Touching Grass

At a Friday press conference, during which the governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, announced the apprehension of a suspect in the murder of Charlie Kirk, he reflected on the internet influences on young people like Tyler Robinson (the suspect). “Social media is a cancer on our society right now,” he said. “I would encourage people…

When the World Turns Upside Down

We returned to Loyd Park’s Loop G in an attempt to shake off the weight of the week’s political chaos. We needed a distraction – something to pull us out of the churn and give us space to breathe. As the fire crackled and the lake shimmered nearby, we found ourselves talking not just about…

AI Can’t Build a Campfire

It’s been two years since Jon asked his colleagues about whether his institution was planning to put rules in place for governing the use of ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed and released by OpenAI in November 2022. He was concerned that it was not only a short-cut but a short-circuit of the…

A Change of Scenery

We had heard from some fellow-campers about the benefits of Loop G, so we swapped our site 6 reservation in Loop A for site 195 in Loop G. The change of scenery was refreshing. Not only is Loop G closer to Joe Pool Lake, it’s also more heavily forested, which exposed us to a slightly…

Much Ado About Nothing

Like many people around the world, we spent much of Friday anticipating the meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their first face-to-face meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022 ended faster than expected and without the cease-fire Trump had insisted was necessary to secure a peace deal. While…

Living Fossils, Lasting Love

This weekend was graced by the August full moon, known as the Sturgeon Moon, because late summer is prime sturgeon fishing season in the Great Lakes region, where these ancient fish have long been revered. Sturgeon are among the largest of the freshwater bony fish, with a lineage stretching back to the Jurassic period. Often…

And So It Goes

This weekend we enjoyed milder than expected weather, but with it came a change in the flight pattern into DFW International Airport, bringing disruptive airplane traffic and its resultant noise to Loyd Park. Over the course of Friday and Saturday nights, we watched part one of the revealing new documentary, “Billy Joel: And So It…

Lessons in Listening

This weekend we met Bud, a guy sporting a 45/47 hat, a reference to Donald Trump as the 45th and 47th president of the United States. As is our custom, we steered clear of any political conversation, talking instead about shared camping experiences, a common devotion to dogs, and our occasional bobcat sightings. Fluff. We…

Lessons in Campsite Etiquette

It may go without saying, but we’ll say it anyway. After more than a decade of camping nearly every weekend, we feel as though we’ve earned the right to offer a primer on campsite etiquette. Camping, for us, has always been about disconnecting from the noise of daily life and reconnecting with nature. But in…

Fire and Rain

We rolled into Loyd Park on Friday afternoon, laptops in tow, and wrapped up our workday remotely with the sounds of nature replacing the usual office hum. The Texas summer was in full swing with its high heat and even higher humidity, but the shade of the trees and the promise of a good meal…