Camping Their Way

Back in April one of Kev's friends asked if we wanted to go floating/camping Memorial Day weekend with his wife and a group of her friends. We weren't real sure but said yes. I kept begging Kev to get details. What campsite? I wanted to research it before we got there. We are use to camping in the wilderness or on an island in the middle of the lake. No rules. He never could get a straight answer from B, in his defense he really didn't know. So, Kev tells me to relax and just go with the flow. If you know me, you know that is hard for me to do. I'm a planner. I want to be prepared. Especially when I am in the woods. I spend the day getting everything we would need together. We left EARLY Saturday morning just so we would have time to stop and get gas, ice, and water shoes (for Kev).  There was no need to do any of that. We were literally camping across the street from a 24 hour Valero and McDonalds!!!!!!! Less than a half mile from a grocery store!!

You can barely see the roof of the metal sheds that they stored the canoes under. Our campsite was down that hill by the river. We were under the bridge of a major highway.

Kev and I contemplated many things before pulling into that campsite. Did we want to stay? Yes, we wanted to float with our friends. No, we didn't want to camp where God and everybody can drive by and see us. Like I said we are used to wilderness. The middle of the national forest. We drove around and looked for better places to camp. In the end, we decided to go down there and have fun. Yes, I put a smile on my face. 

We set up camp and floated down the river. By the time we got back, it was time to grill. All in all it was a fun night visiting with a couple of friends. Sunday morning the forecast had a little chance of rain later in the evening, so everybody decided to pack up and go home. You have to understand, most of these people were not campers. One night was enough for them. 

It actually worked out well for us. we could leave without being the party poopers. We weren't sure if we wanted to camp somewhere else or go out on the lake with my brother. We settled on going to our normal camping place at Lake Winona in the Ouachita National Forest. I will tell you about campsite #2 tomorrow.