The camping trip that took place on July 6-8, 2007 to Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area happened like this:
FRIDAY
12:00 PM -- Rose called to say she was on her way to her apartment because Lowe's allowed her to check out early because she had plenty of hours for the week. That worked in our favor for getting a head start to the park.
12:20 PM -- met at Wal-Mart to pick up the last minute fresh food items and a couple bags of ice.
12:50 PM -- went to Rose's apartment to load the refrigerated food into the ice chests. After work hunger motivated Rose to achieve a disappearing act with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a veggie meat and cheese sandwich, potato salad and baked beans during the time she was placing the food in the ice chests. Loaded ice chests and food box into pickup.
1:30 PM -- drove to 1052 Mt. Pleasant Road to finish a few packing details that needed to take place such as loading the handcycle and bicycle in the back of Rose's pickup and hitching to the trailer.
3:00 PM -- we finally were able to leave 1052 Mt. Pleasant Road. It is surprising how much time was gobbled up just because of a few little details. Next time we'll try to have those details hammered out in advance so it gives sufficient time to set up camp, relax a bit before dark and get the shower/bathroom details finished before 9:00 -- 9:30 PM. This was one trip I was a passenger. We have it figured out how to transfer from my wheelchair to the floor of her pickup. While seated on the floor my feet are then placed in the seat of the wheelchair so it makes the transfer easier from the floor to the seat.
3:15 PM -- pulled over on the shoulder of Highway 111 so Rose could retrieve my sandwiches, potato salad and baked beans. I was still eating after we passed through Livingston.
4:15 PM -- after turning east on Highway 154 just out of Jamestown we fell in behind a string of traffic that was traveling no faster than 30 mph. Still no change in speed once we turned on to Highway 297. The flashing lights of a sheriff car and a big white hearse as could be seen well ahead of us in one of the straighter stretches explained the funeral pace we were experiencing. The funeral procession finally turned to the left about 10 miles before we arrived at the campground.
4:45 PM -- check in accomplished, proceeded to campsite.
4:50 PM -- tent pitching, gazebo raising, camp kitchen set up, Tiki torches filled and lit on their posts, sleeping bags rolled out and shower chair assembled all happened before darkness settled in.
7:45 PM -- for lack of adequate kindling an attempt at starting a campfire was eventually laid to rest. We would depend on the glow from the Tiki torches instead. Even the white gas poured on the wood burned off before catching the wood on fire. If communication were dependent on smoke signals from us tonight it would only be a whisper. We decided to come better prepared for fire building on future camping trips. The song of the cicadas in surround sound would not be affected by our fire building skills. The cicadas laid their instruments down when the katydids and tree frogs took over with their rhythmic ratcheting for the night; beautiful music to which to fall asleep.
8:30 PM -- Horse Trading (code words for the more labor intensive details at the privy) and shower details begin at the handicap bathroom. The Bandy Creek Campground has the best handicap bathroom arrangement I have seen in any campground. There are actually 3 bathrooms in one facility -- men's, women's and Handicap. By having a separate handicap bathroom it makes possible for a caregiver of the opposite gender to help a handicapped user without creating any discomfort for other campers. The only suggestion I would give for improving the handicap bathroom at Bandy Creek Campground is for the addition of and a folding table attached to the wall for placing tools of the trade such as catheters and clothing. Their hooks were just not enough. Water from the shower left very little dry space on the floor thus challenging our ability to keep towels and clothing dry.
SABBATH
12:00 AM -- Transfer from wheelchair to cot. Rose starts the process of getting me tucked into the sleeping bag for the night. The weather forecast was favorable for us to choose leaving the rain fly off my tent so it was nice looking up through the mesh ceiling into the starlit sky.
1:00 AM -- efficiency in camp regarding my care needs more thought so sleep can happen sooner than this hour.
6:00 AM -- Ready or not a crow within 60 or 70 feet of the tent began to caw full volume over the slumbering campground. I was still due some more snoozing so I ignored the crow's schedule and drifted back into oblivion.
9:00 AM -- even though motion from the human occupants of the campground could not be detected we decided to emerge from our sleeping bags and get our day moving.
