I really lucked out finding Cloud Nine campground just outside of Hot Springs, Arkansas. It was exceedingly pet friendly. They had a little pet disposal container with plastic bags for you to pick up after the "poop". They had a sign reminding people to pick up but it wasn't like some of the State rest areas that spent most of their money on signs and had little left to make a nice place to walk pets. This campground also had a great pet walking trail. It wasn't long, maybe a total of 1/4 mile but Seymour loved it. There's nothing like new smells to make your vacation memorable.
I also stayed at Mammoth Cave National Park. I got in late and there was a sign to pick your camp site and put your money in the locked container. I think it was $12. There were no hook-ups but there was a really clean bathroom with showers. Seymour could walk along any path but they did warn that there could be rattle snakes. Needless to say, I kept a flashlight with me at all times.
On my way back to Texas, it was interesting that my GPS took me a different direction so I didn't pass Mammoth Cave again. That's one problem with the GPS, you don't get to see a map of the country so you just leave it to the machine to hopefully take you where you need to go. It was getting late and I needed to find a place to stay. I decided to follow a highway sign that said "camping". Unfortunately, that was the only sign I saw and after 10 miles of wandering around I gave up.
I then decided to try my luck with my GPS and did a search for campgrounds. It showed me one about 8 miles away so I called and they had space. I should have realized that this might not be the best campground for me when the GPS took me through the back woods of the poorest section of the State, down a gravel road, past a cemetery and finally into the camp grounds. I was tired and really, how bad could it be?
The campground manager said that the only place available was in a parking lot beside the lake (no hook-ups) but I didn't care. Quickly I found that this was a local campground and if you didn't have an ATV, you didn't belong. All night ATVs roared past my camper. If you notice in the above picture, there is an ATV beside the tent that was just in front of my camper. It was the worst experience I've ever had. But it was probably the best experience for the locals. I don't want to embarrass them and won't name the campground. But it was a lesson learned. Since then, I've purchased a campground book and done some other research.
The last night, I went back to my favorite campgrounds outside of Hot Springs, Arkansas.
One of the things I noticed on this trip was there many of the State rest areas were much more pet friendly. I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe there were a lot of complaints.
Overall, camping with Seymour was much more enjoyable than using hotels.
I am off on a trip today. I plan to go from Austin, Texas to New Orleans and then the rest is an unknown adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment