Ponca State Park - Missouri River Outdoor Expo

Well, were are about 3 hours from departure to Ponca State Park - This weekend is the weekend of the 6th or 7th Annual Missouri River Outdoor Expo and we are excited to attend.  This weekend is CRAZY at Ponca as there will be over 50K visitors to the Expo.  They do a REAL nice job with parking and shuttles and the suck and all of the Expo vendors and activities are kept down on the bottom part of the park away from the campgrounds SO you can peacefully camp while still taking part in the expo...  I promise a full trip report an pics when we return...

Info on the Expo

Safe Travels and Happy Camping...

BAD BLOGGER

I've been terribly remiss on my blogging lately, seems like the summer has flown by and has been pretty busy.  We've been out several times since our official summer vacation to places including; Fremont Lakes, Branched Oak and Crystal Springs - We'll post a few pics from those trips another time...

Headed out tomorrow for the 3 day Labor Day weekend, hitting Louisville SRA with 6 other couples - We have spots all together and we are all reallying looking forward to it...  MORE TO COME....

I've embedded a video montage from the movie RV here on the blog, one funny movie especially if you can relate to camping...

Until Next Time - Save Travels

Clements Family Summer Vacation - 2010

Wow, it went by fast but we had a good time.  Left Omaha on June 4th returning on June 13th and that many days away is good for the soul and good for a person's mental health.  No work, no office, no life stress, everything slowing down and moving into the RnR mode, great times. 

1st Stop - Indian Cave State Park - Shubert Nebraska in Richardson County right on the Missouri River.  A very interesting park with hills and a LOT of shade throughout the park.  Campsites were good sized and pelantiful to say the least.  No full hook ups here but thats generally not a worry for a stay of only a couple of days.  The cave is pretty cool and its ALL the way on the far end of the park, feels like you are driving forever as this park is bigger than it seems.  Part of the park includes remains of the old settlement of St Deron with a school house and a store as well as a seperate area with living history set ups including a blacksmith, soap maker and candle maker.  Another highlight of the park is the overview area at the top of the park - gret view of the river and beautiful countryside.  Our pictures are included in a slideshow on the right side of this blog so I wont include a LOT of pictures here but here are a couple (click on any pic to enlarge)...

Indian Cave

View our or door - Site 31

My Girls

Indian Cave SP Overlook - Pic does not do it justice...

We pulled out of Indian Cave on Monday at Noon headed for stop 2.

Stop 2 - Kansas City staying at Worlds of Fun Village -  Worlds of fun village is an RV'ers RV Park with all the bells and whistles, this is like the 5 STAR hotel in the hotel world - Its as good as it usually gets for Campers and Rv'ers - Cable hook ups, sewer, electrical and water, full concrete pad with a pool, hot tup, arcade, convenience store and laundry all on site...  We were definately a little fish in a big world here as there were several HUGE rigs there, many costing more than my HOUSE....  BUT, it was nice, very nice...

Tuesday in KC we really had nothing scheduled, we knew we had 3 full days to to WOF and the KC zoo so on Tuesday we did laundry, ate bar-b-que and watched it rain... 

Wednesday was Worlds of Fun, now I am telling you I will probably NEVER go to worlds of fun again on a busy summer weekend, there was NEVER a wait for Any rides and not fighting crowds was a great bonus, the park was nice, it wasn't too hot, we took in a couple shows and some rides as well as some games.  Didnt spend lots of $$$$ on the food at the park as our camper was only a few blocks away...  :-)

Thursday was the KC Zoo.  When you have the HD Zoo in Omaha you kind of get spoiled because it is as good as it gets in the US.  The KC Zoo wasnt bad by any means but just not near then quality of the one in Omaha - None the less we had a good time...  A few pics with the rest in the slideshow above.

     Arthur Bryants at the Casino

    My two favorite' s at the KC Zoo

    WOF Village Entrance                           Site 81 - WOF Village

We pulled out of KC friday at noon headed for stop 3.

