The first plans were a bit touch and go. Amy was going to come. Then she wasn't. Sandy was going to come and we would use her truck and trailer, then she couldn't go. Amy decided she could make it after all and booked a flight to Evansville, IN. Then my truck broke down and I could not afford to fix it before the ride. The trip was saved when JoJo offered to haul my mule as well as Amy and I to the ride. Amy and I had originally planned to head out for Caney Mt. on Sunday, Dec 2nd. JoJo wanted to leave on Saturday and we agreed. I contacted the camp to let them know I'd be arriving a day early.
Thursday, I started coming down with something. Scratchy throat and stuffed up sinuses. There are several people at work that have been very sick and I was panicked I was coming down with what they had. I made a trip to the store and stocked up on every cold and flu medicine known to man. By Friday, I was pretty sure it was just a sinus infection. Not good but better than what I feared it was. I picked Amy up Friday night in Evansville. First time I've been to that airport. It was easy to get to and a small airport so easy parking and easy to find Amy's gate. From the airport, we stopped at Denny's for supper then at Walmart to shop for the food we would need for snacking and for lunches for the trip.
12/1/18
Amy and I were up early to pack the last of our things and have some breakfast. We were at the barn at 7:00 to feed the mules. JoJo arrived at 7:45. She said she'd had a bit of trouble loading Sinbad. We quickly loaded up all of our stuff. Lily jumped happily into the trailer and we were off. Well, we had to stop back over at High Knob Camp to pick up something JoJo forgot but that only took a few extra minutes. JoJo's dog Squeakie was going with is also. She is a 2lb 6oz Yorkie.
We were on the road about an hour when a truck pulled up beside us on the highway and was making hand signals at us. We were not sure what he was trying to indicate. He dropped back but pulled up and made signals at us again. We were still not sure what he was trying to convey to us other than we were pretty sure something was wrong so we pulled over. Sure enough, we had a flat tire on the trailer. We pulled off at the next exit and parked in a equipment lot across from a gas station. That was when JoJo discovered she did not have her 4 way. Amy and I walked over to the gas station to use the restroom and Amy asked around to see if someone could help. The man who owned the equipment lot we had pulled into happened to be there and he called his guy that does his tires to come help us. By the time he came and got the tire changed it was about an hour before we were back on the road again. But, we were extremely grateful for the help and happy it didn't happen in a worse place. We stopped for fuel at the state line of MO and AR.
JoJo was taking a different route to the camp than she'd taken before. We got on Rt. 9 in Arkansas and the last part of that road was slightly terrifying hauling a large living quarter trailer. Very twisty and winding and narrow AND high! I wish I could have enjoyed the beautiful views but I was too scared! JoJo did an excellent job of navigating this section of the trip but we all decided we'd find a different way home. We made it to camp before dark as we'd hoped and all in one piece. JoJo got the camp site she'd wanted and it wasn't too far from the bunk house.
I was worried about how Lily was going to behave about camping after the McAllister Mule Ride fiasco. I unloaded Lily and took care of here first thing. I found her a pen near the bunk house and put her in it. Gave her water and hay and she was good. She was gawking around pretty hard but didn't make any fuss. She drank and went right to eating hay. There weren't any mules in the pens right around her but she could easily see other mules and that seemed to be ok with her.
After settling Lily, our room was ready and Amy and I got our stuff lugged up to our room. It was a nice room. Not overly large but pretty, clean and with two beds. Supper was at 6:00 pm. Meals were $25 a day for breakfast and supper. I had not been sure I wanted to spend that much when I first planned the trip. But, staying in the bunk house and not having my own trailer, we had no where to store or cook food. So, we'd decided to take the meals. We were very surprised and super pleased with our first meal. Each day would have a featured meal and it was a serve yourself all you can eat meal. There was a nice salad bar. Then Catfish, hush puppies, coleslaw and biscuits. And multiple fabulous homemade deserts. After supper I went out and fed Lily and filled her water bucket and a hay bag. I've never blanketed her but she didn't seem to mind. Amy and I went back to the dining hall as Bill Nipper was going to play guitar and sing. I played one song, Berkeley Woman. I didn't try any more as it was hard to sing being so congested. I think it was about 9 or so when we went to bed. The camp has no electricity. They run on solar power and generator. So, no curling iron or hair dryers were allowed but there were lights and gas heat and we could charge our phones.
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