Roam With Friends

Tag: shared camping sites

  • Labor Day Weekend at Thousand Hills State Park

    Labor Day Weekend at Thousand Hills State Park

     

    As an adult I developed a love/hate relationship with Labor Day Weekend. I loved the long weekend. I loved the extra paid day off from work. I hated that it symbolized the end of summer. I hated the realization that soon the days became shorter and the temperatures would start dropping. I even hated that the pools closed. However, as a camper, I don’t so much hate Labor Day Weekend any longer. Many of our favorite camping trips occur in the fall. So, instead of seeing it as the end of summer, I see it as a transition from summer camping to fall camping.

    We selected to spend Labor Day at Thousand Hills State Park in Kirksville MO. This was a new state park for us, it was within the 3 hour radius limit we set, and there is a lake to play in. Our friends Mike and Marnie were already booked to be there and they offered no loud objection to the Master’s and Taylor’s joining them.

     

    GETTING THERE

    We left Kansas City late, late afternoon with plans to stop along the way to eat dinner.  Wayne took a new job and his early release Friday’s went away so we had to wait for him to fight traffic to get home. The restaurant we selected was in Hamilton MO and while it had ample parking for the trucks and campers all their wait staff had returned to college leaving the small restaurant  running very slowly. The slow service allowed the Taylor’s to meet up with the Master’s for the remainder of the journey.

    As we approached Kirksville, our GPS directed us in. We found ourselves on a dark, gravel road. The map app showed we were by the lake but we were no where near the campground. The map showed us that we were on the backside of a giant loop road and that we should theoretically  be able to follow it around and find the campground. After many jokes about Keith Morris narrating our final trip, we contacted Mike and he lead us to the campground. Ironically, his GPS did the same thing to him the day before only he was not driving down the gravel road at night.  This is the second Missouri State Park that we know of where the GPS is not connected to the state park.

    We arrived at dusk. By the time we  filled up with water, we found ourselves backing into a shared site at night. Backing up and parking by flashlight is no joke. Getting in your camper after you have traveled down a bumpy gravel road to find that you have lost all power to your first slide, is also no joke. Unfortunately, we experienced both.

    SHARED SITES

    We booked site 39, which is a family site. This was our second experience with a family site and the Master’s first. The site is wider than a regular site (in fact it is double the width of a regular site because it is virtually two put together). A family site comes with two of everything; two electrical boxes and two picnic tables and a much larger side yard. Family sites may work great for tent campers or even smaller units but they are pretty tight when you have two 32 foot campers with a combined total of five slides.

    Thousand Hills State Park

    There are two campgrounds at Thousand Hills State Park. We were in campground 1 but we did visit campground 2. I think there are decent spots at both. Campground 2 appeared to be the smaller of the two.

    Ironically, we found the entire park unsupervised. When we arrived there was no campground host  Thankfully we brought our own firewood because there was no one to purchase any from the entire weekend. There was no one working the office. Sometime on Sunday a brand new campground host arrived. And when I say brand new I mean she had never been a host before, so we had to walk her through signing our camper award.

    Park Activities

    Thousand Hills State Park is one of two state parks with petroglyphs or Native American rock carvings still visible in the park. The petroglyphs are inside the Interpretative Center just off of the swimming beach. We had a great time stretching our imagination to see the carvings, and then to decide what they meant. It was sad to see so much graffiti. People had carved their initials over the carvings. I would like to think that is the reason for the interpretive center  was built but given it was completely unsupervised I am not sure.

    We encountered a lot of people hiking at Thousand Hills. From short .6 mile hikes to long 10 mile hikes, from day trips to overnight trips there seems to be a trail for everyone.  We hiked portions of the underdeveloped Forest Lake Trail.

