Cameron Bluff Campground

October 25th, 2019 Cameron Bluff Campground, Mount Magazine State Park

Donna and I decided to return to Cameron Bluff Campground at Mount Magazine State Park for a fall foliage trip like we did two years earlier. Similarly, when we arrived at the top of the mountain we were again socked-in by the low cloud cover. We stopped at the Visitor Center when we arrived to register but were told that their internet was down. They said that we would have to go to our campsite, drop our trailer, then go to the lodge to register. So we poked through the fog to our campsite and setup. We had stopped at the New Blaine General Store on the way for beverages where we picked up some homemade tamales and verde salsa from a Mexican man in he parking lot. We decided to have our tasty tamales for dinner before going to register. After dinner I got in the truck to go to the lodge. I drove about 75' into the fog where I found myself unable to navigate the one lane road and had to backup to the trailer. Luckily I had left on the front courtesy light at the trailer so I had something to aim for when I got within a few feet of the trailer. We were in for the night! The picture below was taken from the Visitor Center while it was still daylight and before it really got foggy.

Homemade Tamale with Verde Salsa

Fog / Clouds Moving Outside The Camper Door

Saturday morning I went to register.  Behind the camper and on the road to the lodge I saw deer everywhere. Three different groups of 4 to 5 deer.

Later Saturday morning Lynda and John arrived to stay with us for the next three nights. We hung out at the trailer until the fog cleared. Later in the afternoon we drove to the Skycrest Restaurant bar for cocktails and to watch the Razorback football game against #1 Alabama. At least we enjoyed the cocktails and bar food.

Sunday morning John and I walked the trail from our campsite to Cameron Bluff Overlook Drive. We took a few good pictures of the fog settled in the valley toward Paris.

Sunday afternoon we all packed up for a tour of the mountain. We stopped at overlooks including the hang glider launch area and the visitor's center.

Sunday evening was for relaxing and a campfire in the damp night air. 

Monday's itinerary took us to Paris and Eiffel Tower Park.

Leaving Paris we headed back to the clouds at Cameron Bluff Campground.

Below is a compilation video I made of our return trip from Paris. 

(This is what I do when I have too much time on my hands.)

Campsite #9 was at the farthest end of the loop with neighbors on only one side. Cameron Bluff campsites are well spaced and private. Maybe it was the lack of a moon or the fog, but this seemed like the darkest campground I have visited. I left the bathhouse walking without a flashlight one night and got disorientated. I turned on my cell phone light and found myself standing in a vacant campsite driveway. Cell service (AT&T) was sketchy at best from the campground and texting seemed to work somewhat sporadically. Cell service was fine from overlook drive and the lodge. About a dozen over the air digital TV channels were available. 

Waveland Park

October 4, 2019

The summer of 2019 heat hung on with the warmest September on record beating out the previous record from 1953. With the first sign of fall in the 10 day forecast I reserved site #30 at Waveland Park on Blue Mountain Lake. On Friday, October 4th we picked Brayden and Hannah up in Dardanelle after school. The adventure started with a car wreck that blocked both lanes of highway 27 south of Dardanelle. The Yell county sheriff department and state police forced all traffic to detour down a one lane road to Bethel Road. Oncoming cars were having to stop on the shoulder to allow us to pass. After the detour we drove through light rain that stopped just before we reached the campground.

This was our second trip to Waveland Park in 2019. Site #30 was next to site #29 that Donna and I had back in April. 

Crisp air on Saturday morning was nice for cooking outside and enjoying breakfast with the kids.  

 

I hung the hammocks in the trees behind the trailer. 

When electronics were put away the kids were forced to find something else to do.  Hannah finished some math worksheets and Brayden actually read some of his new book.

Saturday night we had planned to have burgers charcoal grilled on the fire pit. Turned out that the hamburger was still frozen in the refrigerator. So plans changed and we went to Mount Magazine State Park and ate at the Skycrest restaurant. We all shared a giant piece of possum pie. Nevertheless, nighttime rolled around and Brayden built us a fire for S'mores. 

With a chance of rain we packed up most everything Saturday night. We broke camp before noon on Sunday in anticipation of storms. We made it back dropping the kids in Dardanelle and getting unloaded at home before the storms arrived Sunday evening. It was a quick trip but always good to get away with the grands.