One of our MeetUp groups posted a camping trip to Alum Creek State Park. Added bonus: our camping fees provided us free access to the annual Fantasy of Lights display. Sounded like fun so we signed up and headed down Friday afternoon.
Blaze addition: we purchased a screen/rain house as added space during road trips. We set it up for the first time at Alum Creek, timing was really good since it rained hard Friday night. We were able to cook and eat in the shelter with no issues. We bought the 10X10 shelter, Eureka also makes a 12X12. The 10X10 covers a picnic table with room to spare. The sides roll down for rain/wind and roll up if all you need is bug protection. It also has 2 doors.Sorry but I have to show the campsite.The campground has 266 sites but only 25 were taken, I guess temps in the low 30’s and rain will keep people away.We did a short hike Saturday morning and then 7 of us went for a longer hike after lunch. The seven hikers: Whytes, Dwayne & Therera ( plus 2 dogs) and Joanna who organized the weekend.The lake was deserted but it must be chaos on the weekends in summer. There is no horsepower limit on the lake, not sure I would want to kayak here because of that.
BLIND CORNERS!!!!!!
Leann and I have hiked lots of miles all over the country but part way through our afternoon hike we had an unusual experience. We came across this guy with a French Bulldog. The dog was friendly but not trained or on a leash. The dog jumped on Leann and then me. The owner was not very friendly so we just kept hiking. Dwayne grabbed their dogs and took them down to the creek for a drink of water. He wanted to be away from the Frenchy since he was not sure how his dogs would react. He did the right thing, crossed the creek and joined us on the other side. At this point the lone hiker starts yelling at us. He was screaming that he was concerned the dogs had to be taken off trail away from his dog. He thought they were very aggressive and might hurt his dog. Keep in mind these are 2 of the nicest dogs ever. Then he started yelling at us on which way we were going because he did not want to come around a blind corner and have his designer dog attacked. I have no idea how many times he yelled blind corner but I finally yelled at him to get back on his meds. He kept yelling at us but mainly at Theresa. Dwayne had heard enough and started yelling back. Dwayne is a big dude so the yelling soon stopped.
This reflection shot reminds me of Leann’s dad, he always liked pictures like this.One of our group was in the spirit and decorated for the weekend.We walked by the entrance during the day, looks different at night. The show is 3 miles long, has 132 displays and uses over 1,000,000 lights. The entrance fee is $30 per car and the place was packed. You can’t walk the show, it can only be seen from your car. Since we were at the campground by the show entrance we got to cut in line and save a lot of time waiting. Local companies sponsor each display and proceeds go to charity. Sign said to tune radio to 88.3. We did and heard Christmas music as we drove by the displays.I bet we were all smiling for the entire 3 miles.Not sure what happened on this one but I liked it anyway.This 3D display was one of my favorites.
After the light show we headed back to camp for great conversation by the fire. It’s not camping unless you have a fire.
What a great weekend, we all agreed this has to be an annual event. Joanna, thanks again for organizing.
