Life at the Lake

We spend most weekends “at the lake,” but the fact of the matter is that we spend very little time in or even near the water. Oh, we catch an occasional glimpse of the shore as we drive in or out of the park. We see a couple of ducks swimming in a tiny inlet…

Road Rage

Upon arriving for our weekender at Cedar Hill State Park, we had no idea what awaited us just beyond the park entrance. The ranger dutifully warned us about Argentine ants but said nothing about the missing section of road between us and our campsite. And by “missing” we mean non-existent. Completely gone. We knew from…

Gray Days

We arrived at Cedar Hill State Park on a mild Friday afternoon under overcast skies. The cloud cover, which lasted throughout the weekend, kept temperatures in the 40s and 50s, making for chilly meal preparations on the Big Green Egg and Blackstone grill. While preventing us from dining al fresco, the weather was perfect for…

Airstream Life

Cedar Hill State Park is only 11 miles from our storage unit, but it could well be a world away. It provides not only an escape from work but quick, easy access to Joe Pool Lake and nearly 300 campsites. Throughout the park, we find local people like ourselves taking an afternoon off, or camping…

Hog Wallow Weekend

A hog wallow is a shallow depression in land denuded of vegetation made by the wallowing of swine. As luck would have it, Hog Wallow was the only camping area at Cedar Hill State Park with an available site on Easter weekend. Despite the foreboding name, we took a chance that there would be neither…

Sights and Sounds of Spring

After spending some time at home replacing all the plants and shrubs that were destroyed by the February winter storm, we returned to Cedar Hill State Park for an ideal weekend filled with the sights and sounds of spring. Our only regret was that a gazillion other people had the same idea. All the surrounding…

Back in the Groove

After last weekend’s set-up fiasco, we needed to get our groove back. Fortunately, we had a beautiful (and level) campsite near the water’s edge, perfect fall weather, gorgeous sunsets, and a spectacular Blue Moon. We arrived around 6 p.m. on Friday, and after setting up–without incident–we enjoyed cocktails while watching the sun set over Joe…

Lesson Learned

We arrived at our camp site around 6 p.m. on Friday and immediately began the routine of setting up. The site was short and not very level, but we were confident that we could make it work. After maneuvering into place, we attempted to de-couple the hitch from the ball. The added stress on the…

A Change of Routine

This weekend was our first attempt at a “new normal,” necessitated by a change in Cliff’s work schedule. We arrived on Friday, as usual, and enjoyed a typical Date Night with an exceptional grilled tenderloin and veggies. But on Saturday, we awoke at 6 a.m. for a quick cup of coffee and dog walk before…

Home on the Range

We’ve been camping at Loyd Park for more than five years, but we only started to get acquainted with it this weekend. A postponement from earlier in the summer forced us outside our comfort zone, so we found ourselves at the opposite end of the park for the first time. While we were out walking,…