More camping adventures . . . and mis-adventures!

 

We had beautiful weather all weekend – 60s at night, 80s during the day, and we had plenty of shade and a nice breeze so we didn’t even need the A/C.  I probably should have used it, though, with all the pines around us, by the time we left every surface in the RV (inside and outside) had a layer of yellow pollen on it!

On Saturday, the boys got up and went for a run (Casey sat it out – she was still worn out from the hike!), and came back ready for a hearty breakfast – waffles, sausage and bacon!

The park has kayaks and canoes for rent, so after breakfast we thought we’d go get some information on kayaking the lake and river.  All of the boats were $25 for 4 hours, and our first thought was to just rent 2 kayaks for the boys and let them go without us.  By the time we made up our mind, though, the single kayaks were all rented and there were just doubles left.

So, we rented 2 of those, and Tom and I figured we’d give it a try.

Getting ready to launch the kayaks on the lake.

It was pretty busy on the lake – all of the canoes and kayaks were out, as well as lots of fishing boats!

Tom went with Nick, and I went with Bryce.  We were pretty wobbly at first, so Bryce and I both decided to leave our phones behind, and I didn’t have my camera either.  Nick was more confident, and he took his phone – so all of these pictures from the river are courtesy of him.

I was out there for awhile,

and Bryce and I were doing OK . . . but the kayak seats were not very comfortable and I was having a real problem keeping my balance.  After about an hour, I was looking for a place to get out and stretch my legs.

We had made our way into the river,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and thankfully hadn’t seen any alligators or snakes – although Nicolas thought he spotted an alligator in the water at one point.

We spotted a bank that we thought we could get up to, so Bryce and I turned and started paddling over there . . . all of a sudden we started leaning to one side and couldn’t recover – over we went!!

It was like slow motion, and at lease we didn’t lose anything (and we were SO glad we hadn’t brought our phones)!  We swam over to the bank and Nicolas managed to get the kayak out of the water and onto theirs.  I refused to even think about alligators or snakes as I swam!!

I was done at that point, so Tom asked a husband and wife on a passing fishing boat if they would give me a ride back to the boat launch.  They said yes, and I was so relieved!  He pulled right up to the bank and I was able to climb onto their boat.  As we drove back down the river to the lake, I was really surprised at how far we had gone!

So, Bryce was on his own after that,

and they continued up the river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got dropped off at the boat launch and took the car back to the RV where I took a shower, had some lunch, and got Casey out for awhile.  Nicolas texted when they got back to the boat launch, and I went back to pick them up.  They got back about 45 minutes early, but they were tired and hungry, so ready to be done.

As they pulled the kayaks out of the water, they realized that Bryce’s was full of water – they couldn’t even pull it up on shore, it was so heavy!

I guess that’s why he was sitting so low in the water!

When we returned the stuff and told the ranger that we had flipped, he said (in an alarmed voice), “Oh, you didn’t flip up in the river by the big alligators, did you?”  Yay – glad we didn’t see the gators!  I think I’m done with kayaking . . .

The rest of the weekend was a little more low-key.  We rode our bikes around the campground, and around the lake.

 

The lake was formed when a dam and bridge were built in the Little River, connecting the Cook County and Colquitt County properties that make up Reed Bingham State Park.

Governor Jimmy Carter is credited with creating the lake and the state park, and he dedicated the bridge when it was completed.

 

 

 

It must be a pretty good spot for fishing – we always saw people fishing on the downriver side of the dam.

We cooked dinner on the fire one night,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and enjoyed some beautiful sunsets, although the mosquitos were pretty thick down by the lake.

 

As it turned out, we were really close to Moultrie, where the Monaco International Group (sub-group of FMCA) were having a pre-rally prior to the big FMCA Rally in Perry, Georgia.

Tom had decided that he wanted to get some suspension modifications done to our RV that we had learned about at the Lazydays Gathering in January, so after church on Sunday, we stopped to talk to a few of the folks in Moultrie.

One of the guys who designed the modifications was there, and the other guy was meeting him and some others at Reed Bingham State Park the next day!  That was very advantageous for us, as Tom was able to talk to them and make tentative plans to get the modifications made in the fall when they return from Alaska.  We also got their blog info, so we can follow their adventures in Alaska!

Monday was a quiet day – Nicolas got the tent taken down and packed up his car, we got his taxes done and took care of some financials, and we went out for pizza when it was time for him to get on the road. 

I was worried that Casey might get used to being back with us and not want to leave, but as soon as she saw Nick packing up the car, she was ready to go!  I guess she’s pretty happy in her new home!

It was after 4pm when Nicolas left us.  He had about a 5 hour drive back to Charleston, but with the time change, he had an extra hour of daylight for driving, so it wasn’t too bad.  He said Casey rode pretty well, and once it got dark, she laid down and went to sleep.  He made it home with no trouble, so that was good.

It was great having him with us for the long weekend, and he really enjoyed it, too!