Winter Excursion 3, Day 132

The forecasted rain never arrived last night! The temps have moderated and we were in the 70s today!
Cath and Jacob took Kaylee for a nice walk. The campground has filled up a little as it is the weekend, but it is not full. Jacob and Kaylee found some new trails and she has changed her allegiance once again. Later in the afternoon we were put under a tornado watch, but the thunderstorms and high winds passed to our north. We got just a sprinkle of rain!

Everyone went over to Ray and Melinda's camp for dinner. The meal was yummy and the mousse for desert was really good!

Kaylee found all the dirty dishes and had a blast cleaning them up. Hopefully she doesn't get sick tonight.
We all sat around the campfire until it was time to head back to our trailers.

It's been a fun day. Sleep will come easy and morning will come fast as we lose an hour tonight (Spring forward).

Winter Excursion 3, Day 131

After breakfast Jacob spent the morning chopping wood, hiking, listening to his radio, riding his scooter, and just having fun in the campground. He sure keeps us busy!

We spent the afternoon preparing dinner. Our friends, Ray and Melinda, arrived late afternoon and their friends, Allen and Stephanie, arrived a little later.

We've been watching the tugs and barges go up and down the river delivering coal to the power plant downstream. 

Everyone came over to our camp for dinner. Jacob was a big help getting it all ready and tending the campfire. We all yakked around the campfire until 2100 or so, catching up on what's been happening. It was good to see Ray and Melinda again and meet some new friends Allen and Stephanie. We put everything outside away as rain is in the forecast. We got the after dinner stuff cleaned up then hit the hay. It's been a fun day!

Winter Excursion 3, Day 130

We left camp at 0830 and headed to Hoover/Birmingham. Cath did laundry and I ran a few errands. We got Jacob in the afternoon and drove back to camp.
Here's a pic of him and Cath, he's really getting tall. I think he's grown since the family reunion trip!

 Here's a few more pics of our campsite.

Here's my expert wood chopper!

And yep, he can build a fire too!

We burned some steaks for dinner. Jacob has an appetite! A little TV then off to bed.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 129

Another lazy day, but that will change tomorrow as we get Jacob tomorrow!
Cath and I did some shopping for the weekend and we got the truck washed. With all this rain it's hard to keep it clean.
Cribbage and TV, a nice dinner, then off to bed.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 128

As forecast temps were in the 20s last night, but it is sunny!
We spent the day hanging out at camp. Did some camp maintenance, played some cards, and watched a little TV.
Late this afternoon we heard a huge horn go off (like a foghorn). Turns out it was the lock on the dam just downstream from us operating. A few minutes later this tug and barges passed by camp.

I spent part of the afternoon splitting some wood up. We now have a pretty good pile! A fire will feel good in this weather.

The park is almost empty, we counted just five other campers. We had a couple from New Mexico move in on the site next to us in the evening.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 127

Woke up this morning to temps in the low 30s. It's supposed to get even colder for the next few days, but it sure beats the rain!
We left camp and went exploring. We drove to our next campground (Burchfield Branch) to check it out. It is a very nice campground, right on the river. Only problem is there is no cell service, probably not able to get a satellite shot, and there are no local OTA channels we could receive there. It is a 20 mile drive to the nearest grocery or cell service. Needless to say we are exploring other possibilities. It would be a super campground for a weekend, but not for two weeks.
Here's a pic of the entrance to the lock on the river.

This is the dam just upstream from the campground. The lock is to the right.

Stopped at a grocery for a few supplies, then headed back to camp. We spent the late afternoon relaxing, had a nice dinner, some TV, then off to bed. Temps will be in the 20s tonight.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 126

Today wasn't a total washout, but close to it. It rained hard from 0700 until 1300. The campground and campsite were like a river. 

We had a nice breakfast, played some video games, read books, played cribbage, and watched the rain. Jacob and I even got a few casts in before we had to leave.

We headed back to Hoover around 1500 and had a nice pizza dinner with Cecilia and Jacob. Cath and I were back to camp around 2000. All in all it was a great day, we got to spend it with Jacob!