MUELLER STATE PARK (July 29, 2004) |
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Just two weeks after our last trip to Mueller, we
returned again to see what the buzz is all about with site 123. This
site is reserved 6 months in advance every weekend of the camping season.
So, back on January 29, Randy reserved site 123 for three nights starting on
Thursday, July 29. We had to reserve on Thursday to beat the Friday
campers who steal this site away at 12:01 AM six months in advance. As
the following pictures will show, it is the BEST site at Mueller State Park.
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First of all, the site itself is very spacious. The
driveway alone could fit three campers. It also has a large tent pad.
Melea is setting up the canopy tent on the tent pad.
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This is the "backyard" of site 123. The lure is the
open and spacious playing area, including lots of rocks to climb and play
on.
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Melea prepared a spaghetti dinner for everyone on the
second night. Sitting next to Kendal is her friend Kelsey who lives
next door. Kendal invited Kelsey to go with us on the day we left!
Since our Outback camper has a 4-bed bunk room, we always have room to bring
a friend at the last minute.
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Kendal and Kelsey rode their bikes all over the
campground.
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Kendal, Cameron, and Kelsey did skits for us. Some
were so funny that Melea couldn't stop laughing.
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Courtney made quick friends with Austin who was camping
with his family next door in site 124. Austin, who is normally very
shy according to his Dad, warmed up to Courtney immediately. They
played together every day.
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Austin and Courtney had fun exploring the rocks, too.
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Here is goofy Courtney working on her words book.
Courtney starts Kindergarten at Platte River Academy this Fall. All
our kids will be in school. Where is the time going?
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Cameron enjoys riding his bike around the campground.
On this trip, he got a little lost finding his way back home, but he
eventually made it back. Mom was worried when he wasn't answering on
the two-way radio. With all the trees at Mueller, the radios didn't
work very well.
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At a hidden spot on the site, Kendal and Kelsey found a
rogue campsite, probably used by squatters who would sneak into the park
after hours to camp for free. Or maybe Indians camped here?
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On nearly every camping trip, Melea takes time to paint
or draw a landscape. Here she uses oil pastels to draw part of the
site.
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Melea and I ventured out onto the rocks for a glass of
wine while watching the sun set. There is our camper in the
background. You see what I mean by the size of this campsite?
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Here is another part of the site. No wonder it is booked every weekend, 6 months in advance.
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Look closely, you can see two people down there.
That is Kendal and Kelsey in the "valley" of our campsite.
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Did you know that bacon tastes ever better when cooked
outside at 9,000 feet? Really, it does. Beer tastes pretty good
at altitude as well..
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On two of our three nights we built a campfire.
This fire was so big, and so hot, that we had to sit back a little.
Girl Scout Water (a.k.a. lighter fluid), combined with leftover ashes from
the BBQ grill, gets a fire going easily. I retracted the awning
on the Outback camper prior to lighting the fire. Lessons learned from a good
friend who burned a hole in his awning from a large campfire like this.
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