Where the bears poop is nice
So, I finally found some time to post. There is a lot happening on the work front right now that is keeping me very busy. That said, I have a lot to catch up on, so there should be a flurry of posts in the next few days.
So, my first order of business is to give my assessment of our trip to where the bears poop. For the first time, I actually went camping. Now, this wasn't "hardcore" camping where one must find the food among the surroundings, this was in a state park with lots of trailers and grills camping. The camp ground itself was pretty nice. Now, I have no real experience with this, but Debbie and the Thatchers (all pros at this) were duly impressed by what they saw. The bathrooms were a pleasant surprise. There were about 9 showers set up as individual rooms with a locking door. There was a nice dry area with a bench to keep your cloths, a few hooks for towels and coats, and a spacious area for the shower. Everything was very clean and modern, so it helped make the experience nicer. It took us about 6 hours to get there (1 hour stop for lunch) (We have found that with a child, a stop is required for every 4 hours of driving), but the drive was pleasant and not much traffic to speak of. Being Father's Day weekend, the campground was packed and we had to wait a bit to register before entering the grounds. Once there, we found the Thatchers had just finished getting everything set up on their site (which was next to ours). They have a really nice trailer that proved to be a life saver later on. With the hellos and hugs complete, we went about putting up our tent. Yes ... we stayed in a tent, though it was a nice big one with 2 rooms.
That night and the next day were beautiful. It wasn't oppressively hot and there was a nice breeze to cool things off in the tent a bit. We went swimming in one of the 2 lakes the campground has, which made the day even nicer. Now, here is where I should have known I was being snookered. You see, Debbie got me to go by saying I should try it. If I didn't like it, we wouldn't have to go again. But here is what I didn't realize. Our daughter loves to go outside. She loves running around playing with other kids. What is camping? 4 solid days of doing nothing but being outdoors. We already know Debbie loves camping. Once she got Lauren to do it, she knew Lauren would love camping. Now, I'm screwed. Even if I didn't like it, I would be outvoted at the next family meeting and we would go camping anyway. Why oh Why did I not see this? *sigh* Lauren had an absolute ball. The Thatcher kids brought all kinds of outdoors-y toys like a shovel, rake, hoe combo set that kept her occupied for many hours. There were also these small trees that she loved running into the thick of and peeking out from there. Balls were also a big hit. Turns out we have a budding soccor player in our midst. She was quite good at dribbling the ball down the field and has a wicked shot ... for an 18 month old. There was a water park nearby that, while didn't go swimming there, we did enjoy an ice cream and the kids enjoyed the play ground offered.
So, things were going fine and I was enjoying the experience. Then God thought it would be fun to send some rain our way ... no ... strike that ... A LOT OF RAIN our way. Sunday we woke to cloudy skies and some rain. Everyone thought: "No big deal. Friday and Saturday were beautiful and you have to expect at least 1 day of rain on a 4 day weekend". We hung out in their trailer playing games, watching movies, and just staynign dry generally. Everyone was getting a little cabin fevery, so we went out to Bob Evans for lunch and Meijer afterwards to let the kids blow off steam. While at Meijer, a lady saw us and recognized us as being in the camp site kitty corner to hers. We all knew the rain had been bad, while waiting for a table, the storm really picked up and started drenching the area. Well, apparently, that was slightly more water than our camp site could handle. She let us know there might be an issue with flooding back at the site. We thought she was exaggerating things a little, and even if she wasn't, what could we do? So, we stayed at Meijer and shopped a little more. I picked up a pair of shoes. Caryn and Chris both had these and they looked comfortable. Other than that, we walked around and then decided to head back to the camp site. It was then we realized, the lady at Meijer was not exaggerating at all. 90% of our camp site was sitting under water. The front of our tent was under 1" of water. Our screened tent, where we ate, was in 2-3" of water. It was quite a sight to behold. I was so glad I bought those shoes because they were perfect for this. I had no qualms walking around in Lake Thatcher (it gets their name because they dragged me there). Amazingly, nothing in the tent was damaged. There were some puddles, but nothing major and the only item we lost was a box. Everything else was dry and unscathed. Of course, we couldn't sleep in the tent where it was without a snorkel, so Chris and I had to move the tent to an area that was dry (in this case, dry means no standing water, the ground was still fairly wet). We even slept in the tent that night, so you can tell things weren't that bad.
Over all, camping was fun, though I don't know if I could do this without another family going with us. Having their site to use as well as ours made things a lot easier and let me feel a bit freer. I think I would feel a little cooped up if I didn't have that extra site to use. Also, a trailer is a must. While the tent was nice, it's hard to just sit in it. The trailer also provided a stove and microwave for cooking which proved fairly important. So, it appears we'll be doing this again. I know Debbie loved having that time with Caryn and her family (and vice verse I'm sure). Lauren had so much fun, I don't think I could deny her that experience again. So, I give ... Debbie, you win.
