Never say Never (Camping at Lake Allatoona)

Once upon a time I said "I'll never go camping at Lake Allatoona again!". You may recall my 2nd post and how awful that trip was. Jess and I were deciding where to go camping the other week and she kept going on about Lake Allatoona. "I grew up on that lake. I have such great memories on that lake. Lake Allatoona is great" she said. And on and on, I think you get the picture. Sometimes you have to pick your battles. I gave in and off we went with 3 children. Yes 3! Noah's best friend Hayes tagged along and we headed out for great fun. Jess wanted to go to Macedonia but it was either lost or closed (or she was lost don't know which). So we settled for one of her "favorite places as a kid" Sweetwater Creek. The camp site looked OK at 1st review but turned out to be crawling in army ants which got on everything. We bought home a couple thousand of them and started an ant farm in the front yard. Other than that the site was good, right on the lake with no one around until about 10:00PM. We had just put the boys down and a group with a giant boat decided to back into the site next to use. Instead of the 15 other close by. The walk on the shore was pretty nice except for all the goose scat. The lake was so dirty the Jess only got in one time for about 5 mins. The boys had a great time in the water and playing at the site. It was nowhere near as bad as the last trip to Lake Allatoona. Jess was in such a rush to leave the nest morning that I didn't get a chance to use my inflatable boat. Maybe next time.

Cooper Creek

My first overnight trip to the Chattahochee National Forest comes with mixed reviews. The family + my brother went the weekend before the 4th of July. The place was packed. We were beginning to think we would not find a site. Finally, we found what may have been the best site of all away from everyone up the mtn just outside the Cooper Creek campgrounds. The only down side was that it was not on the creek. But it did come with it's own bear. We saw him the 1st night about 30 mins after supper. He was just walking up the road. When he saw us he just looked a while and then ran off thru the woods. Jess and Aaron claimed we had lots of visitors during the night, maybe even the bear. Aaron, the boys and I had a good time on the hiking trails which were decent. Fairly easy hiking, nothing to hard, even for beginners. We all had a lot of fun in the creek. Aaron almost fell asleep on a rock in the middle. It was a nice relief from the heat. Jess fell in the creek, but saved her camera. I checked on her after I made sure the camera was OK. The new tent, broke poles and all, worked out really good. (I got the new set of poles in the other day, but have not used them yet.) We found a beautiful waterfall that you could wade right up to. It had a great place for kids to play at the bottom. Overall the creek and the mtns were great, but I was not all that impressed with the campgounds. Basically great location, but inside the campgrounds seemed a little trashy. I may have a different opion if it was not so crowded.

Good news, bad news, good news

I just got my replacement tent for Titan. It is a Wenzel Titan, but not quite the same as the old one. I was very excited. Jess and the boys gave it to me for Father's Day. It has the same floor plan the biggest difference is the porch has no floor and it has more doors. I still have not named it yet. I'm taking suggestions but sometimes it takes time to let the tent take on a personality. Let me know what you think I should name it. The first time I set it up 3 poles broke. I was heart broken. All my excited was crushed, I almost cried. (not really) The up shot is that when we called Campmor, the store I got it from, the customer service was great. We told them the problem and they shipped a new set of poles no questions asked. I highly recommend Campmor. Just got them today, I'll let y'all know how they do.