9:30 AM -- while Rose prepared pancakes on the griddle I read the devotional to her. Pancakes were delicious anyway we fixed them; either with butter and syrup or peanut butter and fresh fruit.
10:30 AM -- after the camp kitchen, table and tent area were tidied up we chose to spend some time on the cycles. Rose placed me on my hand cycle. I did a lap through the campground while she took some time out at the bathhouse. By the time I came around from my campground lap she was ready to get on to her bicycle. We rode to one of the trailheads then back out onto the main road. It was pretty much downhill from the campground. After a couple miles of downhill I decided we'd better turn around for the return trip to the campground before I exceeded my uphill limits. Instead of going back into the campground we rode past the visitor’s center to the horse stables. Three horses in a pasture by the stables were curious and a bit jittery about my hand cycle so they started running around the pasture in an attempt to express their uncertainty about my method of transportation.
12:30 PM -- back in camp I expressed my interest in taking a nap. I was feeling a bit wimpy and suspected a UTI (urinary tract infection) was lurking because of symptoms. Rose made no objections to the suggestion of a nap so she helped me make the transfer onto my cot in my tent. We both snoozed in unison for a couple lazy hours.
2:30 PM -- I decided something needed to be done regarding the UTI symptoms. Placed a phone call to my moms cellphone. Knowing that my parents would be coming to Livingston I asked what the possibilities were that she gather what medications I had at the house, including an antibiotic, and bringing them to Livingston where Rose and I could meet up with them thus saving a little travel time by not having to drive all the way to Cookeville. She said she would gather what I needed and meet us in Livingston.
2:45 PM -- we loaded into Rose's pickup and started the winding trip to Livingston along Highway 52. When Rose gets into a vehicle, whether she is a passenger or the driver makes no difference, she starts getting really drowsy. I felt like my responsibility was to rattle about nothing in hopes of keeping her awake. Didn't work too well.
4:00 PM -- arrived at our destination in Livingston. Met my mom in the parking lot for the medications she brought. Took the first antibiotic then started the return trip to Big South Fork. Rose was still having a battle with drowsiness so when we reached the "cave" where there are picnic tables and lots of cool shade under the shelter of the stone ceiling she pulled over, turned the engine off and we both took a 20 min. safety snooze.
5:20 PM -- when leaving the "cave" I noticed a bunch of dry twigs and small branches that would make excellent fire starter and mentioned it to Rose. We decided to turn around and go back because of our challenge to find dry fire starting material at camp. That turned out to be a good choice. We also stopped at the Jamestown Wal-Mart to pick up some free advertising papers for lighting the kindling
6:10 PM -- Rose lit the Tiki torches soon as we rolled into camp. She then cut the cardboard boxes, she was given at Wal-Mart, into strips for fire starter. I coached her through putting cardboard, paper and sticks together in the fire pit. She lit the paper and cardboard to start a successful campfire that was soon popping and crackling like a campfire is supposed to do. It seems strange to build a campfire in the middle of summer here in the South but there is just enough chill to appreciate its warmth tonight. The mosquitoes seemed to be limiting themselves to a meal on us maybe because of the burning Tiki torches. If nothing else the Tiki torches create a cozy camp atmosphere with their soft flickering light outlining our campsite.
6:40 PM -- I finally feel like eating something after making the last twisted miles to camp so put my request in for tomato soup with Rahman noodles. I thought I might try participating in a watermelon seed spittin' jamboree so put my request in for slicing into the watermelon we had on ice. Turns out the watermelon was seedless and had very few seeds to spit. Oh well, daylight would be getting dim soon enough thus making it difficult to see how far the seeds were being spit anyway. The cold watermelon went down well. The tomato soup and noodles were tasty enough in spite of my feeling 50% wimpy.
7:10 PM -- We could eat only half of the watermelon so decided to offer the remaining half to some horseback riders camped in their horse trailer/camper across from us and were also eating out under their canopy. They agreed to take the watermelon if we would agree to their excess cantaloupe. After trading melons we went back and finished eating but ended up saving the traded cantaloupe for breakfast. Rose lit the Coleman lantern about 7:40 to sharpen the visibility under the canopy now that the sunlight was going dim. Kitchen cleanup was quite limited and Rose was soon enjoying the glowing warmth of the campfire with me.
8:00 PM -- Time to go do some more horse trading (there's the code word again) and shower detail so we had to pull away from the glowing campfire. These two tasks always take longer away from homebase but we were getting an hour head start from the night before. I have never heard of anybody complaining about the hot water running out in these bathhouses at Bandy Creek Campground. They are solar heated and apparently have an excellent storage capacity to meet the demand.
10:30 PM -- I'm making the transfer on to my cot and Rose starts lashing me in for the night.
11:00 PM -- I finally push the remote to turn the light out of the little Coleman battery lantern. That is the coolest little lantern. I can turn the light on as I approach the tent and then turn it off after leaving.
Tonight I will again be soothed to sleep with the song of the katydid and tree frog chorus in surround sound that is drenching the campground.
SUNDAY
6:00 AM -- I become aware the permanent residents of the forest are presently ahead of me with activity. I drift into verse two of unconsciousness.
6:30 AM -- a crow, with no consideration of his camper visitors choice of remaining in a lazy daze, cawed for all he was worth his best rendition of crow taps. I drift into semi consciousness.
7:00 AM -- do I hear Rose twitching somewhere? She later shares she is trying to detect consciousness also from me before launching into Sunday morning liftoff.
7:10 AM -- Okay, I can hear a tent zipper and Rose zipping into action. I'm basically nonproductive until wheels are placed under me. While she is helping me get dressed I keep evaluating how I feel. I do feel a slight bit better than yesterday afternoon but still feel like I've been pushed through a knothole. Once upright in the wheelchair I start feeling better.
7:40 AM -- start a campfire with seasoned camper success. If smoke signals are going to happen with this fire we will be screaming! Rose transfers her attention after fire building to pulling out the Granola and fruit.
8:10 AM -- breakfast is ready but my appetite is in granny gear. Nothing wrong with Rose's appetite though. She puts her Granola and fruit away like a horse doing sweet feed. She has the dishes done, except for mine, before I was finished.
9:00 AM -- the packing process begins. My role is to talk Rose through order of procedure. The contents of the tent's get rolled up, packed up, folded up, swept up or washed up then laid on the picnic table or by the trailer. The whole procedure of taking camp apart would be so much more efficient with at least one more individual that was familiar with how my equipment goes together and comes apart.
12:00 PM -- Rose has everything in the trailer, the handcycle and bicycle in the pickup, coolers and computers in the cab and is feeling a need for a shower to cool off. I waited in the shade while she went to the bathhouse for some quality cool down.
12:30 PM -- Rose asked a passing bicyclist if he would help her insert me in the passenger seat of the pickup. He was happy to help and even offered to do it single-handedly but she insisted she take one side while he took the other. They both picked me out of my wheelchair and then pointed me south end first onto the seat. It goes so much easier with that kind of help than having to go through the transfer-from-the-wheelchair-to-the-floor-of-the-truck, transfer-from-the-floor-to-the-seat procedure. People are always willing to help and happy we thought to call on them.
12:45 PM -- we are on the winding road again. I choose to navigate us through a straighter set of roads back to Cookeville after turning south at Jamestown. I am having a hard time getting my temperature comfortable, probably because of UTI symptoms. Even though the road is much gentler this way Rose starts battling with drowsiness and I battle with low-grade nausea.
2:00 PM -- about 10 miles before entering Monterey on Highway 62 Rose pulled over on the shady side of a church parking lot so she could snooze before packing the pickup into a ditch, a tree or a guardrail.
2:30 PM -- that was a lifesaving snooze for both of us. Back on the road again we enjoyed the passing Tennessee scenery. The rhythmic ratcheting of the cicadas can even be heard this time of year from a 60 mile an hour moving vehicle. That sound is one of the summer signature seals of the south. Love it!
3:15 PM -- home sweet home where you can scratch where it itches. The camping gear comes out of the trailer. Since this was a rainless camping experience nothing would have to be hung out to dry. Only the smell of campfire smoke would have to be washed out of the clothing.
3:45 PM -- Rose drops the trailer from her pickup and I hitch it to my van then back the trailer into its niche beside the van parking place... waiting for the next camping trip scheduled for August 23-26 at Dale Hollow Dam Campground near Celina, Tennessee.
