A warm week brought on a spur-of-the-moment desire to go camping. Camping always calls to me however the midwest had been seeing some unusually cold days. Some of the midwest saw negative 40 deg Fahrenheit which all sane people did the bare minimum outside and hibernated. Luckily for Winston and me, we were able to spend Christmas with my mom. Thankfully the cold temps did not last all winter. With an overcast weekend, the weather was just warm enough to head out to camp. This would be our last of the year and first of 2023.

Knowing all of my friends would be busy fighting colds or covid I did some looking around to find a good quiet spot to go camp. Winston has not become a seasoned camper yet so patience and quiet camp sports are what he needs to get there.  I settled on a spot about two hours from the house. Almost in the middle between Saint Louis and home.  Mccully Preservation.  I found the camp through Hipcamp an app that allows you to book a night on private land akin to VRBO or AirBNB but for camping.

I debated camping was how I wanted to spend NYE. I knew I did not want to go to any big parties so it was either stay home or go camping.  Camping a couple of hours away gives you a safety net so if something unplanned happens you can just head home. I spent the day on Friday collecting and organizing my gear. This would be the first time using the new tent.  I quickly collected the gear and tossed some of it in the truck. We settled into a quiet evening of watching youtube and playing with Winston’s Christmas presents.

I hesitantly awoke to my alarm which I had not set in two weeks. I made coffee showered and then packed the truck. The goal was to be on the road by 10. I really did not have a reason to be on the road other than I wanted to get to camp and just enjoy it.  Along the way, I was notified that a second group would be camping.  (A quick side note I did see someone arrive but then they left less than an hour after arriving.  The guests would eventually arrive later that evening but we were very quiet.)

 
Upon arrival, we found our camp spot and we went for q quick walk. Winston was due for a potty break. The area is really neat. I could see it being quite busy during the warmer months. I honestly did not do much research but I will when I get back to a stronger signal.  I have stayed at several of these Hipcamp places now and they never disappoint.  Unique as their locations the camp spots are clean and well-maintained.  There are two small ponds and even an old cabin. One pond might be big enough to put a kayak in but was told that no swimming or canoeing was allowed for insurance purposes.   
 
Winston and I wandered around meeting a young guy from St Louis. He had come up to get away from the city for a few hours and asked about the trails. I honestly did not know anything about them and also did not have a map. 

After our exploration of the area, we headed back to our camp. I finished setting up and then got to work lighting a fire. All of the wood I had brought and the small kindling I could find was all rather damp from the recent snow melt.  As a proper scout should I used a single match and was able to get a small fire going. Winston helped as much as he could. Mostly stealing sticks and wondering why I was burning perfect ones he could be chewing on. The silence of the forest is much needed and the fire helps warm the soul. The camp sits near a county highway but it seems fairly quiet.

See also  A Winter Wander

Winston gave up and I put him in his seat in the truck. It is nap time after all and it’s not even 3. I tended the fire while Winston napped and took some time to write this. He continued to nap while I cooked an early dinner.  The campsite smelled like pine but the trees were all bare including the pines. As the sun set a beautiful pink blanketed the sky. No camera or skill would do the beauty justice.  The bird song grew as the sun set into a loud cacophony of notes. Even a cheeky squirrel came out of hiding to chatter.


Retiring early for the night we crawled into the new tent allowed for some investigation of the pockets and places to hang lights etc.  Winston quickly crawled into the sleeping bag and  I took some time to read. 

Throughout the night there were quite a few noises that caught our attention. One of them happened to be a tree crashing down. My imagination had a Sasquatch walking around pushing down trees and of course, I had to go pee.  Winston and I hopped out of the tent and surveyed the area with a flashlight and nothing could be seen. We quickly finished what we needed to do and headed back to bed.

We awoke to a chilly beautiful morning. Everything that had been covered in a layer of frost is now wet. A quick lap around the campsite to check all of the new smells was completed in record time. I made some coffee and then enjoyed the morning. There is just something about camp coffee.

Some more exploring was done before we packed up and headed home. Despite it only being a single night it was much needed and a perfect way to ring in the new year.

Welcome, 2023!

 

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