Drought and Lessons Learned

No Campfires Permitted  Due to the Drought

A rainy day at a campground often puts a damper on planned activities. However, at this point most of us would welcome some showers to end the drought that has been going on almost two months. We are under a statewide campfire ban, the sites are pretty dusty and I am sure that any day now I will see top fins sticking out of the water because our fishing ponds are so low. Contrast this with temperatures being above normal, the leaves changing colors and the birds we see that are migrating south. It seems that nature is playing with us as we head into the late fall and the early winter camping season.

In my most sane moments I recognize that one thing you cannot control is the weather. Over time I am learning to be more tolerant but that does not mean I don't watch forecasts closely around major holidays or the weekend of the Chili Cook Off. I guess if  I think rooting helps my favorite football team, I can at least try the same logic when it comes to the weather. Like all examples of the extremes these conditions have shown us some things we might not otherwise see. I find it interesting to note which plants seem to hold up well and which ones look the most thirsty. I wondered about the depth of each pond and now we have a better idea of how deep they really are. I was also surprised to see how smooth the base of the pond is - I expected more weeds and rocks to be located 2 to 3 feet from shore.

I know that at some point the drought will end. I can almost anticipate the relief the land will experience as dry layers of dust taste the first few drops of moisture. Rain will then cover all of the ground until some spots end up with puddles. One reason people enjoy the outdoors so much is that what happens in nature reflects in many ways what happens in life. If you are in a personal drought of sorts we hope the holidays and the new year will help lift your spirits and offer you hope. The firewood pile that sits idle now will again be in high demand and new wood will be added once this pile gets smaller. We will be more careful in drought conditions knowing that it is possible to make matters worse if we are careless or unaware of how the drought impacts areas in our lives we often take for granted . It says in the bible that "all things work together for good for those that love God". Let us all learn the lessons a drought is designed to teach us and prepare well for some of the rainy
days that lie ahead.

Sunday Morning

Sunday morning at a campground tends much more about going rather than coming. The goal is that every guest has had a great time or when traveling, an uneventful stay. As each camper leaves, others will come in soon. Sometimes, though,  it is  hard to watch the RVs pull out and the tents come down. We personally make it a point to go to church knowing that many of  our guests will not be attending services on camping or travel Sundays.

On most Sundays worship really starts at dawn. The birds are singing, the rooster crows and we have this very peaceful time to reflect on the week and plan for what is ahead. When our kids were young we were fortunate enough to own a lake house on the north side of Houston . Two high powered jobs left us wanting quite and quality family time. Before cell phones and with no TV we took rides in the canoe, went out to swimming island and watched the dog try to figure out what to do with a box turtle. Most Sundays we made it back for church. Not only was our congregation full of friends very involved in mission and outreach but we needed time to transition from the calm to gear up again for the busy week ahead.
We know that many working parents have not made church a priority. The traditional services that are full of meaning to those who have come to a strong understanding of their faith may not seem very relevant to  parents of young children that rarely went to church. More modern music and a projector has impact for some but in either case it tends to be the relationships with other believers that flesh out what church is all about.
I know that as a young adult church was often the only time during the week that my mind was not focused  on my work and my personal priorities. This quiet hour gave me some perspective and eventually, with time, my focus changed to what was happening in the service. I started to better appreciate that the hour was not just defined by the sermon or the music. I saw value in confession, the offering and  prayer. I wanted to learn more and recognized that for all the books and studied I had read I had not yet read the bible.  Church helped me better define who I am, what I believe  and my priorities. I have come to see faith as the most important part of my life.
So as I reflect on Sunday morning I trust that some of our campers see what I see as dawn approaches, I hope that those who walk our spiritual trail are touched by some of the richness the bible has to offer. I pray that people of faith find effective ways to make churches more a place you want to be and less of something you feel you should do. Lets remember that in the end its not about how many mountains you climbed, how many dollars you earned or how many experiences you had- its about relationships and honoring the glory of our creator. Amen.
 

On-line Booking and Reservations-Lions and Tigers and Bears -Oh My!

Completing transactions on- line is transitioning from a trend of the future to the way many people do business.The first time we bought something on EBay, I was just a bit uncertain about entering the credit card numbers, but the folks at Pay Pal helped me feel a bit more secure.  The last time I did a purchase from Walmart, I liked the price but really wondered if I had the right site pulled up. It's hard to tell sometimes. My daughter stays Amazon Prime has become much too easy to use. If you like on- line options the following information may help you with your next campground reservation.
  Here at Lake Eufaula Campground our on-line reservation system helps me track the comings and goings of guests weekend to weekend and keeps records of sites reserved months ahead.We only have a few sites listed for on- line reservations- 10 actually- because the main goal is to show a sample of what we have to offer rather than overwhelming everyone looking at every site option. If the listing helps overnight guests secure a spot when traveling that makes sense as well.Although our current reservation system securely asks for payment information, you are not charged until you arrive.

