Arkansas Campout

Last week I went camping with friends in Arkansas. On the way there we listened to music and played guitar.  We stopped to eat lunch at Braums and noticed that something was wrong with one of are friends cars.  So, they took it to a mechanic to get it fixed.  While we waited for it to get fixed we played games and danced in the Braums parking lot.  Finally, we were on the road again.
   When we got to the campsite we set up camp and then we went swimming in the river and found out how cold the water was!  And it was pretty cold!

Us kayaking

 The next day we got up around 6:00 a.m. and packed some snacks and water for a hike. We decided to ferry people across the river and explore whatever was on the other side. After we all got over there we walked through a field and into some woods and then climbed up a mountain that was covered in poison ivy.

 There were huge rocks covered in moss and tunnel web spiders everywhere. When we got to the top we were rather disappointed to find a road. But, what's the point of using a road when there's the side of a mountain to climb?
   On our way back down we found strange looking mushrooms.

Amanita jacksonii



False Chantarelle Hygrophoropsis Aurantiaca

We also saw a deer. Then we found a tunnel that went through the rock!  When I crawled through it and came to the exit there was a six foot drop.  I almost fell off of it.  If I had fallen I would've hit the ground and rolled down the rock-covered mountainside!



Goofing off

Looking cool

After we got back to camp we found out that we were covered in seed ticks and chigger bites. We de-ticked ourselves, grabbed some kayaks and went swimming.
   That night we gathered around the campfire for dinner, played guitar and had a dance party. I dropped a girl while dipping her! It was a good thing she didn't get mad or the story would be different.

                                                                

Later my friend and his mom were walking around and he almost stepped on a copperhead! His mom grabbed his knife and chopped its head off!  Then my other friend took what was left of the snake and skinned it.
   Next day we all got up, ate breakfast, rented some canoes and kayaks and went on a river trip.  Along the way we stopped and jumped off of rocks and rope swings and swam.  We tipped a canoe and a kayak and fun was had by all.  After getting back some of us went on a hike through the woods to a huge rock that we jumped off of into the water. On our way there we found a cave and a big hole in the ground. If you had fallen into it you could not have gotten out of it without help.
   On our way back from the Jumping Rock it was my turn to almost step on a copperhead. I looked down and right where I was about to put my foot was a copperhead eating a mouse! It slithered away and my friend followed it and chopped its head off. If it had not been dining it very likely would have bitten me. We skinned it later.
   The following morning we went on a six-and-a-half mile hike! We found more tunnel web spiders, mushrooms, poison ivy (!) and seed ticks. There was also a very unique looking spider. The view from where we were standing was amazing. When we got back to camp we had a dance party and then we ate dinner. We sat around the campfire, roasted marshmallows, played games and told stories.

Crown Coral Fungus Artomyces pyxidatus

Scarlet Fairy Helmet Mycena strombilinoides

Agelenopsis naevia spider

Spined Micrathena (micrathena gracilis)

  On our last day we got up very early and hiked down to the Jumping Rock. We ate breakfast on the rock and decided to climb up the hillside which had a steep incline. When we got to the top there was a rock that we stood on and that we could see for miles from. We climbed further up and you won't believe what we found; another road! On our way back down someone accidentally knocked a rock loose which rolled down and hit my hand very hard.

 When we were at the bottom one of my friends explored some trees down by the water and found a water moccasin! We honorably beheaded it! When we got back to camp we packed everything and headed for home. On the way we played violent card games that woke a sleeping passenger!

 This camping trip was one of my favorites of all time. I'm grateful that I got to go on it.