Our First Outing of the 2013 Season - Sparrowfoot Campground

We kicked of the new camping season in an old favorite campground, Sparrowfoot, on Truman Lake.

What a difference a few months makes!  If you'll remember, last July we visited Sparrowfoot during a the middle of a heat wave and drought.  The beach then was almost non-existent and the park was practically empty.

This weekend was a different story.  The park was full almost to capacity.  A few sites were closed and their power hook-ups wrapped, so we assume they were out of commission.  The grass and trees were green and lush.  The temperatures were lovely, around 80 degrees during the day and mid-60s at night. 

Unfortunately, the beach was again non-existent.  We thought because the lake levels were so high earlier in the spring that maybe the sand had washed away (it's been known to happen), and then later we heard that at least one beach on Truman Lake had been closed because of a high E.coli count, but we found out with certainty that the Sparrowfoot Beach is closed this season because of budget reductions.

That didn't keep Kat from getting in the water, though.  Or at least trying to, but she soon found out that the water is still quite cold.

She and Shane tried some fishing.  Our neighbors at camp who had boats were hauling in some very large catfish, but all Shane caught from the shore was this little bass.

I spent some time lounging in the sun, then lounging in the shade, then lounging while reading.   Shane also did some reading and poked around at the campfire a lot.  Meanwhile, Kat made friends with other young campers and enjoyed a water gun fight.  We watched a movie or two inside the camper, (NOT roughing it, but so what?), stayed up very late, slept in very late, and generally had a great time doing whatever we liked, whenever we liked.

More often than not, it rains on us at camp.  This time, the rain didn't happen until our drive home, when we ran into (and back out of) a very heavy thunderstorm, but it was bright and sunny again by the time we got home.

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Parked at Sparrowfoot Campground, Truman Lake
near Clinton, MO
May 24-27, 2013

Our Last Weekend Out - Damsite Campground

We had a great time this past weekend in the camper.  The weather was wonderful, which means it didn't rain.  We found a few good garage sales and flea markets, ate some good food, relaxed in front of the campfire, looked at the full moon, and enjoyed the natural scenery (the trees are just starting to turn here).

This was going to be our next to last outing, but a few things helped us decide that we need to just park the RV for the season:

• most of the public campgrounds are, or will soon be, closed for the season
• after two weekends of setting up in the dark on Friday evening, we feel like we're being cheated out of some of our camping time...
  
  and most importantly...
• because we set up in the dark, we didn't know the site was covered with goose poop until after we'd already tracked some of it into the camper.  We figure if we have to clean the carpets (and we do), we'll just let them stay clean until next season.

So, that's a wrap until next spring.  That doesn't mean the RV will sit idle, though.  This week, my sewing machine, fabric, and other supplies will find their way to the camper, which will be my sewing room for the next several months.  Since I don't have a place in the house where I can leave my sewing supplies out and ready to use, this is something I'm really looking forward to.

There are also a few improvements Shane wants to make to the camper, so I'll be posting about that, too.  I hope you'll stick around and check in once in a while until it's time for us to get back on the road again.

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Parked at Damsite Campground, Pomme de Terre Lake
near Hermitage, MO
September 28-30, 2012

The Food - September 28 through 30

I've mentioned before that when Shane and I have a chance to get away without Kat, we often make sure our menu includes flavors we enjoy, but that Kat doesn't.  This was one of those weekends.

I had planned a simple supper for us on Friday night, but we gave in to our hunger on the way and stopped for some Mexican food.  The food wasn't very authentic, but we were hungry, the burritos were huge, and it tasted good all the same.

On Saturday morning, I made these bacon and egg enchiladas that were more authentic-tasting, I think, than the food from the restaurant the night before.  I used this recipe, cutting the amounts in half and making the change from flour tortillas to corn tortillas.  I also made my own enchilada sauce for these.  They fell apart when I tried to take them from the pan, but they tasted great.

We intentionally skipped lunch, but when we came back from exploring the area, I made this Guacamole Bruschetta appetizer.  My inspiration was this recipe, but with a few changes, such as brushing the bread with garlic butter I'd made previously, and using pre-made refrigerated guacamole instead of fresh avocado.  I added both basil and cilantro to the tomato mixture.  This was a BIG hit that I'll be making again.

While we snacked on the bruschetta, I put this Potato, Leek and Feta Tart in the oven.  We devoured the entire pie, and while I would make it again, I think I would omit the dill and use thyme or savory instead.

Sunday morning we tried Oatmeal in a Jar.  I made the jars up ahead of time, and it was a simple and easy way to enjoy breakfast.  Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of ours.


