OMSP Car Camping Trip

My sister came in town for the Helena Buck Creek Festival so I took Uncle Doug and Lil'E, his son, out on Lil'E's first camping trip. Uncle Doug, NovaEagle, SugarPie and I setup camp while waiting on Lil'E to make it in from Atlanta with his mom. We cooked some hotdogs on the grill and chilled out around the camp fire. We had to scrounge for some wood but got enough to build a small fire. As Bear Grills says, a small fire is better than no fire as it provides comfort in the dark. So we were very comfortable.

After a bit we heard from Lil'E's mom and Uncle Doug and NovaEagle picked him up at the front gate. There were some frogs croaking across from the little slough that we were camped next to. SugarPie and I had gone and looked at them earlier and so now we took Lil'E and NovaEalge over there to see them. It was pretty cool because you could get close enough to see them on the trees croaking. The kids really enjoyed it. Of course that night, all that croaking kept Uncle Doug and I up all night.

We also eased out to the beach area and played in the sand in the dark. It allowed us to really see the stars and enjoy the night sky.

The next morning we got up early and had some sausage and eggs cooked by Uncle Doug. He is one cool Uncle. Thanks Uncle Doug. Afterwards he slipped across the slough and caught a really nice bass. The rest of us tried but to no avail. Uncle Doug did give us some really good tips though. Then we all saw about a 3 pound bass slinking in the shallow water. We watched him for several minutes and he never left the little spot he was hanging out in. We then headed out for the Helena Buck Creek Festival.

We made it back that evening and piled into the canoe and the kayak. We paddled all the way across the lake to the fishing shack. I got us some worms and we headed back out to a cove on the North side of the lake. Lil'E managed to snag a nice catfish and declared that he was through fishing for the day since he had caught on. Uncle Doug snagged a catfish and let SugarPie reel him in. I, as usual, caught some weeds and sticks.

We paddled back in and spent some time on the beach. I jumped in the freezing cold water with the kids while Uncle Doug made a quick trip back out in the canoe to try his hand at catching some bass. He wasn't so lucky in the evening as he had been in the morning. The kids had a blast jumping off my shoulder as I would throw them way up in the air before coming back to splash into the water.

MamaCacher and Lil'E's momma showed up with some grub from Backyard Burgers and we chowed down. Yeah, it was cheating and not the way that I would have done it but it was nice for everyone so I ate without any guilt. :-) We hung out for a bit and then MamaCacher and Lil'E's mom had to cut and run.

Some nearby camper kids came over and we told them about the frogs. Well they went and got lights and Daddy and we proceeded to take them on a frog tour. On the way over the bridge we saw a water moccasin in the water. That livened things up a little bit. We made it over though and got to see the frogs really croaking it up. Our kids really enjoyed showing the other kids where all the frogs were. They even caught a few and checked them out up close. After wards they let them all go.

We ate a few marshmallows over the fire after we scrounged for some more wood. I passed out the light sticks and we made our way into the sleeping bags. Around midnight I heard the thunder in the distance. SugarPie was having problems sleeping and asked me if that was lightening. Well it was some serious lightening and thunder. I finally woke up Uncle Doug. Yeah, he was sleeping through the frogs and the thunder. He immediately made the decision that we were out of there. We got the kids in the cars just as the big drops of rain hit.

We called the house to let them know we were headed that way and to have the beds ready. It was raining so hard I could hardly see the road. It quit about the state park gate and I wondered if we had jumped the gun. We made it home, got in the bed and I went to sleep until the next morning. Well, MamaCacher told me that about three more fronts came through during the night that I was oblivious to.

Later that morning Uncle Doug and I went to get the camping stuff from the camp site. The wind had blown under the tarp and the water had run under the tent and everything was soaking wet. There was water puddled in the tent. Uncle Doug made a most very good decision to cut and run when we did. By leaving when we did, we had a little excitement and still had a good nights rest and a good story to tell.