a weekend to recharge

Ryan and I were late getting to Tims Ford State Park to meet his parents, Ryan, Jaclyn, and Stephanie for our weekend camping getaway. Thank you Google Maps. =( We got there after dark and quickly threw the tent up and joined the rest of the group around the fire.

We had a great weekend with beautiful weather. It feels like I had a home leave, which is just what I was wishing for as I left school/work on Friday.

Jaclyn and Ryan walking across the bridge early Sabbath morning.













Since we were up and already wanted to walk across the bridge, we hunted down some good firewood to take back to our campground.

Ryan carried most of a dead tree and Jaclyn dragged some other ones behind her. I set mine down after running ahead for this picture.

Randy's bow saw proved easier (& quieter) for cutting the wood into smaller pieces than Ryan K.'s hatchet. Most of the time we just threw them across the fire and let it do the work of cutting through.







Stephanie insisted that staying put was the way to ride out the smoky times caused by a shift in the wind. She hunkered down in her shirt and waited for a different breeze.









Ryan and I by the fire Sabbath morning. His air mattress went flat in the night and he ended up inhabiting his parents' other bed in their new camper. We both moved in there for Saturday night.

Our hike to Weaver Point. The name is more exciting than the view, I have to say. Most of the time we walked around fingers of the lake through really dense trees.

Finally found a break in the trees along the way. It will be really gorgeous here when the trees are at their peak color. The water was really calm and very green. We had fun playing on the shore for a few minutes before moving on.

The fallen tree's roots were really gnarled and neat looking. It had shelf mush- rooms growing out of the bottom that looked like pancakes.

After the hike, we tried to get a picture of the whole group on the bridge. I leaned out onto one of the concrete supports and set the camera on top, set the timer, then jumped and ran to get in the picture!

Ryan and I on the bridge. It really was a pretty lake. I can see why most of the people who came had boats.


Jaclyn and I snapped a silly self-portrait before we all headed back up the hill.

We decided to wind down the day by taking some "reenactment" pictures on the playground behind the bathrooms.

See this link for the pictures from Cumberland Falls S.P. (KY) two years ago.

Even more fun with Stephanie added to the pile.

We had too much fun while the boys played frisbee. MJ and Randy took pictures for us.

Tims Ford has a Bear Trace golf course on the grounds that I'm sure gives really pretty views of the lake. We decided to use the last of available light to check it out.

Like every- where else, there were deer on the golf course. I saw six total and each group of three was made up of a small, medium, and large deer.

The campfire was stirred back to life around sundown for the long- awaited s'mores. You'll have to check out Jaclyn's blog for those pictures. We skipped the planned hot dog supper due to a late lunch and snacked while the daylight disappeared.

After sending Ryan to bed with some Tylenol PM for his fever, headache, and sore throat, we played a game of Thump-Thump (7 up, whatever . . .) by the light of Randy's shop light. In the hands with only one card with which to make your bid, you're not allowed to see it! You have to look at your opponents' cards and then make a bid based on what they have. Stephanie beat us handily.

Stephanie slept the nights away in a hammock. Aside from the mosquitoes and the dual-temperature she dealt with, I think it went pretty well for her.

Ryan came and cleaned up the pancakes and saucettes that were left. He tried to sit at the table while avoiding the ever-changing smoky breeze.










Ryan leaves his mark (temporary) on the campsite while playing with his fire stick. We seemed to have just the right amount of firewood for the weekend and gathering it wasn't too bad -- just a walk across the bridge.







Ryan and Jaclyn stayed in a borrowed tent from MJ and Randy. Putting it away was pretty much the last of the clean-up. Then we loaded up and headed our separate ways with promises not to wait two more years before the next trip.