Gulf Islands National Seashore - Fort Pickens Campground - Part Two

Gulf Islands National Seashore

Fort Pickens Campground

(Part Two)

HELPFUL TIP:
When you are on the Santa Rosa Island, and it is 30 minutes until sundown, go inside.

There are tiny mosquitoes that bite like crazy.  They come out at dusk, and go away once it is completely dark.  Deep Woods Off, bug bands, and the other bug repellents just don't work.

FRIDAY:
The boys woke up and immediately went for bike rides.  The CEO made coffee and I made breakfast: my world famous egg-in-a-basket a la Mickey.  From there we took a lazy start to the day.  I drove to the cam p store by way of the beach and then back to the store.  The scenery was just too gorgeous to not take in.  We went back across the bridges to the mainland, and drove over to the National Naval Aviation Museum, the home of the Blue Angels.

It was an amazing place.  Anything that was Navy and could fly was in there.  Planes, blimps, kites, and streamers.  Literally, everything that every flew that ever came in contact with the Navy, including some NASA stuff.  There was a nice display for the Coast Guard in the corner.  Fittingly, the St Louis products, the F-9s and F-18s took center stage.  The Navy museum had a gift shop, so I bought an ARMY kite to fly at the beach.

By 1:00 pm, we'd made it back to Santa Rosa and over to Peg Leg Pete's.  It was a local establishment that specialized in beer, shrimp, and fries.  The burgers were $15.  The shrimp basket was $6.  Easy choice. The lunch baskets came out super full.  The waitress was very nice.  I had the local Peg Leg Pete's lager which was on tap.  I ate all of my shrimp and fries, and most of my youngest's.  I was so full on shrimp. What a great feeling!  If you haven't been there, go. www.peglegpetes.com

At 3:30 pm, we were back at the beach. We had the place mostly to ourselves.  The wind stayed breezy at about 10 mph.  Flying a kite was not hard.  I just held it in the air, and let go. We needed more kites: note for next time - more kites.  The CEO and the boys splashed in the water. My oldest lost his water shoe, just the left one.  It filled with sand and sank.  The water was too brisk to go after it, so good bye shoe.  Flip flops are great at the beach.  Water shoes, not so much.

As the sun went down, we went back to camp.  This time, we dodged the biting flies.  We had another quick-starting campfire.  Then it was bedtime.  No city noises.  No generators.  Just the quiet ocean waves and breezes.  No back pain.  It was the best rest I've had in a long time.

SATURDAY:
This was a sad day for my boys, being as we had to leave. The CEO made a special allowance for a pre-dawn alarm, and we watched the sun come up over the horizon.  It was a site to see. Us landlubbers don't usually see the actual sunrise.

Having put the trailer up and down six times this year, this time was cake.  Everyone knew their job, and the gear was packed away quickly.  We were on the road by 11:00 am, and we made it back to Mobile to have lunch with some of my cousins.  Their church had a car show, and my Uncle put his VW van in the show.  My boys really enjoyed all the different cars.

We made it up to Meridian, MS, that afternoon and checked into a Holiday Inn.  Compared to the 
Fort Pickens campground, it was OK, but sadly not as nice.  We parked the Envoy and camper in the back corner and went to bed.

SUNDAY:
Well, what can be said for this day?  We made it the rest of the way.  We were sad to put Florida behind us yet once again.  We'd left Missouri experiencing seasonable and warm weather. We returned to fall weather; cool and crisp.  It took my at least a week to scrub the smile off my face...

Gulf Islands National Seashore - Fort Pickens Campground - Part One

Gulf Islands National Seashore

Fort Pickens Campground

(Part One)

This month we took off for Florida!  Having camped once each month in our new camping trailer this year, I felt it was time to stretch out a little and go someplace a little further away. The CEO gave the thumbs up for warmer weather, and we followed the other "snow-birds" to a wonderful Pensacola, Florida, vacation.

The plan was to stay in hotels half-way down and back, and to camp along the Gulf.  Camping was by far the better part of the plan.  The hotels weren't awful, but they just didn't seem to be up to par.  Due to the CEO's aversion to long car rides, we kept the travel times down to under six hours road-time each day.

