Who knew choking each other would earn us fastpasses?

[MissLiz]

Oh, Lisa, I'm so sorry to hear about your brother-in-law, but I'm sure you all feel a kind of relief that he is no longer in pain. I will continue to pray for your family as you work through his passing.



Now, on to the camping stuff. Umm, yeah, I don't really DO spiders.

We had a wolf spider get into our house one day and I about freaked because I was home alone with the kids. I sprayed that stinkin' thing with a ton of spider spray and then went to get the shovel to get it out of the house. My oldest was on the couch in hysterics and my toddler was just watching me like I was crazy. Which, of course, I'm sure I am a little bit.


And that raccoon is just too cute! I'm sorry, they may be a nuisance, but they are just so sweet-looking.


Too funny about the boys sleeping in the back of the truck. They must have been pretty packed in there because it doesn't look like there was much space between all the totes.

 

[mickeystoontown]

This is a sawtooth oak tree. The leaves look like saws and the acorns have a cute little "cap".

While John and I were gathering up a few of the acorns and looking for rocks with quartz in them the kids were skipping rocks. Remember we said we were going to have a rock skipping contest? They tied!

The sun was setting fast and we wanted to fish at one last place before calling it a day of fishing. I had to take even more pictures. Sorry, I know ya'll are probably tired of the sunset pictures (but get over it because these ain't all I got)

We drove over to the other site. I was in the lead in the "who caught the most fish" contest and everybody was hoping that the next spot might catapult them into the lead.

Me fishing (still in the lead I might add):

Across from us were dozens of geese. You can hardly make them out but they are there:

More sunset pictures. Go ahead, let out the sigh, it's okay.

I thought these tree roots were cool. They were all gnarled up and twisted:

It was getting pretty dark about this time and that section of the park was closing at dark. I was still ahead with 16 fish to Lacey's 4, Hunter's 6 and John's 5. (Is there a tongue sticking out smiley I can insert here?) Lacey and Hunter waited until it was the very last minute before they stopped fishing.

Hunter's off in the distance somewhere in this picture. It gives you an idea of how dark it was:

***Up next: Our run-in with the self appointed deputy park ranger

 

[rndmr2]

I'm so sorry for your loss, but I'm sure it also feels like a relief that he is no longer suffering, my prayers are with your family.

That lake is beautiful, looks like you guys had a great time.

 

[dismagiclover]

My sympathy and prayers are with your family at this difficult time.

Those are some beautiful pictures from your camping trip.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Oh, Lisa, I'm so sorry to hear about your brother-in-law, but I'm sure you all feel a kind of relief that he is no longer in pain. I will continue to pray for your family as you work through his passing.



Now, on to the camping stuff. Umm, yeah, I don't really DO spiders.

We had a wolf spider get into our house one day and I about freaked because I was home alone with the kids. I sprayed that stinkin' thing with a ton of spider spray and then went to get the shovel to get it out of the house. My oldest was on the couch in hysterics and my toddler was just watching me like I was crazy. Which, of course, I'm sure I am a little bit.


And that raccoon is just too cute! I'm sorry, they may be a nuisance, but they are just so sweet-looking.


Too funny about the boys sleeping in the back of the truck. They must have been pretty packed in there because it doesn't look like there was much space between all the totes.

Thank you for the condolences. I am glad that his suffering is over.

Your story was too funny! I am sure that the kids thought you had lost your mind.

I couldn't believe it when John said he wanted to get in the back of the truck. When he gets his mind set on something, he usually does it.

I'm so sorry for your loss, but I'm sure it also feels like a relief that he is no longer suffering, my prayers are with your family.

That lake is beautiful, looks like you guys had a great time.

It is definitely a relief now that we know he is in a better place. I am sure that he is running around in Heaven having a grand ole' time while we are still here on this Earth.

The lake is gorgeous. We thought that the trees may be turning a bit more but I guess it was a little early.

 

[KatMark]

Lisa, I am so sorry to hear about your brother-in-law, but it is good to know he went peacefully and is no longer in pain.

Great update on the camping picture. But I have to tell you...the pictures with the spiders...that is one of the many reasons you won't ever catch me camping again. I can't believe you won the fish contest with all of the pics you were taking.

Sending you many dear friend.

 

[mickeystoontown]

My sympathy and prayers are with your family at this difficult time.

Those are some beautiful pictures from your camping trip.

Thank you so much!

The state park is absolutely beautiful and I can't help but take picture after picture.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Lisa, I am so sorry to hear about your brother-in-law, but it is good to know he went peacefully and is no longer in pain.

Great update on the camping picture. But I have to tell you...the pictures with the spiders...that is one of the many reasons you won't ever catch me camping again. I can't believe you won the fish contest with all of the pics you were taking.

Sending you many dear friend.

The first thing my mother asked my sister was "did they ever relieve his pain?". When my sister said yes, we all felt so much better.

I have never been afraid of spiders or bugs or bees. Lacey, on the other hand, is scared to death of bugs. You would think that I'd be afraid of bees because when I was a little girl, a swarm of bees surrounded me and I had over 100 stings on my tiny little body. I think I was 5 or so. I can still remember my parents throwing me down on the ground and, literally, picking bees off of me. They put me in a bath of baking soda and sat outside the hospital all night long just in case I had an allergic reaction to the stings.

You know me and pictures, I take way too many. I only posted about half of the ones that I took.

 

[overthemoon4mickey]

Did John count this little guy?


I am so sad to hear of you BIL's passing. Your family is in my prayers.

 

[jenseib]

I'm so sorry about your BIL. But at least he is no longer in pain. WE will keep your family in our prayers.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Did John count this little guy?


I am so sad to hear of you BIL's passing. Your family is in my prayers.

That's one of the little bitty fish that Lacey caught. We couldn't figure out how she even hooked that one. He was about the size of bait.

Thank you for the prayers.

I'm so sorry about your BIL. But at least he is no longer in pain. WE will keep your family in our prayers.

We appreciate the prayers. We know that he is in a better place but his loved ones are now suffering.

 

[jenseib]

Did all 4 of you ride in the cab of that truck? How the heck did you fit? LOL! I love the hillbillie riders. Too funny.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I just realized that I forgot something before. The first night we got to the campground, Lacey woke up about 5:00 a.m. saying she was freezing. The girl was freezing even though she had two sleeping bags and an air mattress. We only had three cots because when we bought them, we thought Lacey would never be going camping with us again. We had all offered her a cot when we went to sleep but she said she'd be find lying on an air mattress and with two sleeping bags.

So, at 5:00 a.m., she and I took her sleeping bags and put them in the cab of the truck. She said she would be fine sleeping there. Silly girl! Oh and since we were up, we walked over to the bathhouse for a potty break. It was cold that early in the morning.

Okay back to our regularly scheduled camping trip report:

When we got back to the campsite, we realized we were hungry from all that fishing (and I was hungry from kicking their butts in the fishing contest ). The wind was still blowing pretty hard but we wanted to build a fire long enough to roast weiners and a couple of marshmellows.

The Ranger had told us that we could build a fire in the firepit or in the grill (which we didn't have at our site) with charcoal only and that we could only have it for cooking and must put it out immediately after.

**I forgot to mention that, before we went fishing, we had stopped in the Ranger Station to check in and we bought some charcoal and lighter fluid. It was a bit expensive but we wanted a fire and we weren't allowed to use any firewood.

John swept the area around the firepit and then poured about a dozen or so brickettes of charcoal into the pit. I had one of those little lighter logs (the miniature ones that are about 6 inches long) that John lit and put underneath the charcoal. It started right away and we didn't even have to use the lighter fluid.

Our fire might have been about 6 inches high. John closed metal grate over the pit. He, Lacey and Hunter were, literally, huddling over the fire becauswe it was getting pretty cold out. I was standing at the picnic table warming up the chili and getting out the condiments.

Since the wind was blowing, we said something about we should just put the weiners in a pan on the stove and put out the fire. Out of the darkness came "Self Appointed Deputy Park Ranger" a/k/a our nice elderly neighbor. She was in all of her glory too. She had on a cap with a spot light, a fanny pack and a flashlight.

SADPR proceeded to tell us that she understood there to be a burn ban and that we should immediately put out our fire. She was shining her flashlight all around our campsite as she was telling us this. John told her that he wasn't 14 years old and that he could tend a fire. Uh-oh, John was pissed. I could tell it from his tone of voice. John is normally a cool/calm/level headed kind of guy but SADPR was overstepping her bounds and I knew she better leave or he'd say something to her that would send her running.

John said "M'am, I know what I am doing". She said "I am not trying to be *****y but I feel like I am at risk here!". John turned his head and calmly said "It was nice to meet you." She just kind of "humphed" and started saying something under her breath. I looked her dead in the eye and said "M'am we were told by the park ranger that we could build a fire to cook but only if we were using charcoal. We are using charcoal so we aren't breaking any rules." She said "If it's in a grill!" I wasn't backing down "We don't have a grill so we are using the pit like the ranger told us. We were talking about putting it out before you ever came over here so you can leave now." John turned around and said "Like I said, it was nice to meet 'cha." Although we couldn't actually see her, we could hear her stomping off through the trees.

