We deserved a break after a wedding and a funeral all in the same week. We took advantage of the rest of Melissa’s time off work to camp for a few days at Devil’s Den State Park. We took a motorcycle day trip here last summer. We always intended to go camping here sometime, and this was as good an opportunity as any. We didn’t have to do much planning. I just reserved the campsite online that we had scouted out on our bike trip, did a quick overnight at home after returning from Texas, and went the next day, running errands and such around Fayetteville on the way.
One thing I did not account for during our previous visit was internet access. There’s no cell service there, so I reactivated my Starlink to keep us in touch with the outside world. The campsite we originally chose had tall trees to the north, and we couldn’t connect. However, we spotted another campsite on the other side, right next to a softball field that wasn’t in use this time of year and had a clear view of the north sky. We arranged to move to this other campsite. I spooled out all the Starlink cable I had, and we had an excellent internet connection for our entire stay. I also splurged for a campsite with full hookups so we could plug in the van and not worry about keeping the batteries charged on solar power alone.
Our first day’s attempt at a campfire was a failure, thanks to more flame-retardant firewood sold by the park office. Melissa, who’s better at this stuff than I am, tried every trick she knew to get it going, but to no avail. The first day was the coldest day we were there, so we grudgingly ended up staying in the van for much of the day. But we still managed to have a good time.
It was warmer the following day, which also happened to be my birthday. We took a hike down the Lake Trail, which was easy enough for my out-of-shape body to enjoy. We followed it all the way to the end, crossed the bridge over Lee Creek along the road, and stopped by the visitor’s center to buy a sticker to add to my collection, the first one since I arrived in Arkansas last spring. Then we walked through the park and took this suspension bridge back to the Lake Trail, which we followed back to the campground. It was a good time in beautiful scenery, even though all the leaves were gone and there was no snow to make it pretty. Melissa and I discussed doing more walks together, both to get into better shape and because we just enjoyed doing it.
The second bundle of firewood we picked up worked much better than the first. That, plus a fellow camper’s donation of some charcoal and firestarters, helped us get this one going. Wood from the second bundle burned well, but leftovers from the first bundle would still only char and fall apart rather than ignite. But at least we had a campfire.
Part of my problem was that I typically carry stuff to help start campfires in my trailer. In the past, I always had the trailer with me, but these days, I’m driving the van without the trailer a lot. I need to do some reorganization, move some stuff I’ve kept in the van but don’t need much into the trailer, and pack a bin full of stuff that would be nice to have at a campsite to keep in the van. This includes not only stuff to help make fires but also my RV water filter, which would’ve helped on this trip as well. That bin can just live under the bed and be available whenever we go camping somewhere.
Lister also seemed to really enjoy this trip. It was too cold to leave the door open for him to come and go as he pleased, but he seemed to like exploring a new place for once, especially once it was warm enough for us to spend time outside with him. It was a fun, relaxing weekend for all of us. We all got some much-needed rest, as you can see here.
Smokey Da Van 