Take a Hike with the Claytons

Take a Hike with the Claytons

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Wind Creek 9-19-14 #1



Finally!  After a summer of moving and living in three different houses, we finally got to spend some time in our camper!!!  It has been too long, and way too many good opportunities to enjoy the outdoors have passed.  Nonetheless, we are back and Wind Creek State Park was a great place to get things going again!


Ok, truth be told … I was a little worried that all of Jack’s parts would work this time around.  Since we have been on the go this summer we have had to store our camper outside and my parents’ house.  That means it spent a lot of time in the Alabama sun and rain.  But hey, never doubt Jack, because he came through in the clutch like he always does!  All parts worked wonderfully, and possibly better than ever!


We loaded up Friday afternoon about 2:30-3:00 and hit the road somewhere about 4:15.  I drove ahead about 30 minutes while Kelly waited on Carter and Caroline to finish their naps.  We have found, despite the extra gas, that driving two vehicles is the way to go.  There is just way too much stuff involved in camping to stuff it all in one car.  Anyway, I arrived about 5:45, checked in, drove around the campground looking for the best site, and finally settled in for setup at 6:15 or so.  The park assigned us a space but said we could go to any site that was not occupied.  I found one that met all three of our hopes: on the water, shaded by trees, and far away from anyone who would hear unsuspecting toddler rants.  After spending about 20 minutes working on my own, Kelly and the kids arrived and our adventure was on.  Carter seemed very excited to get this camping trip going and Caroline fell in line with lots of smiles.  Setup was surprisingly easy and pretty much a non-issue.  Despite having not set up in 4-5 months, everything came back to me pretty quickly.  We were good to go about 6:45 and even had the grill running for some evening hot dogs!  



We ate our hot dogs together and then began getting Caroline ready for bed.  She went down super easily in the pack-n-play and shocked both Kelly and me with the ease at which she fell asleep.  Meanwhile, Carter and I began working on a fire because he was determined to eat some marshmallows! On the drive down he asked if we made sure to bring the marshmallows, hotdogs, and cheetos:)  The fire was ok even though our wood hasn’t yet fully dried, but it was good enough for Kelly and Carter to have their s’mores.  Carter also insisted in Daddy telling him a story by the fire and he was completely enthralled.




After eating too much, we were busy admiring the stars above and the calm water in front, when Carter announced that he was tired and was going back to the camper.  Kelly and I looked at each other like we were dreaming because this 3-year-old NEVER decides to go to bed on his own.  Needless to say, we followed him in and assisting him with getting ready.  I went to the camper expecting an easy night-time process but then found out that the s’mores had gone directly into Carter’s bloodstream and now had him hyper.  We read some books and goofed off for a while before I moved to my side of the camper.  All in all, it was a smooth first night (never happens for us) and everyone slept well (not really, I never sleep well the first night:)-Kelly).  

Day 2 began with some great weather.  It was cool in the morning and overcast for most of the day, thus preventing things from getting too hot.  I went outside and put some cinnamon rolls on the grill, and they turned out really well!  We devoured those in no time and then Carter and I went to run some errands. Everyone woke up happy and excited for the day ahead!



Before we hit the stores, we had to spend some quality time at the playground.  Carter created some game consisting of saving a princess and beating bad guys, and had anyone at the playground who would listen playing with him.  I can’t even count the number of times I rode that horse into the castle.  After princess-saving, we went to the Dollar Tree and Winn-Dixie and came back with more toys than we did with items we needed.  Carter found some soldier gear that he had to have at the Dollar Tree, so went went for it. 



While we were out, Kelly inflated all of the bike tires and got the new bike buggy setup for later in the day.  We then took a family bike ride to the playground and enjoyed some time together on swings, slides, and unsafe equipment (yes, unsafe … these sets were old and not very trustworthy).  






One of three playgrounds

 I love both of my children equally, BUT Caroline is just so much fun to photograph right now!






 Directly across the street from the playground was a beach.  Carter wanted to head down there and that’s where the craziness occurred.  He and Caroline won the battle vs. Mommy and Daddy and we walked away with two kids with soaking wet outfits (one of which did not handle this well).  There were no swimsuits involved with this jolly ole time together (and Mommy forgot to pack extra clothes for the first time EVER).  





Once we finally made it back to the camper, we had a picnic with more hot dogs (we were clearly creative with our meals this trip) and succeeded in putting the kids down for nap.  I had personally been looking forward to these two hours because I wanted to experience having nothing to do!  It was great as Kelly and I sat around by the water and watched college football games on my phone. Kelly actually got a short nap in our kayak.