As the saying goes, you can always improve you fighting position. So, in preparation for this trip, I ordered in some new hardware. I purchased a Maxxtow Towing Products Dual Hitch Extension, and three MaxxHaul Towing Products 2-Bolt Sturdy Anti-Wobble 2" x 2" Hitch Locking Stabilizers. The extension allowed me to both tow my trailer and carry the bike rack.  The stabilizers took the rattle out of the now-four-piece hitch.  I enjoyed not having any extra noise from the rear.  The minions enjoyed having their bikes at camp again.  I had previously been in some trouble, as the bike rack and the trailer both used the hitch, and the minions didn't feel they should have to sacrifice their rides for my stupid trailer.  Now everyone was happy.

Bringing the bikes and adding the extension worried the CEO a lot.  She was worried that something would break loose and blow away, or that the trailer would come off and we'd all die in a fiery explosion.  These fears were put to rest some 2,000 miles later when everything worked as I said it would.  It even seems I am supposed to figure out how to make the second bike rack work, or at least figure out how to transport two more bikes...the CEO was envious of the minions biking freedom.  She was caught several times stealing the oldest minion's bike!!

The trip started Tuesday afternoon.  The CEO had all bags, boxes, coolers, and crates packed for out trip down south.  So after sitting through that last important conference at work, I raced home attempting to not burn too much light.  In the end, I didn't make it.  We loaded and hitched in the dark.  Since it was dark, I wasn't sure but what I should just go to sleep and hitch in the morning.  The CEO insisted that we do it that night, and as usual, I'm glad we did it her way. Once all the new hitch hardware had been added, I found out that the chains were too short.  We had to run to Lowes and get some extra chain. With the trailer packed, hitched, and ready to go, we went to bed, ready for the 0400 wake-up.

WEDNESDAY:
It was 0430 before my feet made it to the floor.  With the camper ready to go, all we had to do was buckle the minions in the Envoy and give it some gas.  We were rolling by 0515.  By 0645, we'd made it to Cape Girardeau.  My Envoy was feeling the effects of towing the Viking; it was down to a half tank!  Oh boy!  And so began, the every two hour gas-up routine.  My gas efficiency dropped to a lowly 11 mi/gal.  I knew from previous trips that gas would go faster, but this time, I could measure it with scientific accuracy.  No matter how many times I reset the tripometer and recorded the gallons filled, the situation didn't improve. 11 mi/gal. Done and done.

We made it all the way to Corinth, MS, by 1115.  We were able to catch up with my aunt for lunch. Fried chicken sounded good, so we went to Zaxby's.  Being from a divided State, we'd never had Zaxby's before.  The CEO and I particularly enjoyed the buffalo sauce, but the middle minion's stomach became very ill.  He was sick for 48 hours, with spiking pain in his gut and frequent trips to the restroom.  Thankfully, the frequent gas-and-goes matched his need for the restroom. I don't think the restaurant did anything wrong.  Instead, the middle minion seems to have his grandfather's odd food-aversion to fried chicken.  Poor kid!

We arrived in Tupelo, MS, by early afternoon.  We stopped by Walmart and Barnes & Noble. Then we went swimming in the hotel pool, and had a camping dinner of cheddar cheese, green grapes, summer sausage, and crackers.  With the minions well worn out, bathed, and bedded.  We prepared for another 0430 wake up.

THURSDAY:
Thursday morning, we got rolling early again, and stopped at the McDonald's in my ancestral home of West Point, MS.  Oh the shock, when it took 30 minutes to get coffee.  I dropped the CEO at the front door of McD's at 0530.  It was 0600 before she emerged very frustrated. Apparently, Yankee terms like "mocha" and "frappe" were unknown to the good people of West Point.  "Some coffee" as the only available item, despite whatever might be listed on the menu board.