    If hiking is not your thing, or it is your thing and you feel the need to cool off after a hike, you can head to the swimming beach. The kids enjoyed the beach. We enjoyed the beach. Until that moment when the unsupervised child starts throwing rocks at your kids. And while the unsupervised child’s parents never see him throwing the rocks at your kids they sure see you asking him to stop throwing the rocks and they get all mad at you for addressing their child.  Swim at your own risk.

     

    The marina rents boats. We rented a TriToon boat for an entire afternoon. We had looked forward to spending our time anchored up in a cove but we learned that you are only allowed to anchor at designated swimming docks. There are four docks total on the lake and they were all busy as we approached. It felt very intrusive to join an group but we finally found a group who welcomed us to the dock and we anchored up. We spent the afternoon swimming, tubing, and just generally enjoying the lake.  For a holiday weekend, the lake was really empty. We  were able to do loops on the tube in the main channel with no worries of other boaters.

    I should note that on this trip I faced one of my fears.  I have an absolute phobia of putting my face in water. I know it is ridiculous but it real to me. Panic attack real. Watching the kids and everyone have such a fun time, I decided to give it a go. I think it is so important for me to keep trying to tackle this phobia. I think it is so important to me for my daughter see me keep trying. I got on that tube. I got splashed in the face. And I had a great time. Meeghan and I shared the last adult beverage as a celebration of my accomplishment!

    We enjoyed spending time animal watching. Wild turkeys and deer visited our campground and camp sites. Mike and I got up early and drove around the grand loop oohing over dozens of deer all over the place. Friday and early Saturday we were able to watch helicopters trim the trees from the power lines. The deer loved the fresh cut tree limbs. Have you ever seen a helicopter trim trees from power lines? Pretty amazing!

    Of course, we also just enjoyed activities at our campsite. Meeghan made giant bubble wands and we threw together a solution for making large bubbles. The kids practiced and practiced to make giant bubbles. They also got a kick out of painting rocks and watching outdoor movies, from eating home made funnel cakes, and just from hanging out with friends.

    On our last morning at the park, we attended a ranger lead program called Hug A Herp. What is a herp? We learned all about herptiles. There were even live examples. We noticed the day was foggy and the park ranger was the first to tell us how the fires in Canada were impacting our skies. I am not gonna lie to you all, we thought maybe the park ranger was a little off.  She ended up being right on.

    We saw a lot of new types of snakes. Including a pug nosed snake. Mid morning we packed up and headed home. Our ride home was way less eventful than the ride there. After this trip, we had to put Betty in the shop to fix her lack of electricity to the slide.

    So, we bid summer farewell. It is not a time for sadness because we have the fall and I am pretty sure fall camping is my favorite. So long summer; see ya next time around!

     

     

     

     

  • Camping With Those Who Inspired Me To Camp

    Camping With Those Who Inspired Me To Camp

    I did not grow up camping. My first ever camping trip came when I was 19 years old. I was visiting my Uncle Ralph and Aunt Barbara in Southern California. They took this little girl from the Midwest to Pismo Beach. My Uncle and my cousins loved to ride toys in the sand and Pismo was one of their favorite places to camp. Not only did my Aunt and Uncle expose me to RV camping (they taught me how to take a RV Shower) they also exposed me to group camping.  I don’t recall exactly how many people were that weekend but it was a decent gathering. I will always remember those RV’s circled in the sand with the waves breaking beyond us and the sound of ATV’s and dune buggies playing in the sand.

    I found these two photos of my first camping trip. Circa 1990. My task was to dig a hole for the fire that night. My experience driving ATV’s, dirt bikes, dune buggies is minimal. My Uncle let me take an ATV out on the dunes. I pretty much killed it as soon as I was out of sight and spent the next 1/2 hour trying to get it started again. But, hey, I can say I have camped and rode at Pismo Beach.  I found the photo below online. I think it does a better job of showing  Pismo Beach than my old really out of focus photo.

    This past summer my Aunt and Uncle drove their Class A back to the Midwest for a visit. They were staying at Crowder State Park outside of Trenton, Missouri and Wayne and I decided to go up and spend the weekend with them on a family site.  Last minute we also invited two very dear friends to join us in the camper as The Short Chic decided not to camp with us.