FRIDAY
12:00 PM -- Rose called to say she was on her way to her apartment because Lowe's allowed her to check out early because she had plenty of hours for the week. That worked in our favor for getting a head start to the park.
12:20 PM -- met at Wal-Mart to pick up the last minute fresh food items and a couple bags of ice.
12:50 PM -- went to Rose's apartment to load the refrigerated food into the ice chests. After work hunger motivated Rose to achieve a disappearing act with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a veggie meat and cheese sandwich, potato salad and baked beans during the time she was placing the food in the ice chests. Loaded ice chests and food box into pickup.
1:30 PM -- drove to 1052 Mt. Pleasant Road to finish a few packing details that needed to take place such as loading the handcycle and bicycle in the back of Rose's pickup and hitching to the trailer.
3:00 PM -- we finally were able to leave 1052 Mt. Pleasant Road. It is surprising how much time was gobbled up just because of a few little details. Next time we'll try to have those details hammered out in advance so it gives sufficient time to set up camp, relax a bit before dark and get the shower/bathroom details finished before 9:00 -- 9:30 PM. This was one trip I was a passenger. We have it figured out how to transfer from my wheelchair to the floor of her pickup. While seated on the floor my feet are then placed in the seat of the wheelchair so it makes the transfer easier from the floor to the seat.
3:15 PM -- pulled over on the shoulder of Highway 111 so Rose could retrieve my sandwiches, potato salad and baked beans. I was still eating after we passed through Livingston.
4:15 PM -- after turning east on Highway 154 just out of Jamestown we fell in behind a string of traffic that was traveling no faster than 30 mph. Still no change in speed once we turned on to Highway 297. The flashing lights of a sheriff car and a big white hearse as could be seen well ahead of us in one of the straighter stretches explained the funeral pace we were experiencing. The funeral procession finally turned to the left about 10 miles before we arrived at the campground.
4:45 PM -- check in accomplished, proceeded to campsite.
4:50 PM -- tent pitching, gazebo raising, camp kitchen set up, Tiki torches filled and lit on their posts, sleeping bags rolled out and shower chair assembled all happened before darkness settled in.
7:45 PM -- for lack of adequate kindling an attempt at starting a campfire was eventually laid to rest. We would depend on the glow from the Tiki torches instead. Even the white gas poured on the wood burned off before catching the wood on fire. If communication were dependent on smoke signals from us tonight it would only be a whisper. We decided to come better prepared for fire building on future camping trips. The song of the cicadas in surround sound would not be affected by our fire building skills. The cicadas laid their instruments down when the katydids and tree frogs took over with their rhythmic ratcheting for the night; beautiful music to which to fall asleep.
8:30 PM -- Horse Trading (code words for the more labor intensive details at the privy) and shower details begin at the handicap bathroom. The Bandy Creek Campground has the best handicap bathroom arrangement I have seen in any campground. There are actually 3 bathrooms in one facility -- men's, women's and Handicap. By having a separate handicap bathroom it makes possible for a caregiver of the opposite gender to help a handicapped user without creating any discomfort for other campers. The only suggestion I would give for improving the handicap bathroom at Bandy Creek Campground is for the addition of and a folding table attached to the wall for placing tools of the trade such as catheters and clothing. Their hooks were just not enough. Water from the shower left very little dry space on the floor thus challenging our ability to keep towels and clothing dry.
SABBATH
12:00 AM -- Transfer from wheelchair to cot. Rose starts the process of getting me tucked into the sleeping bag for the night. The weather forecast was favorable for us to choose leaving the rain fly off my tent so it was nice looking up through the mesh ceiling into the starlit sky.
1:00 AM -- efficiency in camp regarding my care needs more thought so sleep can happen sooner than this hour.
6:00 AM -- Ready or not a crow within 60 or 70 feet of the tent began to caw full volume over the slumbering campground. I was still due some more snoozing so I ignored the crow's schedule and drifted back into oblivion.
9:00 AM -- even though motion from the human occupants of the campground could not be detected we decided to emerge from our sleeping bags and get our day moving.
9:30 AM -- while Rose prepared pancakes on the griddle I read the devotional to her. Pancakes were delicious anyway we fixed them; either with butter and syrup or peanut butter and fresh fruit.
