JOCO Meets Arkansas Wilderness

So I must admit, I'm not really what most call the 'Camping' kinda guy. I mean, yes, we have gone camping in High School and all, but that usually consisted of going out to the woods on a Friday night, loading up the truck with booze and drinking all night. Tents were usually not involved, afterall, who needs a tent when you can sleep in the back of the truck or in the cab of the car? So when we decided to go camping for more than just 24 hours, I must admit, it did scare me a little.
So after numerous web searches for a place to camp, and a very expensive trip to Cabella's and Dick's Sporting Goods, I was ready to go. Gear and all, bring it on Mother Nature, I'm ready for ya. Did I mention that I forgot half the stuff I was going to pack in the first place?
We rolled into the KOA Campgrounds, located 4 miles outside of Eureka Springs, AR around 5pm. We had the camp setup in under an hour as well. I am also proud to say that I setup my tent all by myself... well, Jason helped, but hey, I've never set one up before, but I would call myself a semi-pro now.
For Dinner we enjoyed a compliment of chips and salsa (made by Jason's mom) andHotdogs and Brats. A feast made for gods let me tell ya. But it was yum yum. And even though on Vacation, I turned in around 10pm I think... I know it was early, but slept like a baby, a snoring baby I was told, but slept great.





The next morning I woke up around 7am and ofcourse woke everyone else up so we could start breakfast. Jason cooked us some eggs with cheese and bacon. Yum yum! Woo Hoo! We hung around camp for awhile and Jason and Andrew played a little frisbee and then we were off for the river, as no camping trip is complete (I was told) without a float trip down the river.


So yes, I got in a boat that has no motor or deck on it. And I even managed not to tip us over, on more than one occasion. It was a blast. We actually floated down the river over 7 miles, in under 4 hours. And it was beautiful, I've never seen water so clear in a river. The first 6 miles you could see the bottom of the river and all the fish-life the whole way down the river. And talk about a busy place, I think it took longer navigating around all the fisherman in the river than it did just getting to the end. Lots of hicks... never seen so many, but all very nice.


After we left the canoe trip we went back to camp and took a quick rest before heading into the Historic Eureka Springs. And what a town. It was so cool. The downtown was amazing. Curvey little narrow streets with shops and resturants everywhere. All the old buildings preserved. Was a great time, think next time we will have to come and stay in town for a few days and explore. I could spend hours and many a dollars in that little town.



We finished off the evening with Jason cooking up a feast for us. Our main course consisted of his amazing Beer-Butt Chicken. We had a side of potatoes and to finish things off... He made this awesome Cherry Thingi... and yes, that is the technical name... it was cherry pie filling heated up in a dutch oven and then cinnamon rolls cooked on the top. Amazing stuff... let me tell ya. We woke up the next morning and Emily made us french toast and bacon.


After we stuffed our faces on breakfast we packed up camp and headed back for home. Must say, a great weekend and can't wait to come back next year. Yes, I said it, I actually do want to leave the city, no computer, and stay outside with the bugs, birds and god knows whatelse for 2-3 days... I know... I'll go take my pills now... starting to get delirious again. :-) Thanks for going Jason, Emily and Andrew! Was a blast! More photos can be found at http://www.tmanwebzone.com