rolling wheat field hills of Lawrence we pulled up to the Cedar Ridge Campground only to find that it's really just a huge R.V. park. Think Sturgis with R.V.'s for retirees. Lucky for us, the Bloomington East Walnut Campground right next to B.W. was the perfect set up for tent campers. We literally staked our claim on one of the few open sites due to the 4th of July extended holiday weekend.
Brad and I set up camp in the heat of the day while the kids hiked down to the lake to check for bears. We unloaded the gear, set up the tents with ease with the help of Hadley and got the fire pit ready for action. Although it was hot, it felt great to be away from the internet, traffic and the bubble.
We played wiffleball, Bubbey helped me gather sticks for our fire kindling, we set up our chairs around the campfire and just enjoyed hanging out together. I told Brad it was like a family reunion with your cousins you only see every 3 to 5 years. The girls and boys played like family and had a blast even through separation from going to different schools and busy lives had kept us apart for awhile.
The normal temperature in July in Kansas is 95 degrees plus. For this trip, it was mid-80's and perfect for lake swimming. We walked down to the lake near our campground to find a good place to swim. The mud-lined bank, dead catfish and shallow entry made it impossible to enjoy.
So we hopped into the truck with a beach gear and found an awesome swimming beach less than a mile away from camp. All the kids and me had a blast. Sydney, Chase, Aubrey and Owen ventured out to the floating deep water barrier while Carley and Hadley and I stayed near the bank collecting rocks and enjoying the sandy beach. After a while, swimming turned into mud slinging between the kids. Brad and I watched from the bench after playing catch on the beach.
A red cell storm started rolling onto the lake so we had to head back to camp to take shelter. It only lasted about an hour but the lightening kept us in our cars for a bit but not long enough to ruin the night. After the big storm passed, we grilled brats, cooked hot dogs on sticks and boiled baked beans and vienna sausages right in the can through the steady rain, but it was fun and we liked it! No complaining from this crew. Then the sun burned through the clouds to reveal the perfect camping night. 70 degrees, no clouds, no bugs, millions of stars and no bears.
We made s'mores, sang classic rock and campfire songs to B's awesome guitar playing, looked at the stars, ran around with Dollar Store glow sticks and had a tent shadow puppet show staring a T-Rex eating a small puppy. It took us back in time when high tech was lead by fire, warm clothing and laughter.
The only thing that wasn't fun on the trip came after 12 midnight when our rowdy neighbors wouldn't stop playing army with flashlights and machine gun noises after many requests to stop. Let's just say I politely asked them to go to sleep with a few choice words. Then I spent the next two hours standing guard with my dead i-Phone and sharp keys.
The next morning I got up at the crack of dawn. Some racoons had ransacked our trash to eat our leftover pork and beans and vienna sausages. I cleaned up the mess and got breakfast of champions consisting of chips and Tara's amazing salsa, breakfast bars, pop and juice prepared and a fresh fire started. After we ate, Brad and I broke down the camp while the kids played one more game of wiffleball. It was the perfect end to a great camping adventure.
We finally talked the talk and camped the camp and I can't wait to continue the tradition next year.
posted by Scott7Ace | 7:33 AM
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