After seven weeks without camping, we made our way to Loyd Park for a magnificent fall weekender. The weather was ideal, with warm temperatures, low humidity, and clear skies. We spent much time outdoors, walking around the park and relaxing under the pavilion, enjoying cookouts and campfires. We’ve missed the regular cadence that has been…
Cliff was offered the opportunity to visit Salt Lake City for meetings with his team from Western Governors University and commencement exercises, so we decided to camp there for the week. The first day of our Salt Lake adventure was spent driving from Dallas to Amarillo, traversing seemingly endless miles of oil fields, cattle ranches,…
Our weekender at Loyd Park was our first campout without a dog. We said goodbye to our precious little Duke just 10 days ago, but the feeling of loss is still profound. When we started camping in 2013 our canine companions were Gunny, Baxter, and Ranger. We said goodbye to Gunny in March 2014. Then…
We headed to Loyd Park for a beautiful spring-like weekend, but our minds were focused on the main event: the funeral for Cliff’s Aunt Doris. She died on February 12 at the age of 100 after having lived a good life, by all accounts. There was sadness, but also a sense of relief. She had…
We finally returned to Loyd Park, after a nearly seven-month absence. During our time away, we redirected our weekly camping budget to a monthly visit to Jon’s mom in Illinois. Now that her condition has stabilized, we felt comfortable embarking on a weekender at our favorite backyard campground. The weather was perfect, with daytime highs…
Last month, Jon traveled to Belleville, Illinois, to help his mother transition from a weeklong hospitalization back to her apartment at Cambridge House of Swansea. Having made the trip by himself, the last thing he wanted to do on a follow-up visit was manage it alone. So Cliff joined Jon for an extended visit, with…
A quotation by the New York marriage and family therapist Vienna Pharaon caught our eye this weekend: “The extent to which you allow yourself to be seen is the extent to which you allow yourself to be loved. When you hold back, share only parts of yourself, pretend to be ‘fine’ when you’re not, or…
The first weekend of August was much like nearly every weekend this summer: Torrid, arid, languid. After enduring many days on our heat island under a heat dome, moving from one air-conditioned space to another, we were eager to get away, even if the heat prevented us from pursuing outdoor activities. We arrived on Friday…
This weekend marked the 10th anniversary of living the “RV lifestyle.” For the better part of a decade now, we’ve packed up and headed out for a weekend away from it all. Jon’s first camping-related blog post was titled “Simple Pleasures.” In it, he described a camping experience he had when he was serving as…
We began our July Fourth 10-day stay at Loyd Park with a bitter argument, fueled more by resentment and vulnerability than actual disagreement. It reminded us both of previous flare-ups we’ve had and how these events have the ability to completely derail an otherwise enjoyable camp-out. We finally found forgiveness by talking our way through…
Garinns on the Go 