By 0930 we'd made it down to the Gulf, and we had spotted our first Mobile, AL, palm trees.  The last 20 AL miles of US Highway 45 were surprisingly rough, given the wide-open four-lane MS road. But, the view of the Mobile Bay and the USS Alabama were welcome sights, and the minions immediately began to ask how to the USS Alabama (BB-60), a South Dakota-class battleship, stacked up against the USS Missouri (BB-63), an Iowa-class battleship.  Well, the "Lucky A" received 9 battle stars in battles across the globe and was retired in 1962.  She displaces 35,000 tons and carries nine 16 inch/45 cal Mark 6 guns.  But the "Mighty MO" served until 1998, receiving 11 battle stars.  The MO displaces 45,000 tons and carries nine 16 inch/50 cal Mark 7 guns.  Suffice to say, the Might MO is just in a whole different class.

By 1100 we were at the Florida Welcome Center.  The rest stop proudly displayed a F-9 Cougar Blue Angel. The minions loved the jet planes, and the CEO enjoyed the fresh, free Florida orange juice thoughtfully provided by the people of Florida.  I was amused at how my newer larger camping trailer ranked against the others in the parking lot...it was obvious that we were not the biggest game in town...

By 1400 we were at the Gulf Islands National Seashore: Fort Pickens Area.  OH YEAH!!! Sand, waves, sea gulls.  It was awesome!  There are two bridges from the mainland to the Santa Rosa island.  The first is free and takes you to the island city of Gulf Breezes, which is an aptly named place.  There are plenty of gas stations and grocery stores.  It was at the Walmart Neighborhood Market that I bought the world's best firewood bundle.  I wouldn't discover it until later that night, but the bundle came with a chemical fire starter brick.  (The fire was guarunteed to light, not matter the dampness thrown up by the waves.  Once again, Florida is awesome.  I wish Missouri firewood bundlers would do the same thing!!)  The second bridge takes you out to Island of Santa Rosa.  It is a toll bridge. Whatever Wikipedia may or may not say, it is a toll bridge.  It costs $1.00 to get off the bridge. You can drive onto the bridge for free.  I have no idea what happens if you get to the far side, have no where to turn around, and can't pay the eight bits.  Don't be THAT guy.

We quickly set up camp.  Unhitching was pretty easy.  There was no screaming or crying this time. So, we must be getting better at it.  Partly, I think the bikes were the key to the no screaming thing. The minions begged for their bikes, and began to circle the campground while the CEO and I encamped. Once we were unhitched, chocked-in, popped-up, tied-down, and folded-away, we decided to go to the fort.  The minions wanted to ride the mile from the campground to the fort.  The CEO slowly followed in the pace car while our boys willingly gave themselves some good exercise.

We ended up in the Fort Pickens Visitor Center at 4:29 pm, which was sadly 1 minute before the Ranger closed the shop.  The Volunteer quickly handed us the Junior Ranger program guides and advised us to come back tomorrow.  So, we left the shop and took the self-guided tour.  The Santa Rosa island beaches were just too beautiful, and the fort was pretty awesome.  Shortly before sundown, the boys reversed course and pedaled back to the campground.

We stopped halfway back to enjoy the beach.  I could tell that the CEO wanted to see some waves. She didn't say anything, but I can feel the vibe that we should stop.  This was not an occasion where waiting until the next day was going to be acceptable.  It had been several years since her beautiful toes had been in the ocean, and she just wasn't going to wait any more.  It was a treat to watch her enjoy the Gulf.  It was even more amazing to watch our youngest two boys.  This was their first time at the ocean.  They hadn't seen waves or white sand before.  Our youngest began to whoop and holler and run up and down the beach.  Our middle boy began dodging in and out of the water as the waves rolled up onto the sand.  Their smiles were huge.

That evening we finished off with a quick dinner of PB&J sandwiches, and a camp fire.  Best firewood bundle EVER (see above).  We also learned something the hard way.  The mosquitoes came out just at sundown and disappeared at dark.  Everyone else in camp seemed to know this, so they stayed inside their campers.  We didn't.  We got bit.  Us being the only thing on the menu for the little blood suckers, they bit us hard.  We learned.  Everyone came back out after dark.

