We can all see you peeing

Happy Memorial Day weekend!  Somehow I ended up with a 3 day weekend, so of course we are camping. As a registered member of the Procrastinators Society I was obliged to wait until the last minute to reserve a campsite.  So I was pleased when I found 2 sites left at one of my favorite local State Parks - Punderson State Park.

We've had near perfect weather.  And although I was a little too tired to see the meteor shower last night I did get a wonderful nights sleep. I even woke up at an early hour and haven't really been tired all day. We ate at some local places, did a little grocery shopping, and I made a trip to the range to improve my aim. 

Somehow though we ended up right next to a site where there are 13 people. Granted many of them are children, but that only means they scream without abandon.

I also thought of a few reminders for those who are starting the camping season. Remember that if your tent flaps are open, other campers who walk by can see inside. Because there are few campers on your loop does not mean that you should have... intimate relations out in the open.  Also peeing outside in front of everyone is generally not acceptable, especially when there is a restroom less than 30 yards from your campsite. 

Just know that I didn't come up with these at random.

Portage Lakes State Park - Nimisila Campground

I've been going to Portage Lakes State Park since I moved to Akron almost 20 years ago.  The great views of the lake, peaceful surroundings, and easy access to the water make it a great place to be.  It wasn't until years later that I discovered camping at the State Park, and it's still a place I love to go.

Portage Lakes State Park is actually three separate parks.  The northern most park has a marina and picnicking, the one in the middle is the one with beach access, a dog park, disc golf, and many trails and fishing opportunities.  The southern most park in New Franklin is the one with Nimisila Lake and the Nimisila Campground.  The campground is surrounded by the lake, has 6 electric campsites, and 68 more non-electric sites.  The campground has paved roads.  There are no modern amenities here except vault toilets, potable water, and a dump station.  But there is a playground and campground boat launch.

With fewer amenities comes fewer campers, and the campground is generally very quiet.  On weekends the electric sites are usually occupied, so if you want one of those I recommend that you reserve in advance.  But if you can boon dock you pretty much have your choice throughout the campground.  Many of the sites are nicely wooded, although just this year the park has cleared out a lot of the old, dead Ash trees.  Trees have been replanted, but it will be many years before you can sit in the shade under one of them.

Electric Site

For trailer campers like us the electric sites are perfect.  They are nestled in amongst the pine trees and are right near a small pond.  It's a near perfect location for late night campfires and relaxation.  If you need to fill with potable water you'll need a long hose because the water outlet isn't right near the road, and it's also located within the campground on the second road.  If you register onsite you will do so at the small (generally unoccupied) ranger station with an envelope in the registration box. There is a small restaurant, gas station, and ice cream stand nearby.  Go a little further and there are grocery stores, a Target, movie theater, and a Camping World.  AT&T 4G/LTE coverage here is good.

If you're looking for a quiet getaway in a nice, wooded campground surrounded by nature and less by other campers/trailers Portage Lakes State Park is worth a look.

Portage Lakes State Park website

more photos after the break

Storms, Sirens & Socks

It's been a few years since we had to take shelter in a campground toilet with other campers...  Last time we were in a tornado warned campground at East Harbor State Park when we had the teardrop camper.  I think it was around 10 or 11pm when the sirens went off, and the only nearby structure was the campground bathroom.  I remember there were a lot of people in that little area, and it wasn't entirely pleasant.  It was deja vu when the sirens went off again that night around 2am and we all did it again...

The Game room

This time it was much more pleasant as we had an entire room to play in.  The adjacent county was tornado warned and we heard the sirens going off.  We checked radar, and sure enough it looked like the center of a storm was headed our way.  We played the game called "How Fast Can You Take Down Your Awning" and we headed off to the game room which is in the basement of the general store.

There was quite a light show in the sky, and the rain came down in buckets.  But we also got to meet some fun people.  John and Sherie were already there along with a couple from Idaho and their dog, Angus.  They were fun to chat with, and the 120lb dog (who was only 10 months old) was a sweet heart.  Shortly after, David, Elizabeth, and Gracie (the dog) arrived.  I was excited to meet them because we had connected on RVillage and had planned on meeting up at some point.  Granted, meeting people in a tornado shelter situation isn't ideal, but it was fun nonetheless.

It was kinda funny because between all the smartphones, iPads, and laptops we made the game room look like a state of the art weather center.  I'm not sure if anyone in the local area was having with their cellular connection, but I think we were taking all the bandwidth on several carriers reloading radar images.  Sorry about that...

Then came the flood.  The area in front of the game room doors have a big drain right there, but the

amount of water coming down the little hill was too much for it.  Eventually a large puddle formed.  Then it became a water hazard.  A small creek began to come into the game room from the doors which later gave way to a small river.  We had to all move to a different area of the room as a pond formed.

By the time the warning had cleared we were all ready to get out of our little water logged game room - some of us actually had plans to sleep at some point that night.  But upon opening the doors we discovered that leaving would be difficult - there was a huge puddle that would eat our shoes if we stepped into it.  Eventually, several of us just took off our shoes and walked through it in our socks.  That was fun.

I have to admit though, despite the wet socks that are still drying, it was one of the highlights of our camping trip.  I really enjoyed meeting the other folks there, trading travel and camping stories, and getting to know them (and their pets!)  Everyone was very friendly and it could easily have been a potluck or something.  (Food makes everything better, right?)

To those we met I wish you safe travels!  To those reading this, know where to go in an emergency in a campground.  And always travel with an extra pair of socks!

Weekend #2

Our second weekend of camping almost didn't happen.  Originally this was to be a week long camping trip from Cedar Point to Hocking Hills.  However, sometimes work gets in the way of our camping schedule.  Then it looked like this weekend might be a washout from the forecast.  That seems to have changed.  Then, after altering some plans to be more local, the monsoon started.  Luckily it only lasted a little while.

So we're here at our home KOA park in Streetsboro.  We've camped here probably a dozen times in the past few years.  It's the campground that is most central to family, yet we can be somewhere different from home.

Since Jon was working I got to hitch up and drive to the campground on my own.  I usually have no problem doing that, but the first time I do it I go all OCD and triple-check everything.  It's almost comic how many times I check everything, but all in the name of safety.  The hard part was when I got to the campground and I had to back in on my own.  Unfortunately, the site that we were assigned was still very wet from the rain to the point where I even started to spin the wheels in the gravel.  Then I saw where the awning was going to be and I decided that I didn't want to go swimming each time I stepped out of the trailer.

The nice folks here let me switch sites though which I very much appreciate.  One of my new neighbors suggested getting turned around so I could back in from the driver's side which made sense.  So I then paraded around the whole campground in order to get turned around.  I thought of throwing candy or playing music while I did it to make it more fun!  Once I made it back Ron (my new neighbor) helped me back in which was very nice of him.

Now we're set up for the weekend and ready for some rest and relaxation.  Going to visit my parents tomorrow evening, and maybe meet some nice folks from RVillage.com later.