Stop 3 - Viking Lake State Park - With Maggie on the fritz we took the rounte I THOUGHT she has wanted us to take by getting off I-29 north at Rock Port and going cross country up to Stanton, as it turns out it may have been better to take I-29 all the way north to the Red Oak exit and head straight east to the park - Its about 35 miles east of the interstate and the "Fastest Time" according to Maggie was going cross country - seemed like it took us forever BUT we did see some nice countryside...  Viking lake was hyped by some fellow campers and it is a nice park with a restraunt, convenience store, decent sites with sewer and water (always a plus) and very picturesque.  Warm, humid and rain off and on the whole time we were there and we were getting a bit tired so maybe that dulled my view of the park.  Not really anything wrong with it just not up to what I had expected from all the hype.  We finally had a campfire on our last night out and it was nice to relax and sit around the fire that night.  Sunday morning dodging rain while trying to pack up the camper left me a bit crabby but all in all lit was a great family trip...  A few pics of Stop 3...

Viking Lake State Park - #65

Final night campfire

Dutch Oven Egg Bake - YOU BET...

 

Now we just need to start thinking about our 10 day family vacation in 2011 - Branson or Rocky Mountain National Park anyone????

Until next time, save travels...

Less than 24 Hours Now....

Who's ready for summer vacation.... 10 days and 9 nights coming up out and about in the TT....  WOOOOOT WOOOOOOT

2010 Trip 3 - Fremont State Lakes

Its good to finally get out and be able to wear shorts and a t-shirt, now it was a bit windy so sweatshirts were in order in the morning and the evening BUT to finally be out when the temp is in the 70's was fantastic.  It was a bit windy at times, well that is anytime we were not trying to fly the kites :-).

We camped with Pat/Brian and Noah and Noah's buddy Joe and Jodi/Bernie and Blacker so I took the camper out Thursday evening to stake our "claim".  Probably was not needed BUT we wanted a certain area where we can all be side by side with a big "yard" to share.  Nebraska State Parks are not generally reservable until closer to Memrial Day so its first come first served...  A big plus is that they were still charging winter rates and $13 for an electrical is a great deal. 

Friday night we had a roaring campfire and sat around and drank some GREAT scotch that Bernie had brought along.  The margaritas Jodi made were pretty tasty as well.

Saturday morning brought the usual routine of coffee sitting outside the camper, man it really is relaxing and peaceful in the mornings.  We had other guests during the day as well as most of the Mitchells, Henkeinus's and Schuberts stopped out along with Travis and his girls.  I had thought maybe Hildings might stop out but it is Masters weekend.  We broke out into a battle of FARKLE which yours truely won as well as the bean bag toss and threw the football around a little.  I really like the SOCIAL aspect of camping and had a nice time.

Saturday for supper Bernie tried out his new "Can Cooker" and Brian and I cooked with the dutch ovens.  That can cooker does a real nice job and the Pizza out of Brian's dutch oven was definately something I want to try sometime.  We were all satisfied with the Saturday night meal and Brian even brought Ice Cream for everyones' Peach Suprise...

Sunday we meandered around loading up the camper, we werent in too big of a hurry and even contemplated staying another day, AHHHHH, I guess there is always next time... I guess Alyssa's T-Shirt says it best...

Until Next Time - Safe Travels

BC

Alyssa's Camping T-Shirt

Valerie and Brian "Relaxing"

Three Maidens all in a Row...

Better check the Tow Capacity of this TV...

The folks at www.rv.net/forum would have a blast with this set up.  I frequent it often and there's a lot of back and fourth about tow capacity and the such.  There are folks on there who swear you can't tow a 6K camper with anything but a 3/4 ton Diesel and there are also folks on there who say you can tow a 12K camper with a 1/2 ton truck.  They are affectionately called the "Weight Police."  This post if for you guys...

We came across this setup this past weekend at Fremont State Lakes.  My buddy Brian told me he saw them unloading a SMART Car out of the back of the Toy Hauler.  What an AWESOME set up... :-)

Good Old, Close By - Stand By Park - Louisville SRA

Why can't you camp and still honor your spiritual beliefs, you know there is a Catholic church within 20 miles of everywhere in the US... 

The weather was supposed to be 55 and rainy on Friday but we planned on going anyhow, thats why we have a camper and not a tent.  We'll by the time we pulled out of Omaha on Friday it was 70 and sunny, BONUS... (We were at site 154) 

I got a second bigger dutch oven over Christmas and really want to start doing more with the dutch ovens, the food is ALWAYS so good cooked in the dutch oven.  We made it a double stacker on Saturday night, peach surprise in the smaller dutch oven and cheesy augratin potatoes in the larger one.  They both cooked up pretty well using the stacking process.  You have to be aware of your heat and length of time to cook when you go stacking ovens and both of these called for about the same heat and about the same time so it all worked out well.  The cobbler could have used 5 less minutes and the potatoes maybe 5 more but part of the fun of cooking with the ovens is learning as you go.  It was very quiet at supper and everyone liked it so it was good.  I want ONE more so I can gook three courses at once for meals so we'll be shopping for another one soon... Probably looking for one right between the sizes I have now.

