All Oklahoma State Parks have gone to reservations only and Beavers Bend books up quickly, especially the preferred sites.  We booked two sites in Acorn Circle on February 14, 2020 for this November 2020 trip. 

It was a fun trip long anticipated with a few couples we have never camped with before. A nice, pleasant surprise was to have the Heller’s join us. They are good friends and neighbors that live across the street from us. We have traveled together on a cruise and enjoyed lots of good times together over the past several years. A few years ago, we attended the Dallas – Market Hall RV show with the Heller’s who had mentioned buying an RV, but not until they retire or have more time to use it. Bruce and Cindy along with Brody (their Shih Tzu dog), rented a bumper-pull RV to join us at Bevers Bend where they would be camping in the Cypress Camping site area, just above our Acorn Camping sites. The Ewing’s are another couple of our good friends that we have camped with a few times before, the last time was even in this very same camping site here at Beavers Bend. They enjoy and prefer tent camping and the park rules allowed for them to set-up their tent in the brush area next to our RV site. The de St. Germain’s we met through the Ewing’s annual couples Bunco party where we have discussed possible camping trips with the de St. Germain’s for several years. The Bunco gatherings was the only time we saw them throughout the year and at the time they had a bumper-pull RV. So for 2020 everyone committed to this Fall campout. During the summer before, the de St. Germain’s bought a brand new motor-home. The de St. Germain’s and their three French Bulldogs had a camping site right next to ours.

This RV trip began on Friday, October 30 with a drive to Cleburne, Texas for an ASDR (Australian Shepherd Dog Registry) dog show that we promised our breeder we would attend.  Our breeder wanted to include Mayah (our Toy Australian Shepherd) in their Generations Class event.  As we registered, we decided to also enroll Mayah in the 3-6 month puppy conformation.  For Generations Class, our breeder, Mark and Kelly Enloe of Enloe Ranch, presented a group of 3 puppies that included Mayah, Tank (her Mom), and her sister. Mayah was the star of the group and they won Reserve Champion. There were three judges at each competition and each judge had a 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place ribbon to present. In the 3-6 month Puppy Class, of the 15 dogs and 9 possible awards, Mayah received two 3^rd place ribbons. Since it was our first time in conformation we were happy with the results.

Our Beavers Bend State Park reservations began on Monday, November 2, and the dog show ended on Sunday, November 1.  So we left Cleburne and stayed the night at the Fun Time RV Park at Winstar World Casino. https://www.winstar.com/stay/accomodations/fun-town-rv-park-at-winstar/.   We were exhausted from the long day on Saturday at the Dog Show, and just ate something in the RV and this time didn’t bother going to the Casino where we often do spend a little time. 

• 

Beavers Bend State Park is beautiful this time of year with the Fall colors popping everywhere.  We thoroughly enjoy this park anytime of the year, but Fall is our absolute favorite time.  Three couples, neighbors and friends, made arrangements to meet us, arriving and departing at various times during our week spent there.  One of the nice things to do is to take the Talimena Scenic drive http://www.talimenascenicdrive.com/ up to Queen Wilhelmina Lodge.  It is prettiest, in our opinion, in the Fall/Autumn.  We made this scenic drive a few times before so since a few of the couples traveling with us had never been and were interested in making the drive we headed out for the day.  There was quite the wait for a table to have lunch at the Lodge and that made for a longer day than planned.

It was a fun, relaxing week.  We took a hike or two, one couple took the horseback trails, Bill and Karen fished off the bridge.  Bill caught more trout than we have in a very long time, and Karen caught one.  All the fish were caught and released.  The time spent around the campfire was most enjoyable.  We all had a good time watching a raccoon or two make their regular evening visit to our campfire.  One evening we had a potluck dinner and every couple brought an entrée or side for dinner to share. We were sitting around the campfire with our dinner, and out of the corner of Karen’s eyes she saw something on the table, come to find out, it was the raccoon.  The raccoon was helping itself to the items on the table, when a couple went to shoo it away, it grabbed a bag of shredded cheese and shimmied up the tree with it in its mouth.  With flashlights in hand, we watched it eat the bag of cheese up in the tree, the empty bag was nowhere to be found the next day, but we laughed that that raccoon probably had stopped up bowels afterwards.

• 

• 

Bill and Karen are so very thankful for our good neighbors and friends.  God has blessed us with a wonderful neighborhood that we have spent many a good time. 

This blog ends with both unfortunate news and good news.  Bill contracted the Corona virus which is believed to have been through attendance at the ASDR (Australian Shepherd Dog Registry) dog who in Cleburne, Texas.  We wore masks the entire time we were in the building and slept in our RV. It was stated in the online registration for this show that masks would be required, later it was explained that masks were only required in the judging ring with judges, all other times outside the ring, masks were optional masks, and most did not wear face masks.

Bill had what we thought to be just a cold with minor cold-like symptoms which started on Sunday, November 1.  He believed it to be because he got very cold at the enclosed arena type building structure the dog show was held.  The week at Beavers Bend, he never ran a fever over 99.7, had no symptoms other than the cold-like symptoms, a slight cough with minor sore throat.  When we arrived home Sunday night, November 8, a new symptom related to stomach distress caused additional concern.  Bill had an appointment the next morning to have a Covid-19 Rapid test and the result came back positive.  Karen did not have any symptoms, but tested the day after Bill, and tested negative.  It was of great concern of ours that we may have infected our good friends on our camping trip. Praise God for His goodness, days even weeks following, they have not contracted the virus. Although Bill is still having symptoms from Covid with shortness of breath, coughing, an occasional temperature, he got a negative test 11-days after the positive test. 

We are so very thankful for answered prayers that Bill is recovering, and especially thankful that none of our camping friends contracted the virus. 

Isaiah 40:29 “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.”