The Fort Pickens Campground was awesome.  There was only one set of tent campers.  We were the only pop-up campers.  Everyone else outclassed us in both RVs and decades, but that was great. They loved talking with our motor-mouths, didn't seem bothered by kids on bikes, and were super helpful. The shower houses were as clean as at home.  The showers had plenty of hot water.  The weather was ideal.  At sundown, every went to bed pretty quickly.  There were no obnoxious neighbors. No loud party crowds. No arguements to heard from across the grounds.  It was just quiet. There was no road noise either.  Because of the perfect Florida weather, no one ran any A/C or heater equipment.  As the CEO and I went to bed, all we heard were the constant Gulf breezes and the waves.  I slept deep that night.  My back pain stopped.  I didn't even snore. I was the least tense I'd ever been in a long, long time. It was like magic.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Campground:
Loops -
There are five loops (A, B, C, D, and E) and a group camping area.  Loop A is on its own, while loops B through E are part of a larger connected area.
Shower Houses -
There were four shower houses.  Ours had full-sized restrooms on one side and four individual shower rooms on the other side.  The facilities were kept very clean.  The dumpsters were kept at the far ends of the loops, far away from the shower houses.
Playgrounds -
There were no playgrounds.  There were two fantastic, huge beaches within a few hundred feet of camp.
Trails -
There were several boardwalks from the main road to the beaches.  There were several bike trails that crisscrossed the area, including one trail which lead from the campground to the fort.

Campsites:
Terrain -
The ground is flat and level.  White sand and dune grasses are common.  Pine trees provide some shade for the camp.  The main road and campground roads are all asphalt.  Some parking areas are gravel.  Generally speaking, in your vehicle, you want to stay on the road, and off the sand.
Pad Space -
The pads are short.  Each is big enough to fit a camping trailer or RV, but the towing vehicle has to be parked sideways across the pad to avoid having to park in over-flow parking.  However, that seems to be the intent of the design, to allow camping equipment on the pad, but to push vehicles to the gravel lots.
Amenities -
Each campsite comes with one picnic table (not chained down), one fire pit, one electrical post, and one water spigot...and lots of gorgeous FL weather.

Camp Staff:
Check-in Hosts -
There were two check-ins: one for the park entry, and one for the campground.  Each is manned by a combination of National Park Ranger and Volunteer.  Everyone was great.  They all seemed to especially like grandkids!
Campsite Hosts -
There were three sets of hosts on duty while we camped.  One host came prepared with a folder entirely dedicated to local restaurants, arranged by catagory.  He was like our very own concierge. One host gave us the guided tour of the place, when we asked her to simply guide us to the trash dumpsters.
Rangers -
The Rangers were awesome.  Every Ranger or Volunteered seemed genuinely excited to talk with and teach our boys about the area.  Everyone was tickled when our boys were sworn is as official Junior Rangers...they were big stuff, let me tell you!!
Programs -
The National Park offers Ranger-guided tours and self-guided tours of the old Fort Pickens.  There is a Junior Ranger program, where youngsters fill-in an activity booklet and participate in activities. At the end of they get badges, patches, and a huge feeling of accomplishment.

Meramec State Park

The Meramec State Park is one of my family's favorite Missouri State Parks.  The park is just about a hour away from St Louis.  So, it is close enough to reach before dark on a fall afternoon, but is far enough so that the stars shine like diamonds at night.  We camped there over Sept 18-20, and boy was it nice!

I got home as quick as I could after work, and my wife, the CFO, already had everyone's bag packed and ready to go.  That made packing up very easy, as the only thing I had to do was hitch the trailer.  From there, the boys loaded the bags into the trailer, and then we left.

But, I have to tell you, not packing my own gear really goes against what my Scoutmaster taught me, and when I can't find my flashlight...I just stay quiet and think how wonderful it was not having to pack my gear.  But I'm thinking next time, I'm going to pack my stuff ahead of time, so I know what I packed...I can't act like a spoiled 1st Lieutenant - it's just not right.

