Into the Woods I Go

What a beautiful day to drive up along the Ohio River. The sun was shining and it was 81°. The traffic was light. It doesn’t matter what Siri says…it always takes me longer than predicted because I have to stop here and there along the way. It’s just how I roll. But glancing over and catching sight of boats on the river made my heart sing.

When I stay at a campground for three or four nights, I set up the campsite to be really cozy. I put out a camp rug to keep from tracking dirt and rocks into the camper. I have a camp kitchen set up where I can put the griddle or electric skillet and my tea kettle. The cooler and the kitchen trunk are off to one side and my two folding bamboo tables are strategically placed with on by my chair. I like to sit and have my coffee there and our new camp chairs rock. Like, literally rock. That’s a nice addition to our camping gear.

Once everything was set up, I fixed myself some supper. I bought a rotisserie chicken and corn on the cob at my last stop. So, I cooked up two ears of corn and cut off a thigh and leg quarter from the chicken. Then I had some watermelon for dessert. By then Gail was back from her church meeting and we sat and talked till dark.

This campground was once a strip mine. It was reclaimed at one point and the campground was created. But the drainage was bad and mosquitoes were crazy bad. The feds came in and did another reclamation, filling in the ponds that had formed and culling a bunch of trees. There was one massive sycamore tree that stood like a ghostly sentinel towering over the other trees. I don’t know if Gail was able to throw any weight around, but she did say once that she really hoped they would save that tree. When we came back after the reclamation project was completed…there stood the Grand Dame of the Forest in all her glory!

I love camping on the weekdays because there are hardly any campers. It makes for a very slow and laid back trip…just my style of camping. I think there may be naps in my future this trip! We can’t do that on the Colorado trip because we’ll be moving on every morning. Mr. FixIt had a wonderful day and spent quality time with Junior FixIt. My bonus daughter has been sick for a week so he didn’t go near them. We can’t afford to get sick!

I needed this R&R to rest up for the trip out west. These long cross-country drives are getting a little more difficult the older I get. But it’ll be a long time before I give up on them!