If you would like to see pictures of our experience, including Lake Thatcher, they are in our gallery here.
So, my first order of business is to give my assessment of our trip to where the bears poop. For the first time, I actually went camping. Now, this wasn't "hardcore" camping where one must find the food among the surroundings, this was in a state park with lots of trailers and grills camping. The camp ground itself was pretty nice. Now, I have no real experience with this, but Debbie and the Thatchers (all pros at this) were duly impressed by what they saw. The bathrooms were a pleasant surprise. There were about 9 showers set up as individual rooms with a locking door. There was a nice dry area with a bench to keep your cloths, a few hooks for towels and coats, and a spacious area for the shower. Everything was very clean and modern, so it helped make the experience nicer. It took us about 6 hours to get there (1 hour stop for lunch) (We have found that with a child, a stop is required for every 4 hours of driving), but the drive was pleasant and not much traffic to speak of. Being Father's Day weekend, the campground was packed and we had to wait a bit to register before entering the grounds. Once there, we found the Thatchers had just finished getting everything set up on their site (which was next to ours). They have a really nice trailer that proved to be a life saver later on. With the hellos and hugs complete, we went about putting up our tent. Yes ... we stayed in a tent, though it was a nice big one with 2 rooms.
That night and the next day were beautiful. It wasn't oppressively hot and there was a nice breeze to cool things off in the tent a bit. We went swimming in one of the 2 lakes the campground has, which made the day even nicer. Now, here is where I should have known I was being snookered. You see, Debbie got me to go by saying I should try it. If I didn't like it, we wouldn't have to go again. But here is what I didn't realize. Our daughter loves to go outside. She loves running around playing with other kids. What is camping? 4 solid days of doing nothing but being outdoors. We already know Debbie loves camping. Once she got Lauren to do it, she knew Lauren would love camping. Now, I'm screwed. Even if I didn't like it, I would be outvoted at the next family meeting and we would go camping anyway. Why oh Why did I not see this? *sigh* Lauren had an absolute ball. The Thatcher kids brought all kinds of outdoors-y toys like a shovel, rake, hoe combo set that kept her occupied for many hours. There were also these small trees that she loved running into the thick of and peeking out from there. Balls were also a big hit. Turns out we have a budding soccor player in our midst. She was quite good at dribbling the ball down the field and has a wicked shot ... for an 18 month old. There was a water park nearby that, while didn't go swimming there, we did enjoy an ice cream and the kids enjoyed the play ground offered.
So, things were going fine and I was enjoying the experience. Then God thought it would be fun to send some rain our way ... no ... strike that ... A LOT OF RAIN our way. Sunday we woke to cloudy skies and some rain. Everyone thought: "No big deal. Friday and Saturday were beautiful and you have to expect at least 1 day of rain on a 4 day weekend". We hung out in their trailer playing games, watching movies, and just staynign dry generally. Everyone was getting a little cabin fevery, so we went out to Bob Evans for lunch and Meijer afterwards to let the kids blow off steam. While at Meijer, a lady saw us and recognized us as being in the camp site kitty corner to hers. We all knew the rain had been bad, while waiting for a table, the storm really picked up and started drenching the area. Well, apparently, that was slightly more water than our camp site could handle. She let us know there might be an issue with flooding back at the site. We thought she was exaggerating things a little, and even if she wasn't, what could we do? So, we stayed at Meijer and shopped a little more. I picked up a pair of shoes. Caryn and Chris both had these and they looked comfortable. Other than that, we walked around and then decided to head back to the camp site. It was then we realized, the lady at Meijer was not exaggerating at all. 90% of our camp site was sitting under water. The front of our tent was under 1" of water. Our screened tent, where we ate, was in 2-3" of water. It was quite a sight to behold. I was so glad I bought those shoes because they were perfect for this. I had no qualms walking around in Lake Thatcher (it gets their name because they dragged me there). Amazingly, nothing in the tent was damaged. There were some puddles, but nothing major and the only item we lost was a box. Everything else was dry and unscathed. Of course, we couldn't sleep in the tent where it was without a snorkel, so Chris and I had to move the tent to an area that was dry (in this case, dry means no standing water, the ground was still fairly wet). We even slept in the tent that night, so you can tell things weren't that bad.
Over all, camping was fun, though I don't know if I could do this without another family going with us. Having their site to use as well as ours made things a lot easier and let me feel a bit freer. I think I would feel a little cooped up if I didn't have that extra site to use. Also, a trailer is a must. While the tent was nice, it's hard to just sit in it. The trailer also provided a stove and microwave for cooking which proved fairly important. So, it appears we'll be doing this again. I know Debbie loved having that time with Caryn and her family (and vice verse I'm sure). Lauren had so much fun, I don't think I could deny her that experience again. So, I give ... Debbie, you win.
If you would like to see pictures of our experience, including Lake Thatcher, they are in our gallery here.
posted by Eddie at 10:18
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