Well, we did it again. We got our kids and our families excited about a spring break trip out west...only to cancel before we even started to plan. I don't know what we were thinking, but I do know that paying a spring break premium for airfare--five times more than normal--made that trip infeasible.
Luckily for us, we were once again able to salvage our week off of school/work for an epic camping trip to the Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky. Epic because the trip was great, but also because we came up with the idea before checking the weather.
Springtime in this part of the world is nothing short of unreliable, so while it had been starting to warm up, the week of spring break was shaping up to be unseasonably cold. However, we are stubborn people, so once we decided to camp, there was no turning back. Plus, I think we sort of viewed cold-weather camping as a challenge.
The last time we camped in sub-freezing (barely) temperatures, we were only kind of prepared, so we vowed that this time would be different. Jon was giddy to break out all the cold-weather gear he had stashed away, and I got to work gathering all the wool and layers we could find.
We set off on a Tuesday, making decent enough time that we didn't have to set up camp in the dark (which is unusual for us). Due to its proximity to both the playground and the bathroom, our campsite was actually located in the RV area, and I'm sure we stood out quite a bit in our tent. However, since it was early in the week, there weren't a lot of people camping yet anyway.
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| Home sweet home |
Even though we had everything set up in the daylight, by the time we found firewood, let the kids go back to the playground while we cooked, and then actually ate dinner, it was starting to get dark and cold. We knew that the first night was forecast to be the coldest, and it did not disappoint. Add in some overtired kiddos, and that walk to the bathroom was long.
Until we saw the skunk.
I had never seen a real skunk in the wild before. Sure, I've smelled roadkill remains plenty of times, and I still love to tell the story of the time when my grandpa--who lost his sense of smell as he got older--didn't know when his dog got sprayed, but this was the first time I'd encountered one for real. It didn't take long for me to realize that this skunk had the capacity to ruin our camping trip. The kids did great, though, and stopped in their tracks, not making a sound, until the skunk scampered away.
When Jon mentioned our wildlife sighting to the ranger the next day, she said that there were skunks all over the campground, but they were generally harmless unless provoked. So, for the rest of the trip, we were on "skunk watch."
We made it through the cold first night, relatively uneventfully, although we did hear our skunky friend trying to go through the trash (which we had suspended in the air), and I did have keep making sure that the kids weren't suffocating themselves by burrowing down too deeply in their toasty sleeping bags.
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| Snug as a bug in a rug |
Our resident Boy Scout Jon determined that it was safe to use our mini propane heater inside the tent for short periods of time, and I, for one, was so grateful to have a heat source available first thing in the morning to take the edge off the cold. (I may or may not have stayed in the tent a little longer than I should have...)
Before we started camping semi-regularly, I had always wondered what people do all day while camping. I actually still wonder, but somehow we always manage to fill our days anyway. On this trip, we found plenty of local activities, but we also just spent a lot of time hanging out at the campsite. The kids were pretty good about keeping themselves occupied, and that fire didn't build or tend itself.
On our first full day, we did eventually head out with some fishing poles. It brought back fond memories for me of impatient kids who couldn't help but cast and reel it back in constantly and a dad who spent 90% of his time untangling line. We didn't catch anything, but it was nice to be outside. We rounded out the day with a short hike in the woods and then back for dinner and s'mores.
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| Here, fishy-fishy! |
It was a little bit warmer the next day, and we managed to leave a little earlier as well. We spent quite a bit of time at the Woodlands Nature Station. It was a cool nature center that had some indoor exhibits, including a play area, but also an outdoor viewing area with many rescue birds and other animals. Our little turkeys fit right in.
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| Meeting his match |
We had lots of campfire time that night after another futile attempt at fishing. Jon had aspirations of getting up early the next day to fish solo, but the weather thwarted that plan. Being in a tent while it is raining is always a bit unsettling, but we were nice and dry all night. It did stop raining the next day, but that rain brought with it some cooler temperatures again, so we planned some indoor activities for our last full day.
Our first stop was the Elk and Bison Prairie, a drive-through preserve. We initially resigned ourselves to not seeing any animals and got excited when we glimpsed some bison from afar. But then, as we traveled along the path, we noticed several cars that had stopped in front of us. As we got closer, we realized that they were watching a herd of elk just off the road. So cool!
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| Elk sighting |
Stop #2 was the Golden Pond Planetarium. Not only was the show we watched very interesting, it was also nice to get a break from the chilly wind. Erik took advantage of the cozy dark room and even took a nap! We paused for a picnic lunch before our final tourist destination of the day: the Homeplace 1850s Working Farm. Jon and I jokingly called it "Missouri Town" all day.
Since it was St. Patrick's Day, they had set up a scavenger hunt, which encouraged us to check out all the different buildings. It is not surprising, however, that the highlight for us was the livestock, especially the chickens. We happened to be there toward the end of their day, so the docent invited the kids to help put the animals to bed, which they greatly enjoyed.
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| Literally carrying a bucket of chicken |
We celebrated our day by having dinner at a restaurant in town, and we were definitely in vacation mode because we agreed to a ridiculous dessert.
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| Vacation sundae! |
It was way past time for bed when we returned to the campsite. Familiar with our surroundings by this point, we sent the girls ahead of us to the bathroom. As Jon, Erik, and I were walking back, the girls ran up the path to us out of breath, telling us about a skunk that had invaded our site in the five minutes we were gone.
Even though they were a little scared, the girls did a great job of staying calm. Jon tried a couple of tactics to shoo away the skunk, who by this point was trying to nose through the trash. As a last resort, he called out in a booming voice, "Skunk, be gone!" And you know what--it worked. We all collapsed into giggles as the skunk trotted away.
The only thing left to do the following morning was to pack up our campsite. As we loaded the last items into--and onto--the car, there was a definite feeling of accomplishment and survival. We'd done it! The only thing left to do was celebrate with a giant breakfast at a diner on our way out of town.