We had a guest on this camping trip, the first time this guest has come along.  Brandon came along with Alyssa and I believe they both actually had a pretty good time, bike riding, watching movies, sitting by the campfire.  The possibility exists that they may have been a little boared or at least Brandon may have been but I think its more understood that part of camping out is SITTING AROUND with your feet up not doing a whole lot....   That understanding probably comes with age.... LOL...  Pat, Brian and Noah stopped out for a bit on Saturday afternoon as well, its always good to visit with them.  I know their camper is coming home soon so maybe next time they can join us.  :-)

We didn't get a chance to thow the fishing lines in the water this trip, we were going to but noticed a LOT of FISH carcases around the lake we were set up by.  Upon further review this lake and one other at the park really suffered from the freeze this last winter and basically we were told that almost all of the fish in these two lakes died off due to lack of oxygen and the hard LONG winter freeze.  With my patience for fishing I wouldnt have lasted long without at least getting a nibble or two every now and then...  :-)  I guess the plan is to "shock" a couple of the other lakes at the park and bring some fish into these spots...  ANYHOW, if you at Louisville check in to see which lakes will have fish and which ones wont before you go about your business...

As it was Easter Sunday we did plan to attend Easter services Sunday morning.  Our initial plan was to drive to Plattsmouth for the 8am Service.  After a late start and a wrong turn we found it to be about 5 minutes to start and we were still 20 minutes away according to Maggie.  PLAN B - a couple phone calls and a re-route and we ended up in MANLEY Nebraska (actually closer to the park than our original plan) for the 9am service.  VERY nice little small town church in Rural America, we had a nice service and Valerie and I were VERY glad we made the extra effort to make it happen...

After the service it was back to the park to pack up then off to Judy and Daves for easter lunch, easter egg hunt and all the fun that goes with bringing the family together...

Sunday was a pretty long day as once we got home we cleaned up the camper and ended up taking it back to the storage facility, but the time we made it back home it was close to sunset and we were all pretty worn out...  MUCH more relaxing on weekends that done include extra plans on Sunday but it was all worth it..

Happy Easter and Safe Travels, until next time... Bc

2010 - The First Trip - Spontaneity at its FINEST....

3:30 PM Thursday afternoon and Alyssa sends me a TEXT, "Hey Dad, let’s go camping!" I hit the reply button and start to put in reasons why we can’t go camping and then it struck me, hey, we can go camping!!!! Valerie and I had already taken the day Friday off because it was Alyssa's last day of spring break but we did have Saturday plans. Fast FORWARD 36 minutes, it’s now 4:06 and I get a hold of my wife... "Wife", I say "Let's get out with the camper tonight, I don’t have the new tags on the camper yet, can you get to the DMV and make it happen all before they close at 4:30?" I hear a silence and then a profound "YES" and she's off... 4:33pm I receive a text "The Eagle Has Landed, I repeat the Eagle Has Landed..." and we're off.... Backing in and setting up in the twilight at about 7:15pm has got to be the quickest preparation and execution of a trip we've made to date.... It helps when your wife has been "frothing at the mouth" to do some camping.... :-)

Two Rivers is only about 16 miles from our house and about 8 miles from where the camper is in storage. We unwinterized and since no facilities were available at the campgrounds yet and everything seems to have weathered the LONG COLD WINTER just fine.

Did a little fishing, sat by the campfire, you know the routine. Biggest problem we ran into is that the dump station (which was open when we pulled through on Thursday) was closed on Saturday morning so we just skipped it and pulled the camper home, we'll hit one on the way out this weekend - Louisville so we can be in the proximity of Judy and Daves for Easter on Sunday...

Pictures to follow - Until next time..... Safe Travels

Fillin Up the Fresh Water Tank

Our Site - Lakeside #22

Now thats a FIRE....

Friday morning 7AM - And everyone else is headed to the office...  Oh Yea...

Our coffee maker died so we did it the old fashioned way...  Not TOO Bad...  :-)

PLEASE.... Enough already...

This cold weather is for the BIRDS....  It was actually -15 early this morning, not much good for any kind of camping I want to do...  Not sure I could even get to the camper right now anyhow... 

Stay Warm Out There...

Safe Traves... BC