Reed Bingham State Park

 If you were hoping to read that my oven was repaired while we were gone, I was equally hoping to write that news. No such thing occurred during our absence; in fact, the part is not even in Orlando yet, meaning best case scenario is next Monday. You can well imagine my disappointment.

Aside from that though, the trip went even better than I could have hoped. As with any vacation, there is plenty of before departure planning, however tent camping requires a little different kind. Firstly I figure out the mileage to each park in order to make the driving time reasonable, studying maps from place to place. Secondly, you find a park within that distance, hoping they have open sites. As with seemingly everything, Covid-19 has made finding camping reservations even harder as more people are choosing to camp in order to maintain social distancing which, btw, is very easy to do in a campground. 

Driving over to our storage space, Bruce picks up all of our equipment, followed by an inventory to make sure we have what we need. And while I probably should write down menus, mostly I just think of them in my head, packing all of the ingredients for, in this case, 13 meals. With our extremely handy camp oven I am able to dream up a little more variety. To be sure, we have our favorites, so it is not nearly as difficult as it might seem. From past experience I've learned that the easier they are to get to, the better, so the dry goods go into a laundry basket along with a big cooler packed to the brim. I started out using very large bags for the dry goods but that turned out to be a bit of a hassle.

Leaving Orlando around 8:30 a week ago Monday, our route for the first leg of the journey was on the major highways, something we normally eschew, however we were in a bit of a hurry to get to Reed Bingham, just off I-75 around 250 miles from home. Pleasantly surprised, although not to be unexpected because Georgia State parks are so nice, once registered we drove to our site. It was not a great site,  but I saw one across the way that was much more appealing. Calling the office, they allowed us to use the prefered site, maybe because it was a Monday with fewer campers? Further from the bathroom, which is not ideal, the shade and grass were totally worth the extra steps. I will say that we drove past the park because the signage was not great, but the handy iPad set us straight before we traveled too far. 

Once set up we began some exploring. While it was warm, it was not intolerable. What wasn't quite so great were the flies that hovered over our table. Using the new fan I bought at Costco, the flies hardly stood a chance.

We began our exploring by heading to the lake for Bruce to do a few casts. 

Meanwhile I was going crazy hearing loads of little birds in the massive oak trees overhead that were so quick I never really even saw them. Lovely wildflowers bordered the lake in places.

With not much happening on the fishing front, we drove to the trailhead area to see what we could see during a hike in the woods. It began on sandy soil,

continuing through marshy areas with boardwalks,

Here and there fallen leaves crunched underfoot, gracing the handrails.

The main park lake dumps into the Little River-- this map shows how meandering it is, thus we saw it on several occasions. It was when we were on the portion of the trail called "birdwatching" that I was wishing I had not left my walking stick in the car. Walking amongst giant tree roots is a recipe for disaster for this klutzy lady, however, we managed without incident.

You know what? I saw one bird and heard several owls. So much for birdwatching!

There were, on the other hand, loads of very interesting mushrooms to be found on the many fallen trees 

                            

in the forest. Had I a better knowledge of trees and plants I could tell you more about them. Alas, I am not very well versed in that area.

Back to our campsite, I prepared our dinner, such as it was. Setting up the camp stove, I boiled water for yellow rice, and when that was nearly done, dumped in some cooked chicken and half of a box of chopped broccoli. Dinner is served in the wonderful Falconware Matt and Tom gave us last Christmas.

Because our stay was so short, I was keeping it simple. After the dishes were washed, I went looking in the woods behind our spot, and here's what was happening upon my return.You might notice some campers in the background and that is because there are plenty of them at all campgrounds. In fact, there was but one other group of tent campers in the park. I seriously don't mind the tent at all and am more than happy to continue the way we've been for a variety of reasons, one of which is simplicity. Unless it is raining, we spend very little time indoors making a tent perfect for us.

Because it was still a little warmer than I would have preferred I went to the bath house for a shower. Should you be wondering what that is like, here is the excellent shower stall.

More than adequate for our needs.

With a campfire going and dusk upon us, well, what's not to like about this scene?

Nothing, that's what! Actually this is our first time putting the tent up on a grassy spot which was a real bonus. Plus this was an extremely private site with only the forest and grass as our neighbors. I was seriously hoping to see a deer, but no cigar.

Riding my bike down to the lake, sun, water and clouds...heaven.

In the morning it was pretty gloomy but after breakfast I took a little bike ride around the park, riding on top of the dam (not to worry, it was low), and back to the fishing dock.

Many Georgia State Parks have mini golf and this one was no exception.

Other parks have full-sized golf courses, which really surprised us last year when we saw it at one of the parks where we stayed.

And of course, the sign of our times was present throughout the park.

Although not pictured, everywhere we went indoors (not a lot of places mind you), there were signs stating that Georgia state law protects the owners from any lawsuits related to Covid. Interesting, right?

With the car all packed up, we headed to Franklin Roosevelt State Park, this time not on the interstate because, frankly, there weren't any to take! Before we left, one last photo.

You cannot be in the forest for very long before this poem takes over your brain. 

Camping is good for the mind and body, forcing you to adapt to whatever circumstance each site gives you. Maybe there are flies as was the case here, or maybe it is raining while you are setting up, as you will see in my next post, obstacles that are a nuisance sure, but that's camping for you. You just never know!

If camping isn't your thing, I do highly recommend a walk in the woods. 

your friend,

Gail