Once Carter woke up, we took the kayak out for a 15-20 minute tour of the campground.  Kelly also took a round with the kayak before calling it a day.  










Also have to mention how great Caroline did this trip.  As she gets older, each trip is going to be a little bit different. We just never know what each stage will bring with her being so little.  But she slept like a rock, and so far we have brought the swing to ensure great naps (hence bringing two cars)!  She loved playing in the pack-n-play and the camper which is great since we didn't exactly want her to crawl on the dirt and rocks.  She didn't totally love the bike rides but we are breaking her in.  Luckily we now basically know what to expect with Carter and he gets so excited about our trips and really understands what we are talking about when we say we are going camping!  He LOVES the idea of sleeping in the camper and that we will get to eat marshmallows and our traditional chocolate doughnuts in the morning:)He loves getting out his toys that we have designated just for camping and is always ready to go on an adventure.    







 We next went to the day-use area of the park so we could get some ice cream, but the ice cream shop was closed.  Instead, we managed to walk around to more playgrounds and also climb to the top of a tower that looked out across Lake Martin.  It was fun being up so high, but also a little scary with young ones at our feet.  Instead of cooking again, we drove into Alex City for dinner and ice cream.  Everyone went to sleep easily again and we all had another good night’s sleep.













Some bedtime reading
Day 3 was just as good, but it was also a good bit warmer.  Today we had donuts and sausage and didn’t think twice about being unhealthy.  We piddled around for a few hours and did whatever we wanted, and then Kendall showed up with her pontoon boat!!!  It was by far a highlight of the trip to have a boat pull right up to our shore!  



We hopped in rode 10-12 minutes to Kendall’s house on the lake.  The Williamsons gave us a tour of the house and we were super impressed with all they have done to the house!  It is a great home! Kendall took us back home on the boat and we began the take-down process.  



Before we packed up, I grilled some hamburgers that fell apart on the grill.  No worries because we just turned them into philly cheese steaks since we had hot dog buns!  


They tasted better than they look!


Kendall's hotdog plus philly combination




All in all, Wind Creek may actually be at the top of our ranking. It met quite a bit of our criteria: good amount of shade, being on the water was an added bonus, quiet and private campsite, things to do- playgrounds, lake, biking, ice cream shop even though it was closed for some reason, very clean facilities and also such a bonus it is only a little over an hour away! Hopefully in the future we will stay here and Donald and Carter can go to an Auburn game- while the girls go hang out at the Williamsons;) Overall we give this a 9.2 on a 10 scale.




Friday, March 28, 2014

Tannehill State Park - McCalla, AL 3-26-14



What a great Spring Break trip to Chattanooga ... I mean Tannehill State Park!  The original plan was to take our first camping trip as a family of four to visit the KOA campground outside of Chattanooga, but since the weather was less than appealing, we made an about-face and decided to stay local.  Chattanooga ended up with snow, 24 degree nights, and lots of rain.  Needless to say, we made the right decision. :)  A 3-year-old, a 5-month old, and two 30-somethings who don't enjoy being cold likely would have struggled in those temperatures.




As for the trip, we had a great time!  This was only for one night and involved the better parts of two days, but it was a really good time and perfect for our first trip with Baby Caroline.  Imagine this, we once again got a little later of a start than we wanted.  Fortunately, we were simply trying to get set up before nap time, whereas in the past we were trying to set up before nightfall.  It sure helps Daddy (and lets be honest, everyone else too) when he has time to do his thing without the pressure of night approaching.



The interesting thing about Tannehill is they do not take reservations, but instead treat everything as a first-come-first-serve.  I called about 10:00am and they said there were "a few spots left," but that we should hurry.  Carter hopped in the car with me and we headed for the hills!  Kelly and Caroline drove separately (so we could take Caroline's swing) and stopped along the way to pick up some camp food ... McDonald's. :)  Carter and I arrived at the campground and went directly to the registration cabin, only to read a sign on the door that said, "Power Out - will return around 3:00-3:30."  Hmmmmmmm.  Here we are, in need of nap time, in need of food, in need of a campsite, apparently also in need of power ... and we have two hours until the fine people of Tannehill return to give us a spot.  Well, there are two types of people in this world: those who stand around and those who make things happen.  Carter and I decided to be in the latter group and took our camper into the park to find any open spot we could find.  We knew this would be tough, but we were hopeful (full disclosure: Carter was happy with whatever.  I'm making it sound like he was really into this with me, but truth is he really would have been fine with anything).  We toured through the campground and saw a few open spots early, but were determined to find something better. We continued to the back loop where Kelly and I have tent camped before and eventually found a wonderful spot that backed up to a huge hill.  There was no one behind us, no one to our right, and the bath house a stone's throw away.  Perfect for one evening!  But ... not perfect for backing into.  Only by the grace of God and some timely backing up skills did I maneuver into the spot without any help.  Once we were backed in, Carter and I waited on Kelly and Caroline to join us with burgers and fries ... and then the set up routine was on!! And yes, Lisa Forester, we did go back and pay for our campsite!:)



