Well it had to happen. . .

Remember my comment about kids playing on the boat ramp? Well, here in the campground there are two boat ramps, plus there is the main launch where we launch our boat. In the campground, one of the ramps is close to some campsites and it is common for people with small children to put lifejackets on the kids and send them off to the ramp to play with minimal supervision. The ramp is an old road bed and there is a parking lot around the ramp with a floating (but now partially submerged) pier for use by people launching. There are also two campsites still underwater that jettison out into the water. The concrete picnic tables are partially submerged. I'm not sure where the children were playing, but these conditions are NOT ideal for it. Lots of debris can get trapped under the water and there is no telling what perils might be lurking under the surface. Contrast this to the beach IN THE CAMPGROUND which is covered in sand. Whatever might drift in will likely drift back out since there are no obstructions on the beach and it has been cleaned thoroughly.

I was walking the trash out the other morning when there was commotion at the campground boat ramp. Lots of children and a few adults were rushing to the site where a small child apparently stepped on something and cut her foot or leg. I couldn't tell what, I just heard one of the women say, "I think it's cut to the bone on the one side." Ugh. All because it was easier to allow the child to play in an unsafe area rather than take the kids to the beautiful beach to play in a safe area. Poor parenting. I hope they learned their lesson, but I doubt it.

We have a family of tent campers across the creek from us, about 30-40 feet away. Last Thursday one man came in and set up a tent and from the amount of water and pop and firewood he brought, we figured there would be a big crowd. He saw us out and jumped the creek and came up to chat. He said his family always rents all the sites in that section on Memorial Day and they basically have a family reunion. We normally don't arrive until after the holiday, so we haven't seen them before. He was quite excited as he apparently doesn't see much of the family until this one weekend a year.

Friday afternoon they started pouring in. . . and I do mean pouring. I think there are 10+ tents, 3 canopies, 3 main fire pits and two rings of chairs. Hahahah. Dozens of kids, adults, and one dog. I think there must be 50-60 people in the group. The amazing part is that we hear very little from them. They all seem to be enjoying the solitude of the camp. There is NO yelling or screaming. I have not heard any of the kids fighting, no dog barking, etc. Sure, you can hear them talking when they are gathered around the circle, but no NOISE. I'm not sure how they manage to feed everyone without making a ruckus but they do. The kids come to the creek and chase crawdads and they get a little excited, but nothing loud. They all seem to be enjoying themselves and each other's company. Just a big family having a great time.

The atmosphere here in the camp is really quite nice. I think part of the reason is that because this is a family campground, no alcohol is allowed. You don't hear a lot of loud, obnoxious behavior that goes along with that. Everyone is acting responsibly and enjoying themselves. And this place is packed. Everyone who is camped here has friends coming in and some campsites are doubled up. Everyone is available to chat, so you can meet a lot of people just by strolling through the camp.

Yesterday we went to Livingston. I had switched our office phone to another carrier and didn't get my voicemail set up. That carrier is not available here in the camp. Since we didn't want to miss any calls, we had to go somewhere to set it up and to set up the call forwarding. So we went to Livingston, about 14 miles away. Today we are going to watch the races. First the Indy 500, then the Nascar race later. All these weekenders are keeping the boat ramps busy and there is a lot of congestion in the parking lot, so we are enjoying camp and the races and will take off in the boat tomorrow. We are here for another 10 days or so and will have plenty of time to enjoy the water.

Till next time. . .

Dale