My family and I just returned from a camping vacation spending six nights at the Indian Boundary Campground in Tellico Plains, TN. Days were filled with swimming, biking, and going to the camp store while nights were filled with fishing, roasting marshmallows, and sharing time with family and friends. We saw more snakes during this camping trip than I have ever seen in the past. We even saw a rattle snake basking in the sun while on our way to Citico Creek. The snake slowly crept across the road while a slew of kids gasped at the sight of it making its way to the safety of the other side. I thought they would tip over the truck as they all leaned as far as they could out one side of the bed to catch a glimpse of the rattle snake.

Much excitement followed: David jumped from a 20 foot cliff into freezing water just to encourage his grandson to complete the same task. Austin was convinced and jumped immediately following David. Two young boys who reside in Tellico killed a huge bullfrog by hitting it with a stick. My kids were astonished to see the frogs legs immediately stiffen, and measured using their hands as a visual representation of what appeared to be a two foot span when describing how the frogs’ legs jolted behind him when he was killed. Austin said he wished he was raised like that. Isabell drank two cups of Sassafras tea and became a very good scout at finding more leaves in which to make the tea. Cole disappeared for two hours and was nowhere to be found, but turned up just as law enforcement was about to be called. He was a mile away fishing with Mitchell, a friend he met in the campground. He felt completely at ease leaving with his friend to go fishing from the dam. Needless to say… he got a good “talking to” when he returned to the camper. Grace and Josie returned one evening just as the sun was starting to set and told me that they had joined a gang. When I questioned their comment they corrected what they had said by noting that it was more like a club instead of a gang. They called it, The Trail Mix Club.  They added the fact that the club didn’t have guns or anything like that. Boy was I relieved. Jillian was a true camper! She arrived on Tuesday wearing a pair of shorts, a shirt, and flip flops. She also had a bathing suit and a beach towel. She returned home four days later wearing the same shorts, her flip flops, and one of Austin’s shirts which she had changed in to the previous day. I was a bit jealous when my sister picked her up from my house upon our arrival home. While I had a mountain of towels and clothes to wash, Jillian skipped to her car holding a bag containing one shirt and her bathing suit. Our camping trip was great and the stories will keep us laughing for generations to come. One story that astonishes me the most is the fact that we spent seven days in a black bear preserve and never spotted a single bear, then we returned home to hear that one had been struck by a patrol car practically in our backyard on Hwy. 27. Crazy! On two separate occasions, Grace has been completely convinced when telling us that she saw a man in all black standing at a distance looking at her and her friends as they played in our woods. She ran home both times in a panic describing what she had seen. David and I searched the woods each time seeing no evidence of any man dressed in black. I wonder know if she and her friends had a close encounter with a black bear. I never knew they were so close and will now be more cautious when hiking through my own wooded backyard.

It has been hard this summer to keep a tally of all of the visitors that have graced my presence. Even after the first day, Mandy asked if I had forgotten to mention several visitors. So for the purposes of the blog, I will no longer keep a tally of visitors but will write stories about my personal experiences. I hope you continue to read and enjoy my posts as they are available. Thank you to my readers.