With the exception of a local electrical company repairing the electricity next to us, set up was smooth (gets easier every time) and everyone was in place by about 3:00, which gave us the rest of the evening to play!  We started out on a family walk and made it about 15-20 yards when Carter heard the Tannehill State Park choo-choo train whistle!  We immediately went to the train and paid our small fee to ride it across the park.  Carter asked a million questions about trains, and people, and trees, and bugs, and tracks, and campers, and animals, and life.  I answered each one and received his standard reply ... "Why?"  I have yet to find an answer to this question that is good enough for him not to ask me the very same question again, but hey, I'll keep trying.





Once the train rolled back into the station, we took a family walk around the park and enjoyed some nice weather and beautiful scenery.  The walk was laborious for those of us (daddy) charged with pushing the double jogging stroller up the hill (thanks, Kelly).  We eventually made it around the loop and settled in at the camper.  I started prepping the fire area while Kelly put Caroline into nap mode.  Carter watched something on the DVD and Kelly and I got things ready for dinner.  Dinner was simple as we used our marshmallow pokers to grill hot dogs over the open fire.  Carter had a chance to do this himself and did pretty well at it considering half the time he wanted the poker to double as a sword.  Caroline enjoyed this time also as she swung back and forth in her swing about 20 feet from us.  She was quite content on her first camping trip.


We enjoyed our simple dinner and then proceeded to the s'mores!!  Carter was once again successful in getting more on his face than in his mouth, and Kelly was once again successful in downing three by herself. :) I DID NOT HAVE THREE, just two large ones:)  We sat by the fire a little longer and watched Carter go crazy.  I have never seen him be this excited about camping, and maybe this excited about anything.  He was legitimately pumped to be outside!




After calming Carter down (yea right) we all retreated to the camper to get ready for bed.  Kelly and I were a little worried about this night because we had no clue how Caroline would do, and if she did poorly how Carter would respond, and worse yet how many people in the campground we would wake.  Fortunately, everything was very easy.  Carter and Caroline both went down fairly easily.  Kelly was well prepared for when Caroline woke up at 3:00am, and we sprung into "set up the swing" mode.  Caroline then slept through til 7:15 or so.  It was a good night, and not too cold either.


The morning arrived and we went simple again ... cereal!  We also made another fire and cooked sausages and cinnamon rolls.  It was an easy start to a very pretty day.
Original Pinterest plan was to wrap the cinnamon roll around the poker but it fell apart.  Took awhile to figure out how to NOT burn them- but we eventually got it:)
We wasted little time getting changed and searching for the playground.  At the playground, we saw a treasure map on their play equipment and proceeded to follow it through the woods.  We were in search for a hidden treasure, and fortunately daddy had $5 in his pocket to plant at some point.  :)  The walk through the trail was very nice and provided Carter with lots of adventure and exploration. Finding the hidden treasure and Peter Pan's house was even better!!  Carter was so excited! 



"Walking the Plank"



Finding the hidden treasure in front of Peter Pan's house

We rarely take pictures of just the two of us anymore!  
 Two new additions to the camper.  I got Donald the tire cover for Christmas.  The OTHER addition did NOT get prior approval! By definition this might be considered "redneck". Referring to our in-depth lunch discussion about the definition of redneck. :)
 



After completing the hiking trail, we took one more ride on the train and then went back for lunch.  We made turkey sandwiches and took it easy for a few.  Caroline slept in the swing and Carter hung out in the camper, which gave Kelly and me a chance to sit and chat for a few.  It was nice to hang out together on a beautiful Spring afternoon, even if it was only for 15-20 minutes.

Finally, we packed up the camper and headed back to civilization.  All in all, it was a nice brief getaway, and one we will have fond memories of.  Until next time (hopefully soon), camp on campers!

Rating: After much debate, we are going with an 8.7. That's pretty high, huh?!  There is a lot of perspective in that rating, though.  We had a great spot backing up to the woods, but if we had been in the "camper parking lot" (as I call it) we would not be rating it this high.  The facilities are great and even though we did not stay long enough to shower, the all tile showers were impressive and very clean.  There is so much to do at Tannehill with plenty of hiking and kids activities.  It would be easy to stay several days, especially if we brought the kayak to lazily float down the creek.  As for disadvantages, it could get crowded depending on when you are there and what campsite you have.