With the campsite ready we went out and got firewood and some veggies/fruit to add to a couple of the meals. We can still eat healthy while camping... that allows us to enjoy the S'Mores even more! Once we finshed dinner we roasted a couple of marshmellows and enjoyed some time by the fire. Finally, it was bedtime and I got Miri dressed up in double layers of PJ's to make sure she'd stay warm. Once she was down she was out like a light!
Jerry, Tricia and Chopper showed up only 15 minutes after Miri was out. They set things up in their tent and then we got to settle down by the fire for a while. It was a good night. Since this was Chopper's first time camping he was as excited as Miri and you could just hear his excited thoughts... "I'm in the tent!" "I'm by the fire!" "I hear the squirrels!" "I see other campers!" "I hear other camping dogs!" "There are a whole lot of trees to examine!" etc... His excitement lasted through the first night! Miri and I slept really well without an excited dog in out tent and we even slept through a 3am siren from the Dam when they opened some flood gates.
Miri was very excited to wake up to Jerry, Tricia and Chopper being with us at the campsite. When she first stirred she wispered to me "Do you think Jerry and Tricia are here yet?". I said "Yes" and she had some shakes of excitement, than asked to go potty. The others emerged from their tent and it was obvious that Jerry's idea of 5am fishing had not come to pass. It was about 6:45am at that point. We had a great camping breakfast of turkey bacon, eggs, fresh fruit and coffee then set off on our first fishing attempt.
To our dismay we found the Little Red River flooded and flowing fast. They had opened up the Dam due to rains in Missouri. Let Missouri flood I say! oh well... I'll sum it up rather than keep you in suspense. Due to the flood waters, we never got a single bite over the two days of fishing. It really didn't put much of a dent in out trip though as we had a great time, and instead of eating trout on Saturday night, we had peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches!
After our morning attemtps at catching trout, we took a mid-day break from fishing and headed over to the Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery to do a self guided tour. We had good timing and got to watch someone feed the fish. It was really tempting to try to fish in those basins :)
Once we had our fill of looking at fish we can't catch, we then stopped by the overlook for the dam and checked out the JFK memorial there. The dedication ceremony there was his last public appearance before his trip to Dallas. It was an interesting feeling knowing that he was there not long before his assasination. A place of history.
After a lunch of hotdogs and another fishing attempt, we went back to our campsite for some fun. We ended up having a brisk game of Baseball Frogger in the afternoon. It was so fun that the time flew by and after that... wait... what? What's Baseball Frogger you ask? Well let me tell you the rules, or at least explain it as best I can...
This was a game largely invented on the spot by Miri (and thoroughly explained to us). To get the feel for it, this is how it went after some evolution early on. Tricia was the picher, Miri was the batter, Jerry was the catcher-frogger-basher and I was the base. When Miri hit the ball, it was her job to get to base (me) before the picher (Tricia) could tag her with the ball. The catcher-frogger-basher (Jerry) would try to run over the batter (Miri) during the race to base (me). Once the batter (Miri) was on base (me) she'd yell out "BASE!" and the catcher-frogger-basher could only then run circles around the base (me) and bash the base (me) with moderate body checks. The picher (Tricia) would also run around the base (me) waiting for a chance to tag the batter (Miri). Once the base (me) determins that it is safe, or safest, the base (me) tickles the batter (Miri) in the armpits and yells "Run to the bat! Run to the bat!". The batter (Miri) then charges for the bat before the picher (Tricia) can tag the batter (Miri). That completes one round. The game lasts many rounds. I think we'll all be watching a pro league (NBFL) on TV soon enough!
We followed up that NBFL game with a little more fishing (if I remember correctly) and dinner. We were all pooped from a fun filled day, including Chopper. He was out like a light for the rest of the night.
One really great thing about the day was seeing Miri become really comfortable with Chopper. They became really good friends!
After one last fishing attempt Sunday morning, we packed up, ate lunch and headed out. We all had a really good time and look forward to our next camping trip. Hopefully one more in November before it gets too cold! And maybe some Trout next time?
