Not so primitive camping.

Our campsite.

Our camp setup.

Since I had a couple of days off, and the weather was going to be nice, at least as nice as it can be for late January in south Arkansas, we made last minute arrangements to go camping about 25 minutes away.

This is a primitive campsite through the Arkansas Forestry Commission. All we had to do is select a spot from their map, and then call them and tell them how many nights we wanted to stay. It was that easy, and without paying.

Of course we carried everything we needed. It was only for one night, but since we haven't been camping in a month, it was nice to get out of the house.

We found some trash around the campsite, so we gathered it up, and took it away with us when we left. My motto is to leave a campsite cleaner than we found it.

Near the camp was a spot where hunters had setup to clean deer. I think this isn't legal to do here, so I have reported it.

We also found a couple of deer carcasses, a skull, and a hoof.

After we setup camp, explored around our campsite, and cleaned up the trash, we went hiking at the northern end of White Oak Lake, where White Oak Creek continues on it's way after passing through the dam.

We went back to camp and got ready for dinner and a movie by the campfire.

Someone had left a doll head, and we had some fun with it.

Campfire.

The doll head enjoyed the movie, but not the fire so much.

Campfire after dark.

All-in-all, one of our best camping trips. Too bad it was only for one night. We will definitely come back here again.

Last camping trip for 2020.

Our last camping trip in 2020 was after Christmas and before New Years. We went to Millwood Lake, and stayed at another U.S. Army Corps of Engineers campground, called Beard's Bluff Park.

This was a small campground, but one of the best we have been to, and very well maintained.

We only stayed two of the three nights we had planned, because of bad weather moving in for the last day, but we had a wonderful, relaxing time.

So far, each camping trip has had something that kept it from being perfect. Sometimes our spot isn't very level for our tent. One campground had freight trains passing near the campgrounds, even at night. The weather can also be a factor. This trip, we drove over an hour to reach our campground, and when we started to put up the tent, realized we forgot to bring the tent poles. We had to return home to get them, and by the time we got back to the campground, it was already dark, and had to put up the tent using our car headlights to see.

Each trip had been special and memorable for different reasons. But what made them fun, was doing these camping trips together with my younger daughter. We love to go hiking together, see new places, be out in nature, ride our bikes, sit around the campfire, talk, relax, and enjoy each other's company.

January and February are the coldest months in Arkansas, so we will spend those months at home, and will return to camping during school Spring Break, at the end of March.

Labor Day camping trip.

Labor Day in the United States is always the 1st Monday in September, and is often seen and used by most Americans as the last weekend of summer before children return to school. Families will go to the beach or lake.

Cartop cargo carrier.

Hitch mount cargo carrier.

Tent pitched lakeside at DeGray Lake.

DeGray Lake is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir in Arkansas. There are many campgrounds around the lake, including this one called, 'Lenox Marcus', which is free to stay at for up to 14 days. DeGray State Park also shares part of the lake.

Camp out with new tent.

I ordered and finally received my new Kodiak Canvas Flex-Bow 10 x 14 VX  tent. I bought it for primarily for our summer 2020 vacation, but because it is extremely good quality, and will last for at least a decade, we will be using a lot. I set it up in the back yard, complete with air mattresses and sleeping bags, to try it out tonight. We will also have a campfire to toast marshmallows.

Spring Break 2018 day 5:

We said goodbye to my father and drove to see where an ancient Indian civilization used to live about 3,000 years ago up to about 1,000 years ago. They built mounds of dirt to keep track of the Winter and Summer solstice, and of the Spring and Autumn equinox. Next, we drove to Murfreesboro, Arkansas, to spend the next four nights in a Tipi. After settling in, we built a campfire, and Destiny made some new friends. They all went out at night with flashlights on a ‘treasure hunt’ the campground owner arranged for them.