The Ozarks–Labor Day camping trip–part 1

Every year, Chris has taken the kids (at least the older ones) camping in the Ozarks. One of his favorite campgrounds is just outside of Hot Springs, AR, but this year we wanted to take them farther north so we could visit Blanchard Springs Caverns, and their great park and campgrounds. Our kids have never been in a “real” cave, so this promised to be extra-exciting. I love camping, but I haven’t been for several years because I just don’t find camping fun with babies - too little sleep, and too much hassle. Caroline, at 4 1/2, is finally old enough to appreciate the experience (and for me to appreciate it with her), so we all loaded up for our first entire-family camping trip since Elizabeth was born! We knew Labor Day weekend would be crowded, but the summer flew by so quickly this was our first good opportunity.

The drive was pretty dull through Memphis, then more boring farmlands in Arkansas, but we finally spotted the first foothills in the distance. Not just rolling ground, but isolated, tall, tree-covered hills. I quickly turned off the audiobook and excitedly pointed out, “Look everybody! I see the first hills!!!” There was quiet in the car as everybody looked, then Rachel’s soft little voice spoke up, “Those aren’t hills. They’re piles of trees.” I turned around in my seat to look at her, mouth agape, “What did you say?!” She repeated it. She actually meant it. After Chris and I stopped laughing, and wiped the tears from our eyes, we had to concede she had a point – they DID look like piles of trees. From her perspective… Seriously, we have GOT to get these kids out of Mississippi more often!!!

We left later than we’d planned on Friday afternoon (duh!) so we knew we would get to the campground pretty late. We were hoping to get there by 9:30pm, but no such luck.  We pulled into the Blanchard Springs campground around 10:45, only to find it completely occupied. Me, I was all for hitting a hotel at that point and at least getting some sleep, but Chris found a little off-the-beaten-path campground that doesn’t even show up on most maps, so of course we had to go try it. It was called Gunner’s Pool, and not too far from Blanchard Springs. What cracked me up was that it was near the town of Fifty-Six. Say, what? Yes, the town itself is named Fifty-Six, Arkansas. I find that funny. Anyway, Gunner’s Pool was 3 miles down a gravel road and nearly empty, so we found a great place and got set up by midnight – yay! (And yeah, that’s totally sarcastic. I was SO tired.) The next morning I was a total grump (I NEED my sleep, people!), but was really glad we hadn’t gone to a hotel. The campgrounds were so nice, with a beautiful cold creek running through it. And camping mornings are my favorite. (Although maybe not FIRST thing!)

See the grumpy bear? --->

(Yeah, and don’t tell me you look YOUR best first thing after crawling out of a tent, either!)

We definitely plan to come back to these campgrounds next time instead of the ones at Blanchard Springs (despite the enticement of hot showers at the BS sites). We had SO much privacy and quiet here that we wouldn’t have at the other, which was a fair trade-off for the much more rustic facilities. The kids got their first experience with a “pit” toilet – a deep hole in the ground, with a plastic toilet on top. Very much like a permanent porta-potty. Main rule: don’t take anything in there you would hate to lose, because if it falls, no one is going to get it out for you. Caroline was really freaked out, which makes sense for someone actually small enough to fall through. At first, she was telling me that if she fell in, she would DIE. Of course, I couldn’t let her think that, so I told her “NO,” if she fell in, I would jump in and save her. She needed to be told that, because every time we walked past one after that, she reminded me that I would jump in and save her. (In my mind, that was, like, Option D or E maybe, but she didn’t need to know that!)

Caroline was also very aware that this was her first camping trip, and she reminded us constantly. If we had to hold her hand while going down a steep slope, it was “I need  help because this is my first time camping.” If something was hard, it was hard “because this is my first time camping.” If something was scary… you get the idea. Not because she’s little, no - because it was her first time camping.

We spent a lot of time each day playing in the just-a-little-too-cold creek right by our campsite. It was rocky and clear, with lots of fish, and even a little tiny snake I found hiding in the rocks. It was so chilly I might not have made myself get in it, but thanks to the debacle of the hair treatment (that I hadn’t yet washed out), I HAD to wash my hair every day. So, cold or not, I got wet.

 

 

 

 

 

The scenery was spectacular, as you’d expect to find in a national forest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids never get tired of catching bugs, like the praying mantis Rachel is holding. They tried to arrange a gruesome fight between a dying walking stick insect and an indifferent caterpillar, and that didn’t go so well. They had fun, but it’s kinda boring when the combatants don’t even acknowledge one another…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s Elizabeth making fairy houses out of leaves, sticks, rocks, and anything else she could find:

And they never get tired of poking sticks into the fire and watching them burn…

New experience for me – I didn’t have to gather a single stick of firewood. Chris just sent his minions out into the woods and lo, there was plenty of firewood. I liked it. However, it might go a long way toward explaining the raging poison ivy that afflicted us the next week…