10:30 AM -- after the camp kitchen, table and tent area were tidied up we chose to spend some time on the cycles. Rose placed me on my hand cycle. I did a lap through the campground while she took some time out at the bathhouse. By the time I came around from my campground lap she was ready to get on to her bicycle. We rode to one of the trailheads then back out onto the main road. It was pretty much downhill from the campground. After a couple miles of downhill I decided we'd better turn around for the return trip to the campground before I exceeded my uphill limits. Instead of going back into the campground we rode past the visitor’s center to the horse stables. Three horses in a pasture by the stables were curious and a bit jittery about my hand cycle so they started running around the pasture in an attempt to express their uncertainty about my method of transportation.
12:30 PM -- back in camp I expressed my interest in taking a nap. I was feeling a bit wimpy and suspected a UTI (urinary tract infection) was lurking because of symptoms. Rose made no objections to the suggestion of a nap so she helped me make the transfer onto my cot in my tent. We both snoozed in unison for a couple lazy hours.
2:30 PM -- I decided something needed to be done regarding the UTI symptoms. Placed a phone call to my moms cellphone. Knowing that my parents would be coming to Livingston I asked what the possibilities were that she gather what medications I had at the house, including an antibiotic, and bringing them to Livingston where Rose and I could meet up with them thus saving a little travel time by not having to drive all the way to Cookeville. She said she would gather what I needed and meet us in Livingston.
2:45 PM -- we loaded into Rose's pickup and started the winding trip to Livingston along Highway 52. When Rose gets into a vehicle, whether she is a passenger or the driver makes no difference, she starts getting really drowsy. I felt like my responsibility was to rattle about nothing in hopes of keeping her awake. Didn't work too well.
4:00 PM -- arrived at our destination in Livingston. Met my mom in the parking lot for the medications she brought. Took the first antibiotic then started the return trip to Big South Fork. Rose was still having a battle with drowsiness so when we reached the "cave" where there are picnic tables and lots of cool shade under the shelter of the stone ceiling she pulled over, turned the engine off and we both took a 20 min. safety snooze.
5:20 PM -- when leaving the "cave" I noticed a bunch of dry twigs and small branches that would make excellent fire starter and mentioned it to Rose. We decided to turn around and go back because of our challenge to find dry fire starting material at camp. That turned out to be a good choice. We also stopped at the Jamestown Wal-Mart to pick up some free advertising papers for lighting the kindling
6:10 PM -- Rose lit the Tiki torches soon as we rolled into camp. She then cut the cardboard boxes, she was given at Wal-Mart, into strips for fire starter. I coached her through putting cardboard, paper and sticks together in the fire pit. She lit the paper and cardboard to start a successful campfire that was soon popping and crackling like a campfire is supposed to do. It seems strange to build a campfire in the middle of summer here in the South but there is just enough chill to appreciate its warmth tonight. The mosquitoes seemed to be limiting themselves to a meal on us maybe because of the burning Tiki torches. If nothing else the Tiki torches create a cozy camp atmosphere with their soft flickering light outlining our campsite.
6:40 PM -- I finally feel like eating something after making the last twisted miles to camp so put my request in for tomato soup with Rahman noodles. I thought I might try participating in a watermelon seed spittin' jamboree so put my request in for slicing into the watermelon we had on ice. Turns out the watermelon was seedless and had very few seeds to spit. Oh well, daylight would be getting dim soon enough thus making it difficult to see how far the seeds were being spit anyway. The cold watermelon went down well. The tomato soup and noodles were tasty enough in spite of my feeling 50% wimpy.
7:10 PM -- We could eat only half of the watermelon so decided to offer the remaining half to some horseback riders camped in their horse trailer/camper across from us and were also eating out under their canopy. They agreed to take the watermelon if we would agree to their excess cantaloupe. After trading melons we went back and finished eating but ended up saving the traded cantaloupe for breakfast. Rose lit the Coleman lantern about 7:40 to sharpen the visibility under the canopy now that the sunlight was going dim. Kitchen cleanup was quite limited and Rose was soon enjoying the glowing warmth of the campfire with me.
