The Last Hoorah

A few weeks ago we decided we'd go camping before school started. We decided to go and float the Spring River. After much preperation, which of course goes into any camping trip...and I do mean MUCH) we decided to leave around 1:00 Friday afternoon. As you can see below we left much later than planned. It was 3:00.

Sanders standard time.

This is where we stayed. SouthforkResort. We heard it was really nice and very family oriented. It turns out that the guy that owns it graduated from North Pulaski a few years after we did and we all know a lot of the same people. Small world.
It had rained all day by the tune we arrived in Saddle, AR. This is what the roads AND our campsite looked like.

No concrete slab.

No gravel.

Just mud.

Daddy's not too happy. Chase and Carson made their way down to the river to do some fishing without much luck. Although Carson did catch one that was about 4 inches long. Mike made him throw it back.

Cooking dinner.
Notice that the back of the Expedition is open. By the time we got done cooking dinner it was dark. Since we're not camping veterans (at least I'm not) we didn't have a lantern. We debated on buying one because we were trying to keep our spending down. Now I know what you're thinking. You don't camp without a lantern. I know that now. When we went last year to the Buffalo we stayed at a really nice camp ground that was quite a little ways from the river but it was really nice. They even had a place to wash your dishes. Anyways...we really didin't need a lantern then because there was plenty of light around. Weeeelllll.....not so lucky with the amenities at Southfork. Camp fire. Yeah. Lantern...who needs a lantern when you have a raging camp fire, right?

Not so much.

The wood was wet from the days rain.

So to get to the point - the battery died on the truck because we left the door open for the interior lights.

GOOODDDD!!!

Mike stayed awake all night worrying about the dumb battery. It's a trait his father so kindly passed down to him.

Cooking at the camp. Our sleeping quarters.

This side belonged to us parental units.

This little side bed is where Carson slept. Don't even ask.

I have no idea where the pillow case is for that pillow.

Chase's side of the palace. That lump there is him sleeping.
The floor and the mud. A battle Mike fought and did not win. And this cracks me up. This whole trip actually amused me. I am usually the one that wigs out over every little thing in situations like this. The battery, the mud, the amenities, the drunken bachelors that stayed right up from us. Oh, did I not tell you about them? Well, give me a sec. I SO went with the flow. I was cool. I was actually enjoying myself. Mike usually gets agitated at me because I'm SO the opposite of that. This time it was him.
The camp fire from the first night, or lack there of. How bout that for a $7.00 grill?
The bachelors.

It could have been so much worse. They stayed in a cabin right up from us. I had been told that the resort (and I use the term resort loosely) owners didn't put up with anything. If you have trouble with other campers...they were all over it. So the bachelors bached it up without a whole lot of trouble. They were just loud. Not even really a whole lot of profanity to speak of. Once we turned in for the night and turned the air conditioner on (yes, we have a/c - did you think I would go without it?) it drowned them out - for the most part.

Our picnic table.

Somewhat rickety. Anytime someone got up from one side, I thought the other side was gonna flip (and that didn't include my lardness on the table).

Mike brushing his teeth before the morning float.

Ready to row.

I brought my old camera so I could take pictures while we were on the river. Since Mike was in such a tiz about the truck battery (that we thought was fixed at this point and then found out it wasn't.....but it really was) I didn't have time to get it and waterproof it before we left. I was just sick about it.

The float was good. The guy told us it was a 5 hour float that you could do in 2. Huh?

"Take your time" he said.

We really took our time. We stopped at two different places and let Carson swing from rope swings (and Mike) and jump from very tall trees.

After getting back from the float the 'resort' owner jumped our truck and we went to Wal Mart. This actually was our second trip to the tiny little Wal Mart supercenter of Ash Falt. What's going out of town without a trip or 5 to Wal Mart? We went ahead and bought a new battery. Almost $80.00. Funny how we tried to not spend $20.00 on a lantern and ended up spending a ton more on a dumb battery. In the end we returned the battery because the old battery was actually still good. I prayed about this trip and I knew that we would be taken care of so I didn't worry much about it.

Thank you, Lord.

We decided not to mess with cooking after all that and went on into Mammoth Spring to see where the spring is that starts the Spring River.

God painted these pictures for us on the way there. It was a nice drive on a beautiful evening with the windows rolled down.

This is the tourist center at Mammoth Spring State Park. The temperature changed signifigantly down by the waterfall. The water is always 58 degress and it was so cold at the bottom. Of course in true Sanders fashion we get there as the visitor center is closing. Now, what do you think that massive amount of running water does to people? There were no bathrooms.

Oh my gah is all I'll say!
Yes, Ralph - he's pointing!
The water was COLD!


This is at the bottom of the falls which is the beginnings of the Spring River.


The beginnings of the Spring River.

Some kind of machine tool or something or other with my family patiently waiting for me in the background.
Surely this sign was not intended for my children.
Part of the natural spring. Looks gross, huh?
Diving duck butts.

Reading an informational sign about the spring. It delivers over 9 million gallons of water per hour.

This is Chase mocking the ducks. They got somewhat defensive as we were conducting our tour.
This is how they got back at us.
Not real sure about this 'Big Gun'. I didn't have much time to read it. I just snapped pictures and bolted.

I had to pee!
Oh, you'll like this one.

Carson on the 'Big Gun'.

Carson looking into the 'Big Gun'.
Carson after he looked into the 'Big Gun.'

Totally his idea. I didn't have time to argue.

I was still hearing running water!

We had actually decided that we were going to leave after we got back from the float on Saturday. With the all the going on we decided to stay put. I was SO tired so I showered (and oh how gross that was) and climbed into bed. The boys decided to try the campfire thing again and finally got lucky. I could not partake. I turned in and put a movie on. Yes, we take a TV and movies, too!

Not sure who took over the photography duties but here's Chase with a marshmallow.

Yeah, they were not so great.
They were right across from us. It's always good to have a bathroom close by for a woman who's had three babies. Gah, there seems to be lots of references to pee in this post, huh?

Sorry - it's the life I lead!
The boys found this spider right outside the bathrooms on the morning we were leaving. As far as spiders go...it was really very pretty - and BIG. Look at the center of it's web. That jagged line was all the way down from top to bottom.
Mike found a grasshopper and threw it into the web. The spider quickly spun a web around it. You can see the silk still attached to the spider (I mean if you actually want to look that closely)
Poor grasshopper.

This momma dog and her baby roamed the campsite. They were actually sweet little dogs (as far as dogs go). They were very playful with each other.
And they liked company.
Packing up.

Hey close those doors on that truck. Preserve that battery.

Home Sweet Home.

I never ever in my life thought that I would say that I LOVE camping. But I do. I LOVE it!

We left early saturday morning and promised the boys we'd take them fishing.

We're off to Heber to swim and fish.

I guess you could call me a Happy Camper.