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

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

The Food - June 15 through 17

For us, food is always a highlight of any trip, whether or not we're camping.  Camping, though, presents an entirely different set of circumstances.

Back when we camped in tents, the challenges were how to keep things cold and how to cook over a campfire.

When we acquired our pop-up, it camp with small propane stove that could be used inside or out of the camper, and we began taking a small gas grill with us, too.  The pop-up had no refrigerator, so we relied upon coolers and a small dorm-sized fridge to keep food cold.

When we upgraded to the travel trailer, it came with a gas stove/oven, a microwave oven and a 5 cu. ft. refrigerator, which is the same set-up we have now.  We continue to bring our tabletop gas grill with us, and occasionally still cook over an open fire. 

Our challenge now is not bringing too much food.  I don't recall a time that we ever brought too little food, but we usually end up bring a lot of food home with us.  This isn't a bad thing, in and of itself; it's just more to have to carry back into the house.

When we camp, we try to have most of our meals at the camper.  This varies, of course.  Sometimes we are away from camp doing other things and know we will be eating lunch out.  Sometimes relatives are within a few miles and we are invited to eat with them.  Other times we go out to eat on the spur of the moment.  We never know exactly how it will turn out.

That said, we kept the menu simple on our first trip out.

Friday night we kept it simple with grilled cheeseburgers, chips and homemade hummus, with a salad on the side.

Saturday morning enjoyed coffee and some breakfast burritos (sausage, egg, cheese, salsa) I had made and froze ahead of time.

We were driving around at the Lake of the Ozarks at lunchtime and decided to eat at Franky and Louie's Beach Front Bar and Grill.  I had a Cajun Quesadilla and fries; Shane had a Franky's Club and fries.

By evening, my Dad, who lives nearby, was back from his own travels, so we invited him to have supper with us.  We had grilled venison steaks, cowboy potatoes, corn on the cob, and salad.  My dad brought some baked beans and also some ice cream to go with our feast.

Cowboy Potatoes

Dad invited us in for breakfast, so we did that on Sunday morning.  Later, my older brother joined us, and we'd hoped to take Dad out for lunch, but he preferred to stay in, so we ended up having frozen pizzas and other things we scrounged from his cupboards.

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