At the time, we were all thoroughly pissed off. Later, we would laugh over it. We doused the fire which put our neighbor "at risk" and threw the weiners in the frying pan on the stove. The wind continued to blow and it was getting cooler by the minute. We gobbled up our hot dogs and chips and took our cookies, marshmellows and chocolate bars into the tent.

John stayed outside for a minute or two to make sure the fire was put out completely (it was). We all gathered in the tent and made shadow puppets, played charades, cards and another round of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader". Lacey and Hunter took the flashlights and made a disco and were dancing around with the flashlights. We were all getting tickled because we could just imagine what their shadows looked like to the other campers. We also kept getting tickled thinking about John telling Self Appointed Deputy Park Ranger "Nice to meet 'cha". He said it in such a tone of voice and he couldn't even remember saying it. For the rest of the trip we'd say "nice to meet 'cha". Okay, okay, simple things make us laugh. What can I say?

Here's a picture of the kids sitting in the tent:

When we decided it was time to go to sleep, Lacey took her two sleeping bags back to the truck and went beddie-by. It got cold that night but not uncomfortably so since we all slept in long sleeves and pajama pants.

The next morning, the sun was shining but it was still a bit chilly. I cooked more sausage, toast and eggs. We all got tickled again when Lacey told us that our neighbor had gotten up super early and had left at 6:00 a.m. We figured she wanted to be out of there before we got up. Seriously, we didn't want to tick the lady off but she had stuck her nose in something that wasn't her business.

We started breaking down the tent and packing things up to head home. I wish we would have had longer but that's all the time we had.

All the stuff packed up and ready to go home:

We had to pass over Lake Hamilton on our way home:

This next lake is DeGray Lake and it is absolutely beautiful. We think we are going to try staying there next trip as it is a State Park and State Parks are well maintained:

I must tell a story before posting the next picture. For years and years, we have passed by a log building in Gurdon, Arkansas. It is a very dark color and has a black cat with an arched back on the front. The sign says "International Order of Hoo Hoo". We always wondered what the heck the building was. Could it be some kind of cult? Perhaps something to do with Voo Doo? Maybe a black magic meeting place? We never knew and it was always one of those landmarks that we talked about. It was interesting and almost taboo at the same time. We loved speculating about it. In our imagination, there should be a mist rising around the building and shiny eyes peering out of the windows.

Well, after one trip, I decided to Google it and the results were much less "intriguing" than all of our speculation. The International Order of the Hoo Hoo was a fraternal organization for lumbermen and was established in 1892. Darn it! I wish I hadn't known that. It makes it much less interesting to us. Oh well, that's what I get for Googling. Wish I hadn't though. I kind of liked the mystery of it.

We made it home a little before 3:00 p.m. Oddball was glad to have us home and we let him run around outside for a while. Tiana followed us around the house all evening so I guess she was happy to see us too.

Even though the trip was short, it was nice to get away from everything. All that fresh air seemed to put things into perspective. We have decided that we are going to make it a point to do something together every month. I know we won't be able to tent camp much longer this year because the weather won't allow it. But, we can do something together. Life is too short to squander it worrying about things we can't change.

****Now, maybe I can get to work on another Disney trip report installment. I need something to keep my mind off things.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Did all 4 of you ride in the cab of that truck? How the heck did you fit? LOL! I love the hillbillie riders. Too funny.

Yep, we all fit in the cab of the truck. It was a tight fit but we made it. We kept telling John and Hunter that they were going to get cold but they wouldn't listen.

 

[KatMark]

All I can say, Lisa, is that John is a hoot. The only thing missing on the short camping trip was a pic of John on the phone (we had one of him sleeping).

 

[mickeystoontown]

All I can say, Lisa, is that John is a hoot. The only thing missing on the short camping trip was a pic of John on the phone (we had one of him sleeping).

It takes a lot to tick John off and the next door camping neighbor's tone of voice and attitude did it. John's parents weren't too, let's just say, "encouraging" when he was a child and they talked down to him a lot (that's all I'll say about that because it makes me mad every time I think about it.) Now that he's grown, he says he won't take any crap from anybody who talks to him like he's a dumb bunny.

Now that you mention it, I do have a picture of John on the phone somewhere. I'm going to find it.

 

[KatMark]

Now that you mention it, I do have a picture of John on the phone somewhere. I'm going to find it.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I knew I had a picture of John on the phone! In his defense, he was calling my Mama to check in on my brother-in-law so I can't complain. There were only three places in the entire park that had cell phone reception and this spot was one of them.

 

[KatMark]

Okay, we'll cut him some slack this time. He is a good hubby taking care of calling your mama for you.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Trip pictures wouldn't be complete without pictures of John on the phone.