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.
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.
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| 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:) |
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| "Walking the Plank" |
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| Finding the hidden treasure in front of Peter Pan's house |
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| We rarely take pictures of just the two of us anymore! |
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.