We have also decided to add to our list of on-line options. Here is how it all works:
1. We are excited to help launch "CAMP NATIVE" for on- line booking. This website takes payment at the time you make a reservation through a secure pay system. We felt this company offers a lot of information about the campgrounds you may encounter on your trip, as well as cutting down on check- in time. Their staff is very friendly and helpful. In addition we hope that Camp Native can help get the word out to more potential winter residents about our winter options. We have not found many web based sites that provide the type of detailed information winter residents need when spending several months in the same location.
2. Trip Advisor  We have a two of our cabins listed through Trip Advisor and it has helped get the word out for people not familiar with the area or those that do not know we have cabins. You pay up front on this site and we get word if you want to book. This helps since someone may have just reserved the cabin right before the request was sent. Trip Advisor limits the type of interactions we can have with a guest until the cabin is booked. Once payment is secured we can exchange contact information and talk on the phone.
3. Pitch Up- This site is nice because it targets guests traveling from  Europe. Feel free to Google the site to see how it shows campground information.

You can find our campground on -line through Good Sam but the webpage does not support booking on-line at this time. We plan to offer on -line reservations and booking from our Facebook page soon. We hope its not too confusing to offer site reservations on Facebook and our web page as well as  booking ( paid reservations ) with Camp Native. When traveling I tend to be a bit old school and use the Good Sam Book as my starting point. I get to see what sites are in the area before checking out the web pages on my phone. I am getting better at entering required information but there is something to be said for talking to a person who can head me in the right direction, explain the rates or help me find the a good spot. We hope you find our new on- line options helpful but when in doubt please call. We love to talk about everything our campground has to offer.

East of the Pecos

The picture to your left is part of the Pecos Wilderness in northern New Mexico. After 18 years we were fortunate enough to meet up with our girls and their families to revisit the region where they were raised. Las Vegas, New Mexico is a town about the size of Eufaula with a rich history of the American West. We stayed in a campground just south of town which served as our base of operations for day trips to the mountains, Taos and Santa Fe. We ate lots of tortillas and green chilies. The temperatures ranged from about 72 to 84 and most days had a brief afternoon shower. We explored the trail heads where Rick had taken guests llama trekking( that is hiking with llamas carrying the gear) and visited an alpaca ranch that we knew of from our time raising llamas.  At church we met up with some old friends and we made a few new ones on our trip as well. In the canyons there were people with strings of trout and we visited the fish hatchery where many of the fish were raised.  We understand New Mexico stalks some streams as often as once a week. There were high mountain campgrounds with very people and crowded streets full of tourists. I loved walking in the mountains as we enjoyed days with low humidity and mild temperatures.

As part of the trip we visited a number of different campgrounds in a variety of locations. On this trip we stayed at several campgrounds that were more like large parking lots designed for easy access to and from the freeway. It might be a good business model but they offer more of a travel experience than a camping experience. It was good to see how other parks are designed and as we got closer to home the " to do" list took shape with some new ideas and a refreshing perspective. As lovely as the western part of the United states is, we do enjoy being East of the Pecos.

Vacations are important not just for memories made and relaxation but also for new perspectives. The warm days of summer mean more hours spent by the pool and some midday adventures that include air conditioning. The campground is quite now waiting for weekend guests enjoying long summer days. Don't put off spending time away with family and friends- the rewards are well worth the journey.   

Spring Fever

Most of time spring fever refers to longing for the end of winter in anticipation of the warmer and longer days that lie ahead. This year spring fever refers to the fevered pitch that we have been working to get ready for the 2016 camping season. First we started on the campground " to do" list. These are the projects that have been on the list for awhile that don't fall into that "must do now" category. Getting this new larger sign posted was one of several items on the list. All new site markers, more flower beds between each site and the designation of several larger sites were some of the items that made the top ten list for 2016. Restrooms are now air conditioned for the summer months that lie ahead.

Several community projects that were in the works  began to move forward as the weather warmed up. Working with the Friends of Lake Eufaula,  the new brochure for the Alabama Scenic River Trail will soon be ready for publication. It will be a great guide for paddlers on the lake. The paddling  map stretches from Phenix City south to the Alabama boarder.  4-H gardening has started and we are almost set for our big planting meeting in April. We have made bird houses, garden stepping stones and learned about local soils. 4-H is also involved with kayaking.   The River Kids program in Eufaula will have a kick off day in July. The kayaking program will be  part of fun day for local 4-H ers hosted here at the campground.  Our community group also met to make plans for next year's Winter Residents. A kick off breakfast in November will feature vendors of interest to folks that call Eufaula home for the winter months. 