We stopped off at a McDonald's in House Springs, and rolled into Sullivan right at sundown.  That put us in camp just in front of the Friday night rush.  The host staff quickly welcomed us and gave us our check-in paperwork.  When we checked in it was a three car line, but that quickly grew to twenty vehicles deep.  The staff got them all checked-in, but I was glad that I wasn't behind one of those headlights still waiting to get a campsite.

We unhitched, leveled, and sacked-out.  I was too tired and too hot to worry about putting out the awning, especially since we'd forgotten the step stool.  It was a muggy 95 degrees F...even after the sun went down.  The A/C in the camper felt good, and I was soon snoring...until 2am when nature called.  Gents, if you are over 40, you know what I'm talking about.  The days of sleeping all night are over, especially if you just finished off an extra large McDonald's soda for dinner. But, even at 2am, I found the shower house clean and well kept.

2:30am was when the weather changed.  The wind came up strong, and the temperature dropped 40 degrees.  The storm was thunderous.  I was glad we had a hard top to the camper.  A huge branch crashed and bounced off our top.  My wife, who hates storms, snuggled in especially close (one of the benefits to being a husband).  When the sun came up, the campsite was a disaster area.  Branches were broken off and laid all over the campsite.  Tents had been abandoned and left to blow in the wind.  Campers had their awnings ripped off.  I was glad I didn't put mine out...

But a little daylight, a little coffee, and the campers made quick work of the mess.  By breakfast the tree branches were in the fire pits, and the awnings were repaired.  The tents had been recovered. Everyone then set about enjoying one of the prettiest weekends there ever was.

The boys were in a least 10 different pick-up baseball games.  They dug all the sand out of the playground five times.  They found friends to draw with.  There were friends to play tag with.  The boys were busy.  The CFO and I got to enjoy the day sitting in our chairs. It was very relaxing.  I made acquaintances with a fellow who had made his own flag pole out of PVC pipe.  It looked good.  I took pictures so that I could copy it.  The CFO discovered that our neighbors had come down camping as well, so the two ladies traded camper decorating secrets and discussed AVON. (By the way, your local Army wife AVON rep can be found at www.yourAVON.com/micheleweaver.)  It was just a beautiful weekend.

My sons struggled to get a campfire lit.  I think the previous night's rain was dampening their efforts, but I pulled out the magic fire water and helped them out.  From there the warm bright fire was a great offset against the crisp fall air.  Roasted marshmallows and my guitar was the evening's entertainment.

Sunday we packed up quickly and went home.  I didn't want to go home, but the CFO said I had to...

Oh! Hey, one more thing: if you have a trailer that is over 11 feet in the air, don't go under the bur oak tree!!  That oak tree is over 300 years old, and is made of iron.  One of its lower branches sticks out over the road like a football player's elbow.  Caution tape, orange cones, yellow road warning sign...people still hit this thing.  Just don't do it...

Campground
Loops
There are three main sections to the camp.  We've decided that we like the far left side of the camp best.  But if you are a tent camper, then you would probably like the middle section best.  And if you have a big diesel RV, you'll probably want the middle or right side.
Shower Houses
They were clean.  This is an important thing at 2:30am.  I can't understate this.
Playgrounds
There was one playground, but the kid's liked it.  There was also a big open field for football and baseball.
Trails
There is a short half-mile trail near the camp.  We didn't take it.

Campsites
Terrain
The main section of the campground is very level, and has good asphault road between the sites.  The area is well mowed providing nice areas between the sites.  This is probably the best tent-camper state park near St Louis.
Pad Space
The pads are generally all of a good length, and are pretty level.  The pad are just pads; they don't cover the campsite.  There was one handicap campsite with a wide pad big enough to hold the pinic table.
Amenities
Each campsite comes with one picnic table (chained down), one fire pit, and one lantern pole.  The pits and poles have likely been in service since the late 80s, but are in good repair.

Camp Staff
Check-in Hosts
The check in staff was friendly and efficient.  I couldn't ask for better.
Campsite Hosts
We had no interaction with any campsite hosts.
Rangers
We had no interaction with any Rangers.
Programs
The camp offers cave tours during a limited summer season, and nightly amphitheater programs.  We didn't attend either.

