Camping Pics

Here's a few of our camping pictures from last week.

Sweet Hubby and I had a great time!

 

Wind Creek State Park
Alexander City, AL

 



The geese enjoyed the early morning empty beach.

Sweet Hubby got to do a lot of fishing.

 

Who says tacky is out?
(No, they're not mine. :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Hope you're having a great week!

 

 

 

This post is linked to:  Outdoor Wednesday

Lots of This and That

We had a great Labor Day weekend camping trip!

The view outside our camper door

 

 

There was lots of fun.

Lots of people.

Lots of hot weather.

Lots of rain.

Lots of dogs.               

          So many dogs in fact, they even had an impromptu dog show while we were there.

 

This little cutie got the award for being the youngest but I think they should have given her an award for being the loudest too.

She barked through the whole show!

 

Talk about coincidence, little Fifi (pictured below) had the same last name as us.  When looking about for her owner we spied a first cousin of my husband's which we haven't seen in several years!

 

 

 

I guess all good things, including camping trips, must come to an end.

So as the sun sets over Lake Guntersville we say goodbye to summer and start looking forward to our next camping trip...maybe a Fall trip to the beautiful Alabama mountains!

 



 

How about you? Did you do anything this Labor Day? I'd love to hear about it! (Staying home counts as doing something.)

Just call me Ms Spontaneous!

Me!

The one that usually plans things to the nth degree!

I've begged sweet hubby into a Labor Day weekend camping trip.

At the last minute!

He finally said yes If  I could get reservations to one of our favorite State Parks.

Long story short, we got reservations and we're leaving in the morning for a four day camping trip!

Woo-hoo!!!

Getting in Touch with Nature

Camping

I highly recommend it!

Source



Camping Through the Years

Sweet hubby and I squeezed in another camping trip before Old Man Winter forces us to park our camper for a few months.

We love fall camping trips. As a matter of fact, we just love camping trips whenever we can take them.

This trip was to Guntersville, AL State Park.

While there, we saw this cute little camper and it got me thinking of the campers we've owned over the 23 years since we first started camping.

Our first camper was a 10 foot Scotty similar to the one below.



Picture courtesy of Roaming Times



It was a 1960 something model that we bought for $300 in 1988. 

It didn't have a bathroom and we could barely stand up in it because it was so small.

We had two small children at the time.

Sweet hubby and I put a lot of labor into the little camper along with about $200 worth of materials.

We were so happy when we went out camping in it for the first time and we fell in love with camping on our first trip.

After only one trip in our little camper we were offered a bigger camper ~ 15 feet long!~ at a very good price.  And it even had a bathroom!  Okay, the bathroom was a little space about two feet square with a toilet that you had to close the lid on to be able to take a shower.  But still, it was a bathroom!

We snapped that one up and sold our little Scotty at a $350 profit. 

We kept that one for a few years and then bought one a little newer, but still only a 15 footer.

Then along came baby #3 and one trip out in our 15-footer made us hit the road looking for something a little bigger.

That's when this new friend came into our life.

Our 1971 Airstream (Avion peeking around the end)

Our family of five had 14 years of camping fun in our 27 foot Airstream.

We have so many fun memories of our camping adventures over the years.

We found having a camper made Alabama History come alive for our little homeschool.

We were able to visit the places we were studying. 

My favorite was Helen Keller's birthplace in Tuscumbia, AL. 

My clever hubby built the blue fabric cot you can see over the bed below.

Our three children giggled (and sometimes argued) themselves to sleep many nights in their cozy beds.

The table (below) let down and the couch pulled out making a full size bed for hubby and me.

It was a pain to have to set it back up every morning for breakfast, but so worth the trouble.

Here's a few more interior shots of our Airstream.

A few years ago we found our current camper, a 1988 Avion.

It was larger and nicer than our old Airstream, so we decided to make a change again.

We have always seen camping as a blessing to our family.

I think we are closer-knit because of it.

We were able to take family vacations that we couldn't have afforded if we'd had to stay in hotels and eat out.

Oh, and here's a hint in case you decide to go camping and want a private spot:

When using a public campground, a tuba placed on your picnic table will keep the campsites on either side vacant. ~Author Unknown

Thank you for taking this camping trip with me down Memory Lane today.

Come back soon!

Welcome to my backyard...

 Meet my watchdog, Bowzer...

... and take a peek at my beautiful plants....

Just joking!

 

All the pictures above were taken at the Birmingham, AL Botanical gardens this weekend.

The picture below was my surroundings for the weekend.

Sweet hubby and I took a long weekend and stayed at Oak Mountain (AL) State Park.

The fishing was bad but the vacation was wonderful!

We're Home!

Neil and I had a fun-filled ten day camping trip!

We got a wonderful camp site at Wind Creek State Park.

The beach was in our back yard where we enjoyed some swimming.

My faithful book kept me company on the pier late into the night while Neil did some serious fishing.

He caught enough catfish to fry up some for lunches while there and even brought some home for the freezer.

We enjoyed the wildlife, both day...

...and night.

We biked out to the silo...

...and climbed to the top...

...and were awed by the breathtaking view of beautiful Lake Martin.

It was such a wonderful and relaxing vacation!

We came home to a pouring-down rain yesterday, but today is sunny and cool and feels like fall!

I've done the laundry and some housework but the nice temps keep luring me outside.

I guess I got used to the outdoor life while camping.

le voyage!

No, we're not going to Paris, but at least we are going somewhere!

Sweet hubby and I are finally going to take a vacation!

We've looked forward to it all summer but have had many delays.

But, hopefully, and with God's blessings we'll be leaving on Friday for a ten day camping trip in one of Alabama's wonderful state parks!

We woke our camper up and gave her a sprucing up.

She's had too long of a nap this year.

I'm getting my house all spruced up too.  I like to leave my home clean. 

The floors are all swept and mopped, the furniture is dusted, and the baths are scheduled for their cleaning today.

I love coming home to a clean home.

I'm being quite optimistic here, since our two sons are staying home. :)

I've got my homemade personal products all replenished.

My antiperspirant is made and tucked into its rose-bedecked porcelain home, although I'll switch it over to a little covered tin container to make it more travel-friendly.

My toothpaste (baking soda) bottle is refilled.

And, last-but-not-least, I ran some coarse salt through the blender for my saline nasal rinse.

Eeeeewwwww!

That might sound nasty, but I make it cute by topping the jar with my cute kitty fabric!

Groceries are bought and the meat is in the freezer just awaiting sweet hubby's grilling talents.

I'll make dinner rolls today to tuck into the freezer.  They'll be all ready to pop into our toaster oven and add to the fresh, raw veggies and grilled meat for a simple fuss-free meal.

That's one reason I love camping, I get out of most kitchen duties.

After checking off everything on my To-Do list today, I hope to have a good night's sleep and awake refreshed for Thursday and the three L's:

• Laundry
• Library (gotta have fluffy reading material while on vacation)
• Lunch out with my girlfriends

See you soon!

~ Sherry ~

Camping in the Alabama Mountains, Part 2

On the last day of our camping vacation, Hubby and I went down the mountain...

...and into the town of Fort Payne, Alabama. Their beautiful city park sported the Alabama band's logo over the gate.  (The band originated in Fort Payne.)



I loved that park!  There was work-out equipment placed all around the walking trail.  Just think, gym equipment and no membership fee!

The Depot Museum was closed for the day but we enjoyed the outside view and the lovely weather.

We took advantage of their decorations to add a little holiday cheer to our pics.

We had a wonderful time and didn't want it to end, but eventually all trails must lead home.

Post linked to:  Whatever You Want Wednesday