At the beginning of March construction started on the extension to the city bike trail. If you notice a semi trailer parked at the east end of the campground, its there temporarily to help the builders construct the trail as soon as possible. If all goes well we should have a working trail by Memorial Day.    Out new rental bikes arrive this weekend complete with a bicycle built for two. We also elected to get the pontoon boat in the water in March to get ready for numerous outings on the lake. 

We still have space to accomidate most every need but the choice of sites for guests is more limited. The mini cabin has been very popular and our new Mash Army tent  is also attracting some interest. Reservations are recommended- especially for holiday weekends. The backdrop to all of these activities has been the beautiful spring weather. Fishing has been good and we have had several visitors enjoying this special time of year. Before you know it the pool will be open and the season will be in full swing. We hope everyone enjoys this year's improvements. We have had a lot of fun getting ready.

Everything is Humming at Lake Eufaula Campground

This is a picture of a Rufous Humming Bird- one of several species of humming birds that can be found in our local area this winter. We learned all about humming birds at a workshop held at Landmark Park in Dothan on January 30th. It takes about 45 minutes to get to Dothan and we were back at the campground in plenty of time to enjoy the 70 degree weather and sunshine of Saturday afternoon.

The humming bird trip was our first of at least 12 monthly activities to be hosted by the campground this year. Some activities will be directly on campground property while others, like the humming bird workshop, will be held off site.  The office will have information about each event and at least one of the campground team will attend. You can earn points toward a free night of camping by joining us at our posted monthly events.

It's one thing to read about humming birds but quite another to learn from an expert. The speaker, Mr. Fred Bassett, has banded over 30,000 hummingbirds across the United States. The most common type of humming bird in our area is the red throated humming bird. Have your humming bird feeder up by the fourth of July to see more of these  birds. Their peak migration in this area is in September and most will have headed south by October 15 for winter in Central America. A humming bird's flight range  as shown by banding can be over 3000 miles. There has been a document flight of a rufous humming bird banded in Florida and later sighted in Alaska. Humming birds eat insects and get their energy from flowers or the sugar water in local feeders. The humming bird nest is the size of a quarter. In this part of the country a female can lay two eggs to three times a season. The bird are full grown when they leave the nest. A female can return to the same nest year after year.

As a new birder I am excited to host more birding events. In April we plan to hold our first Birds on the Water event with Kayak and Pontoon Boat trips planned. The Campground store is adding to it selection of bird watching items and we are keeping a list of local sightings here in the store.  The National Backyard Bird Count is our February activity. We will count backyard birds at the feeders and water birds in the wild at the retreat center starting February 12. The focus of hosted campground activities in March will be on art and historic homes in Eufaula. 

Rick and I really enjoy seeing the sites in our RV. We hope our monthly events will inspire other RV's to come explore Eufaula and the surrounding region in 2016. 

Hi Water

It is said that if you own a campground anywhere near the water,  at some point you will experience flooding. When 12.8 inches fell in a single day this month we got to see first hand how forces of nature can impact the landscape. At first it doesn't seem all that bad. The rain keeps coming down but if you are inside and dry you can just enjoy the sounds on a tin roof. After a time you notice the water starting to rise.

We have map from the Corp of Engineers that shows us our white line. On one side of the line is high ground. This side is where the buildings live. On the other side you can only build structures ( like a covered pavilion ) where water can pass through. Other structures stored in the area ( like a camper) need to be movable withing 24 hours. As the water started to rise we were more and more reminded of the map.

The first real impact was in the back yard. The pond and creak became a single body of water as shown in the picture above. By the end of the day the spiritual trail was covered. Just the signs with the scriptures were peaking out from a newly created pond. The campground also changed its footprint when our most popular tent camping spots on the point were covered with water. By the end of the rain,  just the tops of the picnic tables were visible. We could travel up the drainage ditch in kayaks and almost reach the fish cleaning station. A few RV's had to be moved but we were able to  get everyone to higher ground without too much trouble.

After the rain stopped the high water was more fun than scary.  One guest was able to tie their boat to a tree much closer to their established campsite. The kayaks traveled down Chewalla Creek  at fast clip made much easier by the new water level. It was also fun to use the new Christmas paddle boat in one of the ponds made even deeper with the extra rainfall . .

The high water was gone about as quickly as it came leaving large areas of white sand in its wake. If you look at the picture below and combine it with new cooler temperatures, the sand sort of reminds us of a winter snow.

We were of course very grateful not to have any significant damage to people or property. It is helpful to know what the flood  pattern looks like when we do have a heavy rain. Most experienced outdoor enthusiasts  have been camping during a rain filled weekend. Overall we are pleased to report  high water was a very manageable adventure here.