Camping Trip

I'm finally getting around to showing our camping trip pictures and telling a little about the day-to-day happenings throughout the week.

Monday:

Off to Oklahoma to camp at a little KOA off the highway to shorten the trip up. A good beginning to see how we handled tent set-up and sleeping. Not bad aside from no air mattresses and a late dinner.

Tuesday:

Breakfast in the KOA shop, a little hike around the place - then off to Eureka Springs. Little did we know what lay ahead . . .

A blow-out - tire change on the side of the highway and stopping at a little cash-only Arkansas tire shop. heh,heh . . . When we finally arrived in Eureka, the place we reserved just wasn't up to par, so thanks to the iPhone, we quickly found a state park down the road, found a great RV site with lots of room and set up camp! And THANK GOODNESS for the table mosquito tent; or in our case, fly tent! A bit of a pain to get in and out of, but totally worth it to not be eating with tons of flies every meal! Thanks Nathan and Erika!



Wednesday:

Probably our best day! Morning hiking and cave exploring, afternoon "Big Cat Habitat," and evening of enjoying our camp site.


I wasn't expecting much at the habitat, but when you get to be that close to a tiger, lion, bobcat, and jaguar, it's pretty darn cool! I love these pics of the kids! By the way, it was Daddy's idea to put my poor little guy in front the "Goober's" sign since there wasn't a "Bubba." :) Here's a video of one of the cat's that seemed to maybe be hungrier before all the rest:





Thursday:

This was another fun & really full day. I know we all walked several miles by the end of the day. We started the day at Cosmic Cavern, which is rated as one of America's top 10 caverns. Not only does it have beautiful stalagmites, stalactites, etc, but it has 2 "bottomless" lakes - called such because divers used a radar that detects down to 1000 feet and still did not detect a bottom!
Next was shop-looking and exploring the charming town of Eureka Springs. Lots to see and do. It also included a hike up to the Famous Crescent Hotel, which was well-worth the look. Last, we took the kids to see the Passion Play. It was wonderful (despite some kinda amateur speaking) but you DON'T want to miss the pre-play show of "The Potter's Wheel." Fabulous! Greg's comment, "If anyone could make you feel like you were listening to Jesus, it was him." He drew you in and kept you completely enthralled with his message.
Friday:

The last day was easy-going with a little more time on the road than we expected, but still not time wasted. We found a neat little tourist place on a side-road called"War Eagle Mill" where they still make flours for breads using an old-fashioned water wheel run grind machine.

Then we headed off to find a swimming and fishing area on Beaver Lake. The kids LOVED fishing. Thought it would not be enough action, but I think I was the only one who got bored! Daddy's already taken them to Grapevine Lake since we've been home.

The evening was spent at the campsite - actually the kids' favorite spot out of them all . . . s'mores, glow sticks, playing ball, & picking up the campsite for an early morning departure.

Saturday:

It rained again on the trip home, but cleared up about 3/4 of the way there. The Ozarks were pretty with the clouds hanging low.
If you'd like to see the rest of the pictures, please go to Cunningham Family Photography.