And finally, this:

A very large tenderloin from 254 Cafe, and a "treat" we discovered the first time we camped on Pomme de Terre years ago.  To give you an idea how big this tenderloin is, the bun in the picture is a standard burger bun, and it's served on a tray instead of a plate.  I cut mine into four pieces, ate one piece on the bun, and saved the other three pieces for our supper after we got home.  Shane ate ALL of his (and a bag of chips).  Should we visit again soon, we'll probably see his picture on their "Wall of Fame". 

I'm not sure whether to be proud or embarrassed...

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Parked at Damsite Campground, Pomme de Terre Lake
near Hermitage, MO
September 28-30, 2012

A Series of Unfortunate Events - Mill Creek Campground

You won't often hear me say that a camping trip wasn't much fun, but this camping trip wasn't much fun. 

Lakefront property.

Our plans were to arrive at camp just south of Branson, MO, on Friday evening.  We would meet my sister and brother-in-law on Saturday morning, and spend the entire day at the Silver Dollar City theme park, have my sis and BIL join us at the camper for supper, then spend another night and drive home on Sunday.

It was sunny and warm when we left about 3:30 in the afternoon to set out on our 200+ mile trip.  About an hour in, we needed to stop for a bathroom break.  While Kat and I were inside the convenience store, Shane decided to check out a few things on the camper (something he does often, both when we're on the road and when we're parked at home).  He noticed that one tire on the RV had some weather checking that he felt was bad enough to be a potential hazard.  So we stopped at a tire store, had the owner look at all five tires (the four on the ground and the spare) and ended up buying two new (and expensive) tires.  They had just enough time to get them on the camper before they closed for the day.

We drove for another hour or so, then decided to stop for supper and refuel the truck in Boliver, MO.  When we stepped out of the truck, we noticed how chilly it was compared to our earlier stop and that the sky was clouding over.  By the time we finished eating, it was raining lightly and rained all the way to camp.  No big deal, though, since the forecast for Saturday was calling for partly cloudy skies, temps around 70, and only a 20% chance of more rain.

We made it to camp around 8:45.  This wasn't our first time setting up in the rain, but it was our first time setting up in the dark.  We were lucky enough to have a level, paved, pull-through site, so we didn't have to worry about backing or leveling.  Set up was as easy as ever.  By 10:00 we were inside watching part of a movie, and by 11:00 we were in bed listening to the rain. 

We listened to the rain all night long.  And during breakfast.  And on the way to meet my sister.  And the rest of the day, too. The temperatures didn't get above 60 all day.

On a sunny day, this view would be gorgeous.

Since it had rained the last time we went to Silver Dollar City, we decided not to experience that adventure again.  Instead we looked around at some small shops in downtown Branson.

My sister, Kat and me.  Brown hoodies were entirely coincidental.

Then at Kat's request, we visited the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum. 

Finally, someone Kat can look up to!

Somehow those two activities took up most of our day, and we headed back to camp for supper and more visiting with my sister and BIL. 

Family photo atop an Ozark mountain.

My "big" sister and me.  Why isn't her hair a frizzy mess like mine?
That's my BIL in the background.

Shane, with Branson area in background.

They stayed at camp with us until about 8:30, at which time the rain finally let up.

I was hoping the weather would cooperate enough for us to do something outside on Sunday morning, but more raindrops on the rooftop woke me up around 7:00. We decided there was no point in sticking around, so as soon as we ate breakfast, we started packing up.  The hardest rain of the entire weekend happened while Shane was outside rolling in the awning and putting away what few things we'd taken out of the storage areas. 

As we pulled out, we realized that one of our jacks was still down.  No damage was done, but it was kind of embarrassing that we missed it.

Raining on Sunday

Also as we pulled out, the rain stopped and the sky started to slowly clear.  Figures.

On the way home, we stopped for lunch and just happened to notice that the undercarriage cover was dragging.  Again, this is nothing that caused damage.  It's just a foam core board cover that keeps moisture and mud from splashing up under the camper onto the holding tanks, hoses, etc.  We have no idea when it fell or how far we'd been dragging it.  It only took a few minutes for Shane to reattach it, but it was just another inconvenience to add to our list.

We made it home around 5:30 on Sunday evening, glad that our unfortunate and costly weekend was finally over.  I try to look on the bright side, though, and have to say it was nice to visit with my sister for a few hours.  We found an old-timey five-and-dime that was a lot of fun to shop in; the toys/games and kitchen wares sections alone were worth the visit.  Kat truly enjoyed the Ripley's Museum, so that was another positive.  And the rain was needed, even if it did mess up our entire weekend.  Finally, the park was very nice and would have been absolutely beautiful on a sunny weekend.  We plan to come back when we have more time and better weather.