The Good, The Bad, and the Woefully Unprepared

The first rule in camping is to be prepared. Remember that and I'll get to it later. My brother and I went to the new campgrounds at DeSoto State Park over in Alabama the other weekend. The Park is beautiful, The campsites were excellent, and the hiking trails were great. There is some much to see that you need a good week there, but we only had one night. Waterfalls, mountain streams, historical ruins, flowers, wildlife, the place has it all. Ir is definitely worth the trip. If you go tent camping you most get the primitive sites. They are well spaced out, you can drive right up to them, and the other sites are very nice but set up for RV's. All the ones with hook ups are very nice, but have gravel pads, and close together. We started the first day off by trying to bike down to the ruins, but quickly realized that I was going to kill myself. It was my first shot at Mtn biking and way to advanced of a trail for me. We decided to keep the bikes on the family trail. It turned out to be a very good starter trail with just enough challenge to keep it interesting. We them hiked to the ruins of an old quarry which was neat. Yeah I said neat! After a quick rest and lunch we hiked to some waterfalls which were great, not real big, but beautiful. Back at the campsite we attempted to start a fire with some really green wood we got from the country store with little success. After gathering up some good pine though it was roaring in no time. Ate some hot dogs and climbed into Tweetie for some shot eye. Remember the first rule? It was 70 degrees out and the low called for high 50's and 60's. I had 2 fleece bags and was sleeping like a log until about 3am. I didn't prepare to be cold. I've been camping in 17 degree weather before, and have never been so cold. I thought I was going to freeze. The problem was that I didn't have Jess's body heat to keep me warm. After a very cold night we got a early start to get my blood flowing. We decided to hike to 2 other waterfalls, which were just as good if not better than the first 2. The trail we took got very narrow and snaking after the 1st falls. I was beginning to think that we had hiked clean out of the park. All in all it was a great trip and I plan on going back to hike other trails, which were all wonderful, and see the rest of the waterfalls and historical sites very soon. DeSoto is my new favorite pace in North AL and GA.

Meet My Tents - Part 2

My wife says I own to many tents, but I’m fixin’ to buy another one, I’ll explain why in a minute. She also thinks it’s silly that I name my tents, but I do. My oldest tent is named “Ole Faithful”. It is the tent that I took on the trip from hell that I didn’t get to sleep in. It is a 12 year old Hillary 4 man dome tent that is still in great condition. I keep it because it is so reliable and I plan on letting the boys use it when they get old enough to sleep in their own tent. Then there is “The Mayor House”. It is a 6 man that I bought when we had our 1st kid. The name comes from when we were dubbed the mayor of shanty town at a small tent city we found ourselves at because it was the nicest tent on site. It is a 6 man Swiss cabin style with a room divider. I decided that I really don’t like cabin style tents so I bought an 8 man dome from Bass Pro Shop named “Titan”. I loved that tent. Unfortunately I lost it in an ice storm that came with heavy winds. A rather large limb fell on the frozen tent causing to collapse and breaking most of the poles. I think I’m going to buy the same tent again, probably Titan 2, but I’m open to suggestions. I guess it really depends on what I get. For backpacking I have a 2 man that is yellow so I named him Tweetie. Have not used it that much it is fairly new, I like I so far but I guess the jury is sill out. I’ll yet y’all know. I also lost a dome style screen house names Breezy this spring to a storm that I will need to replace. Any suggestion on my replacements is appreciated. I will post a photo blog soon.

Meet My Tents - Part 1

The 1st thing you need to do when planning a camping trip is chose the right tent. There are 3 things you need to know. 1st,you do not have to spend a lot for a good tent. 2nd, which sounds contradictory to #1, you do get what you pay for. 3rd, beware of how many it sleeps. If you are taking your family to a campground with camping pads and bath houses you can get a good tent for under $200. You have to shop off the beaten path. Unless you find a sale, going to Cabelas, REI, or other major sporting goods stores is going to cost you. Try sites like wenzelstore.com, familytentcamping.com, or many other, do your homework. If you plan on going wilderness camping you get what you pay for. It may sound crazy, but I'll pay as much or more for a 2 person tent as I will for an 8 person. When you are out in the elimates away from bathhouses, or the relative safety of a campground, your tent is your life. It is your shelter from the cold and rain. The name on your tent means everything. Get a North Face, Big Agnes or NEMO, etc.... It could save your life. If you have a family of 4 don't get a 4 man tent. You need to add a least 2 people. if not 4 so that you have plenty of room to get dressed, store gear, and just move around. You don't want to spend the whole trip stepping on your gear, bedding or each other just trying to get to your clothes bag to change. One of the biggest things you have to remember is to take care of your tent. When you 1st get it put the seam sealer on it, it really does help. Always put your tent up in your yard before your trip to let it air out and check it for tears and leaks by using a water hose. When you get home put your tent up and let it dry. Even if it didn't rain, chances are it will be damp with dew. NEVER put a wet tent up for storage. It will cause it to leak, don't ask me why. If you take care of your tent it will take care of you.