River Road Park Campground

The River Road Park campground is situated in southeastern Missouri, near Piedmont.  It is a US Army Corps of Engineers campground.  In typical Ozark fashion, the area is gorgeous.  The camp sits at the bend of Highway HH, just below the Clearwater Lake dam.

The Campground straddles the Black River, with the A, B, and C loops on the eastern bank, and the R loop on the western bank.  The two banks might as well be two different campgrounds. The A, B, and C loops are perfectly flat and access is easy from HH.  The campsites are well spaced, well shaded, and full of nicely kept grass.  Several sites are pull through.  The A, B, and C loops are well suited for all campers.  On the other hand, the R loop entrance is almost hidden, and the road is very steep.  The campsites are small and the ground is uneven.  Some sites are overgrown by vegetation.  The R loop is suited for tent campers and backpackers; or for RVers who are confident drivers,  The R loop was not well used while we were there, and seems to be overdue for improvements.

We stayed on the A loop.  The sites seemed especially large, and tended to have the bulk of the family campers.  The B and C loops were a bit closer together, and had more of the boating crowd. The two large latrine houses and two shower houses were kept clean by the campsite hosts.  The A loop water spigot was monopolized by some rude campers, but we could get our water from the shower house spigot.  (This makes two campsites in two months that the Army Corp of Engineers Rangers have allowed a single campsite to take over the public water supply.)  If we were to stay here again, I think we'll get a full hook-up site and have our own water supply.  The extra $4 is probably worth it.

The hosts at the River Road Park were top notch.  The pair we met was a husband and wife team. While one stayed at the entrance shack, the other would visit campers in a golf cart.  They were very friendly.  They even helped us get a refund when I decided that we didn't need both of the campsites that I had reserved.  They did state that they wished people would check in at the shack first (which I did), rather than attempting to go to the campsites first.  With the campground using the online reservation system, at recreation.gov, campers would save a lot of trouble by checking in properly.  For us, a big plus was not having any squatters this time (unlike Highway K).

Saturday morning, a fellow camper walked over and introduced himself.  He had noticed our boys, and invited them to play water guns with his boys.  He was also a pretty good wood carver, and he carved our boys names for them.  Pretty cool!

It was August and it was hot.  However, below the shade trees, next to the river, it was pretty nice. The view from the dam was pretty spectacular too.  Sunrises and sunsets were absolutely works of art.  The boys enjoyed the multiple playgrounds. Walking around, we could watch the fishermen along the river, enjoy the splash of the spillway, and count all the different types of boats.  Kids on bikes were plentiful too.

Saturday was pretty quiet, but Sunday morning, the place turned more lively.  Several groups of retiree bikers rumbled through the peaceful camp on their trikes, blaring golden oldies.  They were rebels without a cause.  There were also several sets of pontooners that drove through the camp: guys in the tuck with bikini-clad women up on the boat on the trailer. It was like being at a drunken red-neck parade. This campground is apparently used as a turn-around for the locals. If I was a Ranger, I'd charge a $5 cover charge for each vehicle in the event.

The Rangers did patrol the place, but did little to enforce good behavior.  Thankfully, most campers were excellent neighbors, and the ones that weren't were usually avoidable.  The hosts, on the other hand, worked hard to get campers to behave well, even calling in the local sheriff when needed.  For example, on Friday night, someone thought it would be fun to shoot a shotgun in the middle of the camp.  They got a ride in the back of the sheriff's car.

The U-Turn Cafe, just up the road, had great ice cream.  The owners were very friendly.  The cold ice cream was just what was needed on a hot August afternoon.  I definitely recommend stopping in there.

All in all, we enjoyed ourselves a lot.  The camp was very nice.  The hosts were great.  The local ice cream shop was a real bonus.

Highway K Campground

Last summer, my wife and I discovered the US Army Corp of Engineers campgrounds, specifically the Highway K Campground. We have been both charmed and distressed by this small, quirky, beautiful campground. This July, we returned and Highway K treated us to another quirky weekend.

