Eagle's Nest Camp

I just finished a busy week volunteering at the Eagle's Nest Twilight Camp. It is run by the Girl Scouts in the city of Allen. It is held in a public park next to a middle school. Instead of having day camp, they have it at night because of the heat. It was very well organized. There are girls there of all ages. I was the Assistant Site Director. I assisted a lady who was once David's ASA basketball coach. What a small world! We did carpool, took care water issues, killed poison ivy, and monitored everyone's cooking. It was fun, but really exhausting. I have blisters on my feet still! I love volunteering with the Girl Scouts and I hope I can continue to do so.

Bonjour Paris!

I spent the weekend in Paris, Texas again at Camp Gambill. And the Eiffel Tower still eludes me. Next time I am going to get directions in advance. Anyway, I volunteered at a Mom & Me weekend. It was fun, but a lot of work. There were a little over 50 people there. I ran games for 3 hours and canoeing for 4 hours. I got so sunburnt. My nose is peeling! In between I sat down for a little while and fell asleep on accident. It was a great weekend, but I don't think I will be able to volunteer there again for a couple months.

Easter Camping Trip

David and I really needed a vacation recently. So, we went camping at Lake Fannin for Easter weekend. We got up there around sunset. The gate to the park was closed. I was nervous because it didn't look like anyone else was around at all. We went to the boat launch across the lake and filled up the canoe with our stuff. Then we paddled across to the park and dropped it off. We went searching for the caretaker, a little old man named Robin. He was a nice guy who lived alone at the park as a volunteer. He told us some stories about losing 2 of his 4 dogs to coyotes and mountain lions and the history of the park. He said that we could stay there. We were the only ones. I set up the tents in the dark. The toads and coyotes were crazy at night. But I was able to sleep through them. David went fishing in the morning, but didn't catch anything. After we ate breakfast, people started showing up to the park. There is a 6 miles trail there. The weather was perfect. There were other volunteers building bridges.

Apparently the park was built in 1938 by the U.S. Forest Service. 20,000 people came to opening weekend. There were stone cabins, a boat house, 2 lodges, and a bath house. Over the years, it got old and dilapidated. There are ruins of cabins all over the park. The Forest Service didn't want to put any money into it. So, this couple adopted the place and fixed it up. Once they were done, the Forest Service said, "We want it back now." Right now, a non-profit organization runs it, but the Forest Service owns it. It's not the much of a park, I could see why they didn't want to put any money into it. But I am glad they kept it open.

We walked around for a while. The lodge is in a very pretty place in the park. We paddled around the lake, there is a little island in the middle. We drove around the outside areas of the park. They are cutting down all the cedar trees that have invaded the area because they are not a native species of tree. It was originally prairie land. The smell of cut cedar is great! We found out from Robin that it was supposed to rain or snow Saturday night. We pondered leaving then, but we didn't. It rained a little that night, just enough to be annoying while cleaning up. We packed up before breakfast and took 78 all the way home. We stopped in Wylie to eat. At the cafe, we had a couple blatantly cut in front of us for a table. That makes me so mad. Easter dinner we ate at David's parent's house in Irving. No Easter pizza this year. The whole trip was very relaxing, I can't wait to go again.

A Canadian Goose sitting on our dock.

Looking at the restored cabins.

Sara, the happy paddler.

Sara, the big truck driver.

One of the less stellar "sign shots" we've taken.

Water tower outside the caretaker's house.

Out little boat.

Our campsite from the water.

This is an old boathouse. You would park your boat at the bottom and there was a dancing deck up top.

The ruins of a cabin.

A Canadian Goose sitting on her eggs. She is very made we are there.

David making breakfast.

You can't really see it, but this is a picture of the Red River and Oklahoma. The catch is we are facing southwest.

The High Bluff Lodge.

A new bridge built by volunteers.

Erosion.

Getting ready to go.

Our little campsite.

David on the lake.

David coming in to the dock.

David cooking breakfast.

Girl Scout Camping in Paris

This weekend I went to Camp Gambill in Sumner, Texas right outside Paris. That is about 120 miles from Plano. The Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas were having a Dad and Me weekend. I had so much fun. It's a small, flat camp that is perfect for younger girls. The council people kept taking about how poorly maintained the camp was. I didn't notice that at all. There were only about 35 people, so they fit in one unit. They earned 3 badges. We did arts & crafts, a service project, and played games. The dads were really into doing lanyards and playing poker for beads. I lifeguarded while they canoed on Lake Gibbons for 2 hours. That was interesting. I was lifeguarding from a sit-on-top kayak. I am not the best kayaker. My butt got so wet. It was nice to be Inch Worm again for a weekend. I am going back next month for a Mom and Me weekend.

Camping Weekend

We really needed a weekend away from all the job(s) craziness that has been happening lately. I haven't been camping since 2004, I think. So, David suggested we finally go to Turner Falls, Oklahoma. He has been talking about this place every since we meet. We left around 5 PM on Friday and got there after dark. I thought we were the only people there. We set up camp in a remote area by a babbling brook. We had go offroading to get there. Not too much, but enough to make me scream every time we hit a bump. I was so cold that night. I just could not get my toes warm. And it is hard to get into the fetal position in a mummy bag. We had to switch sleeping bags at 2 AM. We woke up early on Saturday. David made breakfast. I think it was about 32 degrees when we got up. Washing my hands to put my contacts in was very painful. Then we went on a hike around the park. There is a 77 foot waterfall and many trails. There are a few caves, but I think we only saw one. There was a stone castle that was built in 1930. David wanted to go creek walking, but at that temperature if I got wet, I think it would be over for me. After lunch, we decided to go into town get a few things we forgot. We went to the Ardmore Wal-Mart. We followed a van of inmates there. Good times. I wondered why they were all dressed the same and staring at us. Some billboards in town said it was 45 degrees. When we got back, we blazed an easier trail for the truck to take us across the creek. I am not that great with a machete. Then we went on another hike up an old road. At the top was a clearing with a giant cross made out of rocks. We found a jaw to a coyote. Creepy. For dinner, we made Hobo Stew and hamburgers. When we couldn't find the buns, David concluded crows had flown off with them. Because he had never had a problem with critters. That would have been a funny sight. David had his first s'more that night. I don't think he was impressed. That night I went through the normal nighttime in the woods paranoia. It didn't help that the toads laughed like The Joker. At 3 AM, I woke up to David yelling, "Boo!" and clapping his hands really loud. Turns out there was raccoons getting into our stuff. They left a little paw print on our paper towels. I guess that is what happened to the hamburger buns. It was below freezing when we woke up. After breakfast, we cleaned up and left. It was kind of a bummer to get back to civilization. It was a great trip though. Just what I needed!

Brighter ledge picture.

I thought this one was artsy.

I really don't remember where this one was taken, but it doesn't make me any less cute.

Chilly Willy.

Nice teeth.

Clearing by the falls.

It's hard to get your picture taken when you are the only ones there...

Me, on top of the world!

David and me by the creek.

Sitting on a ledge.

The Campfire Gourmet

Our cute little campsite.

David climbing up the waterfall.

Trying to get down.

Sitting in rocky cut out.

The many views of Turner Falls