    Our camper, Betty,  had been in the shop for some minor fixes. We picked her up from the dealer and immediately headed north, Crowder is approximately 1 1/2 hours from Kansas City.  When Uncle Ralph and Aunt Barbara come “home” it is common that family members will gather just so everyone can spend as much time with them as possible. By the time we arrived there was a small gathering of family members to help walk us through the tightest parking job we have ever done. We were in a shared site with a tree on the left side that posed a serious challenge. Thankfully Uncle Ralph and Cousin Dennis have immense experience backing up and they were able to direct us. Before we knew it we were successfully parked in a shared site. (Side Note: Neither of them were around when it came time to leave the site. Wayne and I navigated our way around that tree by ourselves without a major spat!)

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    The evening was warm, not hot as it commonly is in Missouri in July.  Before dinner was served we had a dozen extended family members in the campsite and we were having a some what pot luck dinner. BLT sandwiches with fresh tomatoes, hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, deviled eggs, pea salad, lemon bars and fresh chilled watermelon. I am sure my family is like yours, we may not see each other for long periods of time but once we are together the conversation flows so easy. It’s like we were never apart.

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    After dinner I went to do dishes, when I noticed that the water would not drain. The drain was super slow and felt clogged.  Later, in the bathroom, I found the bathtub was full of water. The water from the sink had backed up in the bathtub. GROSS!!!

    Sometime the next morning we realized our grey tanks were full!   Remember, we had just gotten Betty back from the dealer where she was being fixed for several small things; one of them a water leak. I guess the dealer ran so much water looking for the leak that they filled the tank. We had no idea! I am not sure why they did not drain it after they fixed it but they did not.  Our grey tank normally holds 30 gallons of water and using our external tank we hauled 43 gallons to the dump station!  So, here is an RV lesson from Uncle Ralph to you: when your sink won’t drain first look at your tanks.

    Long after the campground host went to bed we decided to have a campfire. Thankfully the campground host did not mind selling us firewood late at night.  Unfortunately, the campfire was interrupted by the tent campers next to us. We were apparently keeping them up as we sat around the campfire talking. The layout of the family site to be odd. There was a picnic table behind our RV’s and one to the right of Uncle Ralph and Aunt Barbara’s. The picnic table behind us was right next to their electric box which meant their tent was so very very close to our campfire. By the end of the weekend, we could feel their frustration as their rolling eyes did not go unnoticed.

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    Saturday morning, as we were leisurely enjoying a cup of coffee, my dear Aunt Deloris showed up with a pan of homemade cinnamon rolls.  I am not sure where she found the time to whip those up but they were so yummy I am glad she did! After breakfast, everyone seemed to scatter to do their own thing. We opted to visit the small community of Jamesport MO with Cousin Dennis. Jamesport has a strong Amish community and I love shopping there. We had lunch at our favorite restaurant, The Country Cupboard and went back to the campground for afternoon nap. Well, I napped. Wayne and Cousin Dennis threw some fishing line into the lake at the state park.

    Saturday evening brought even more relatives to the campground. We had another nine relatives stopping by to enjoy the campfire (which we started way earlier than the night before)! We had found some Mystical Fire powder that made our campfire turn colors and we enjoyed sitting around watching the fire and telling family stories.

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    It was a great weekend spent with family and dear friends. It was the first time Wayne and I went camping without children and the second time we had camper guest outside of our immediate family.  We learned weather we are group camping with friends or group camping with family, we are the happiest of campers when we are sharing our downtime with others.  On a final note, being able to go camping as an adult with the two people I hold responsible for my love of camping was priceless.

    Thank you Aunt Ralph and Uncle Barb for spending such awesome time with us while you were back in the Midwest. But most importantly, thank you for cultivating this crazy love for RV’ing and camping in me!