Highway K is the kind of place that if you're not looking for it, you won't find it. "A dot on the map" doesn't begin to describe it...there's no dot. It is situated on the Black River, in an area of the Ozarks, where the most distinctive feature is the road running through the hills. That's it. It's sole claim to fame is the bridge that goes over the river. And while that description is truthful, it doesn't do this little Ozark gem the justice it deserves.

Both the campground and the river are places that time has skipped over. There at Highway K, campers step back to what it was like a lifetime ago. To the modern man's chagrin, there is no cell phone reception. This can put a damper on the kids' electronics and IT professionals, but for the rest of us, its a blessing in disguise. The campground was originally privately owned and operated by the local canoe rental place. Having been handed over to the Corp of Engineers, it has been steadily improved, but relatively unchanged. The campsites have been leveled, paved, graveled, landscaped and electrified, but they are the same small, close together spots that have always been there. Even more amazingly, the campers are the same campers who have been coming here year after year, decade after decade. A visitor can easily see tents, trailers, and RVs dating back to the 1950s...all lovingly cared for by each family.

Most of the campers (if not all) are there because someone else brought them there, often their parents. While local Missourians are the most frequent, I ran into a large group from Mississippi that came because this is where their families have always come. Same with the folks from Arkansas and Texas. What seems to set these Highway K campers apart is their assumptions and attitudes about the place: it is theirs. They own it. They know this deep down. While to Corp of Engineers is the care taker, the real ownership belongs to the generations of campers. This is a distinctly different sort of thing to other places I've been, where campers are just temporary visitors.

And what they own is amazing. The Black River runs cold and clear through the valley. It is so clear that you can watch the sunfish sitting om their nests from over 20 feet away. The water is so cold that, if you splash in the water, you feel like you are the soda sitting in an ice cooler. On our first trip, I spent that Saturday sitting in the river on a lawn chair, half in and half out of the shade from the bridge. I spent the whole day attempting to find that optimal balance point between the hot sun, cold water, cool breeze, and refreshing shade. The trick was that the shade moved with the sun, so I had to keep readjusting. The boys spent the day riding the current, like a ride at the water park. They would run up the gravel bank as far as we would let them, and then splash into the water to float down stream as far as we would let them. Then, they would run back to do it again. The Lazy River at Six Flags has nothing on this place. With a lawn chair, a cooler, and a picnic basket, a camper is set. The family campers tended to stay south of the bridge, and the party campers to the north.  The arrangement seemed to work.

This time around, we again spent time in the water, and so did our dog.  Other places have rules...this place, not so much.  Just find a place on the gravel bar to park, and enjoy the water.  Everyone was hanging out in the shallows, and the few people silly enough to try the 12' deep current, literally got swept off their feet.  Most of the party types got flooded out, and went home early.  The family campers had a mostly quiet place, which was nice for us.

The community among campers can be pretty amazing too. Fellow campers were ready to show off their vintage trailer or RV. A man who can carve will whittle your boy's name into a stick. Marshmallows and S'mores are readily shared with all the kids.

However, the quirk is that ownership mentality...sometimes it comes off wrong. Both times that we've gone to camp there, we've had squatters on our reserved campsite. Now, I'm not the kind of guy who just HAS TO HAVE the campsite I reserved. I'll gladly take a similar one. However, after driving several hours with three boys and a dog on a Friday after work, I'm ready to set up camp. Having squatters is a rude surprise. Even worse, both times, the hosts expected me to move the interlopers. The hosts wouldn't give me another site, and yes, they really expected me to serve the eviction notice. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot people! To be fair, this time, the river was cresting at 12 feet above normal, and the bottom camp loop got flooded. None the less, that is what the hosts are for, to help resettle people properly. I think that the modern online reservation system is in conflict with the heritage system that the loyal campers have. But the situation was fixed up pretty quick. Stupid is as stupid does. The other campers were awesome.

So the Highway K Campground is pretty cool, but quirky. If the Corp of Engineers can fix the host and reservation system on the ground at this camp, it would truly be outstanding. As it is, I like it, but for my wife the weak host system was a drawback.