The Worst Trip Ever

The year was 1997, and my soon to be wife wanted me to take her camping. After I agreed, she decided that all her friends needed to come along. None of them had never been camping before and they wanted to go. By the time I was ready to go the party had grown to seven, my wife and I plus 3 of her friends and 2 of mine. 7 people, 2 campsites, and 3 tents headed off for McKaskey Creek on Lake Allatoona. The lake is a nice place if you like to boat, ski or ride jet skis. If you are looking for a nice quite place to fish, swim or just be lazy you should probably go somewhere else. When we arrived and time came to set up camp it became clear that I was the only one that had ever been camping before. I had to set up all the tents, gather the firewood, start the fire, and set out chairs for everyone. My soon to be wife helped a little, everyone else just got in the way. Then the arguments started over who was sleeping in what tent and with whom. I finally told them that my wife and I were sleeping in my tent and I didn't care what the rest did. Then the un-forcasted rain started! I had to scramble to put a shelter up over the table with all our food and a lot of the gear because there was little room left in the tents. That was LOTS of fun! We were stuck crowded in the bigger 6 person tent, which really only sleep 4 for most of the day. Fuses got short and I decided just to go get rained on by the lake since most of the boaters went in. We did get to go out later that afternoon when the rains stopped, but it was short lived because it stared back about bed time. That is when we realized that 1 of the tents leaked like crazy. I gave up my 4 man tent to 1 of my friends and 2 of her's. She and I slept in the big tent with another couple. At 4 am I was awaken by an alarm clock that the girl sharing a tent with us brought to wake her up in time to go home and feed her dogs. Yea, she had to go feed her dogs. McKaskey creek is a government managed area and locks the gates at 9 pm and opens at 8 am. I told her that but she insisted on trying anyway. In order to not wake anyone she didn't turn on the headlights and ran off the run almost hitting the tent and got stuck. To top it all of the truck needed power steering fluid and squealed like a demon when turned waking everyone in the general area. Then the bald tires squealing on the wet mud woke the rest of the campgrounds. After getting the truck unstuck I decided to call it a trip and started packing. It was the camping trip from HELL! My bad experience aside, McKaskey creek is not a good place to camp. You should avoid it at all cost, the campsites are to close to gather, and it was not all that clean. You had to share tables with the sites around you and most were no where near the water. They locked the gates, so if you want to go out and do something you have to be back by 9 pm, and you can only have 1 vehicle per site. The rest have to park about a mile away and walk. Not even a bad hiking trail, just up the road. I'm not real sure how they keep the place open

Back to Basics

I have heard so many people say that they are not going on vacation this year because of the economy. "I just don't have the money" they say, or "I can't afford a plane ticket, hotel room, and rental car." I decided to let you in on a little secret that no one thinks about, CAMPING! There are a lot of places within driving distance that have plenty of God created beauty plus things to keep the kids entertained. No matter where yo go or what you want to do, there is a good chance that there are campgrounds nearby. Doesn't $10 to $25 per night sound a lot better than $75 to $200 a night. There is no need in going out a buying a $400 dollar tent either. Unless you are going to climb Mt. Everest you can get a good, roomy tent for under $200. Plus you can use it over and over again. You do the math, even after campground fees and supplies, there is a good chance that it will be cheaper than the hotel and all that is involved in that. Food is also cheaper, a cooler full of drinks, sandwich stuff, and even steak and taters is a lot cheaper than eating out every meal. No matter what you are going to do consider camping, not only is it cheaper, but the kids will never forget it. My six year old remembers every camping trip he has been on, and wants to go back to every spot. Your family will grow closer, you'll save money, see God's wilderness, and have a vacation to remember.