You know the great thing about camping? It’s forced relaxation! The hundred little things you could be doing around the house are nonexistent. Instead, there are hammocks to swing in, books to read, scenery to stare at. We did all of the above. But, we also hiked four miles and kayaked for three hours, so it’s not like we were completely lazy turds.
Sheridan Lake is our go-to campground, and #68 is our go-to site. This was our fourth visit since moving here in 2018. It’s just a great spot; a lake view, tall trees, close access to the restroom. There are other sites that directly overlook the lake, but they are smaller and not very level. So, we’ll keep booking #68 every year. Why mess with perfection?
I left work at noon on Friday and headed to the campground first. As usual, Tara was unable to get off early, but I enjoyed a few hours of solitude. I had a book, a comfy chair, and a cup of bourbon. What more does one need? I tried to set the tent up myself, but it’s really a two-person job. Still, when Tara arrived at 6:45, it was all laid out and took us just a few minutes to put up. And because these are the longest days of the year, we still had a couple of hours of daylight to enjoy.
Saturday morning, we were up at the crack of dawn. We wanted to get a hike in before it got too hot, so we were on the trail a little before 7:00 a.m. Did an easy four miles and were back at camp mid-morning. Tara cooked us breakfast, we had coffee and Bloody Marys, and did absolutely nothing for the next four hours.
We’d reserved kayaks from 2-6 p.m., so we drove to the marina at the appointed time. Having never set foot in a kayak before, I had some trepidation, envisioning worst-case scenarios that all involved me submerged in water. But I’m happy to report that nothing bad happened. In fact, kayaking around the lake was such a blast, I was instantly hooked. They are incredibly easy to maneuver and much faster than I expected. Plus, there are cupholders that give you convenient access to a can of beer. You know…if you were so inclined…
Within 10 minutes, I was telling Tara we need to buy our own kayaks. They were so much fun! I originally figured we’d stick close to shore, within the no-wake buoys, but we ended up paddling halfway around the lake…and it’s a 375-acre body of water. There were lots of motorboats, pontoons, and jet skis, but half the fun was pointing your kayak in the direction of the oncoming waves after they passed. At one point we paddled to shore and Tara scrambled up a large rock and cliff-dived! I was pretty impressed.
About 5:00, we decided it was time to return the kayaks. Our arms were pretty sore after three hours of paddling…it’s quite the upper-body workout! Plus, storm clouds were beginning to pile up to the north. But mostly because we were out of beer.
We’re officially shopping for kayaks now.
When we got back to camp we were starving, so we got a fire going and hauled out the cast iron Dutch oven. I’d found a recipe for campfire nachos and was somewhat skeptical over how they’d turn out, but man…they were good!
We ended up crashing a little bit after 9:00. Whole-body workouts will do that to you.
Woke up at 3 a.m. to very strong winds; they were gusting over 50 mph! But they eventually tapered off and we were able to fall back to sleep.
This morning’s breakfast wasn’t nearly as successful as the nachos. We busted out the Dutch oven again for French toast, but the coals were way too hot and it ended up way too burnt. Oh, well: you can’t win them all. The winds picked up again and it was about 15° cooler than Saturday, so we decided to just break down camp and head home.
It was a great little getaway, but will be our only camping trip this year. We just have too much else going on.
Hope your weekend was fun, too!
Mark My Words 
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