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Parked at Mill Creek Campground, Table Rock Lake
near Kimberling City, MO
September 14-16, 2012

Low Water at the Lake - Sparrowfoot Campground

Despite the ongoing heatwave, we hitched up and drove an hour or so south to Truman Lake.  This time we camped at Sparrowfoot Campground, which is a Corps of Engineers park.

Because of the heat, we had the campground nearly to ourselves.  There are two camping loops in the park, and we saw about half a dozen campers in each loop.  Most were in campers of some sort, but there were a few brave (or crazy) tent campers.

We arrived around 5:00 on Friday evening, quickly set up, and headed straight for the beach.  We couldn't believe how low the water lever was.  Here is a picture of Kat and Shane at the ropes.  At the ropes, the water should be chest high on Shane most of the time.  There was also grass growing on the beach; this part of the sand should have been under water.

After sleeping in on Saturday morning, we ran into town (Clinton, MO) only because we needed to pick up foil and a couple of other things at Dollar General.  There was nothing to do in town, and it was too hot to do it, so we headed back to the lake and swam for a couple of hours.  In the early evening, we drove out about five miles to the tiny town of Deepwater, MO (ironic name, yes?) where an ice cream social was going on.  $5 each bought us huge bowls of homemade ice cream -- vanilla, strawberry and/or chocolate, a large serving of homemade cake or pie, and iced tea or coffee.  Ice cream socials seem to be an endangered species, so we wanted Kat to experience one before they fade away entirely.

We spent the evening either reading inside or stargazing outside, and we allowed Kat to watch a movie.  That's something we limit at home and more so when we're camping.

We took our time breaking camp on Sunday morning and were back at home before 1:00, which is rather early for us.

We do a lot of sight-seeing on most of our trips, but this one was more about relaxing and getting away.  It was a nice change.

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Parked at Sparrowfoot Campground, Truman Lake
near Clinton, MO
July 20-22, 2012

The Food - July 20 through 22

Our fare this weekend included:

Friday p.m.:  Bratwurts and hot dogs on the grill, potato salad made in advance, sliced tomatoes, watermelon


Saturday a.m.:  Waffles, eggs, hash browns

Saturday noon:  HLTs (ham, lettuce and tomato sandwiches), chips, dip

Saturday p.m.:  Grilled pork chops, Cowboy Potatoes, lettuce salad, corn

Sunday brunch:  HLTs (ham, lettuce and tomato sandwiches), chips, dip

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Parked at Sparrowfoot Campground, Truman Lake
near Clinton, MO
July 20-22, 2012

Near Disaster on Our Maiden Voyage - Thibault Point Campground

We hitched up the camper the weekend after we purchased it and headed south to Truman Lake and the Thibault Point Campground, which is a Corps of Engineers park.

We were pleasantly surprised at how quickly we were able to set up compared to the travel trailer.  We had our work done and were ready to enjoy our weekend in no time at all.

Kat did not come with us on this first trip because she was scheduled to be with her mom that weekend and didn't want to change those plans.  So it was a nice weekend getaway for just the two of us.

I grew up in this area and swam at the beach in this Corps of Engineers park as a teenager, but I'd never had reason to see the campground.  It was a nice park at about 30% occupancy while we were there.  All of those who were there were clustered at the end of the circle drive, near the lake.

Our site just a few yards from the water.  Kat would have loved the easy access, but since she wasn't with us, we didn't get in.  We enjoyed some great sunsets...

and beautiful mornings, too.

On Saturday, Shane and I took a drive further on to Lake of the Ozarks just to look around and to have lunch.  On Sunday, we went into town (Warsaw, MO) to visit with my dad. 

Overnight we had heavy rains and wind at the campground.  This house, one that I lived in as a child for a couple of years, was damaged, but we were happy to find out that the new camper didn't leak a drop.

Unfortunately, we had some trouble on our drive home.  One of the tires on the truck threw its tread.  The tires were the one thing on the truck that Shane was iffy about.  They were Goodyear tires and we had a similar problem with one of them in the past.

This could have been such a bad situation, but luckily (if such a thing can be lucky), this happened on level highway in moderate traffic and we were in a location where we could easily pull off on a side road to unhitch and change the tire.

As I was watching traffic while Shane changed the tire, I noticed that most drivers didn't even seem to notice that we were there, but without fail, every driver pulling an RV or travel trailer checked us out as they passed.  I'm not sure, but like to think that if any of them had seen we were in over our heads, one or more of them would have stopped to see if we needed help.

We ordered new tires for the truck the next day and had them on within the week.

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Parked at Thibault Point Campground, Truman Lake
near Warsaw, MO
June 15-17, 2012