8:00 PM -- Time to go do some more horse trading (there's the code word again) and shower detail so we had to pull away from the glowing campfire. These two tasks always take longer away from homebase but we were getting an hour head start from the night before. I have never heard of anybody complaining about the hot water running out in these bathhouses at Bandy Creek Campground. They are solar heated and apparently have an excellent storage capacity to meet the demand.
10:30 PM -- I'm making the transfer on to my cot and Rose starts lashing me in for the night.
11:00 PM -- I finally push the remote to turn the light out of the little Coleman battery lantern. That is the coolest little lantern. I can turn the light on as I approach the tent and then turn it off after leaving.
Tonight I will again be soothed to sleep with the song of the katydid and tree frog chorus in surround sound that is drenching the campground.
SUNDAY
6:00 AM -- I become aware the permanent residents of the forest are presently ahead of me with activity. I drift into verse two of unconsciousness.
6:30 AM -- a crow, with no consideration of his camper visitors choice of remaining in a lazy daze, cawed for all he was worth his best rendition of crow taps. I drift into semi consciousness.
7:00 AM -- do I hear Rose twitching somewhere? She later shares she is trying to detect consciousness also from me before launching into Sunday morning liftoff.
7:10 AM -- Okay, I can hear a tent zipper and Rose zipping into action. I'm basically nonproductive until wheels are placed under me. While she is helping me get dressed I keep evaluating how I feel. I do feel a slight bit better than yesterday afternoon but still feel like I've been pushed through a knothole. Once upright in the wheelchair I start feeling better.
7:40 AM -- start a campfire with seasoned camper success. If smoke signals are going to happen with this fire we will be screaming! Rose transfers her attention after fire building to pulling out the Granola and fruit.
8:10 AM -- breakfast is ready but my appetite is in granny gear. Nothing wrong with Rose's appetite though. She puts her Granola and fruit away like a horse doing sweet feed. She has the dishes done, except for mine, before I was finished.
9:00 AM -- the packing process begins. My role is to talk Rose through order of procedure. The contents of the tent's get rolled up, packed up, folded up, swept up or washed up then laid on the picnic table or by the trailer. The whole procedure of taking camp apart would be so much more efficient with at least one more individual that was familiar with how my equipment goes together and comes apart.
12:00 PM -- Rose has everything in the trailer, the handcycle and bicycle in the pickup, coolers and computers in the cab and is feeling a need for a shower to cool off. I waited in the shade while she went to the bathhouse for some quality cool down.
12:30 PM -- Rose asked a passing bicyclist if he would help her insert me in the passenger seat of the pickup. He was happy to help and even offered to do it single-handedly but she insisted she take one side while he took the other. They both picked me out of my wheelchair and then pointed me south end first onto the seat. It goes so much easier with that kind of help than having to go through the transfer-from-the-wheelchair-to-the-floor-of-the-truck, transfer-from-the-floor-to-the-seat procedure. People are always willing to help and happy we thought to call on them.
12:45 PM -- we are on the winding road again. I choose to navigate us through a straighter set of roads back to Cookeville after turning south at Jamestown. I am having a hard time getting my temperature comfortable, probably because of UTI symptoms. Even though the road is much gentler this way Rose starts battling with drowsiness and I battle with low-grade nausea.
2:00 PM -- about 10 miles before entering Monterey on Highway 62 Rose pulled over on the shady side of a church parking lot so she could snooze before packing the pickup into a ditch, a tree or a guardrail.
2:30 PM -- that was a lifesaving snooze for both of us. Back on the road again we enjoyed the passing Tennessee scenery. The rhythmic ratcheting of the cicadas can even be heard this time of year from a 60 mile an hour moving vehicle. That sound is one of the summer signature seals of the south. Love it!
3:15 PM -- home sweet home where you can scratch where it itches. The camping gear comes out of the trailer. Since this was a rainless camping experience nothing would have to be hung out to dry. Only the smell of campfire smoke would have to be washed out of the clothing.
3:45 PM -- Rose drops the trailer from her pickup and I hitch it to my van then back the trailer into its niche beside the van parking place... waiting for the next camping trip scheduled for August 23-26 at Dale Hollow Dam Campground near Celina, Tennessee.
