Camping with Bella - Trip #2

We camped at Fairfield State Park which is half way between Dallas and Houston, so it was perfect for meeting Tiffany and Zahid. This trip has been planned for a while, unlike the previous sailing weekend when we made plans the night before. It was really fun to hang out with them two weekends in a row. Above: Matt, Zahid, Bellatrix, Laura, Jersey the dog (also called Shorty), Tiffany, Penny the "bad" dog and Zoey the "perfect" dog.

Bella and I began packing at 2:30 Friday afternoon. Matt arrived home and helped us finish and we were on the road at 4:30, just in time for rush hour traffic. We had to drop something off to John & Ashley which ended with a bit of playtime for Jack & Bella. We were on the road again about 6 pm. We finally arrived at the State Park around 8 pm, which was a bummer because it was dark and we were starving. We quickly learned that there was a burn ban so we were thankful for Tiffany & Zahid's Coleman stove. Matt pitched our tent, Zahid pitched their tent, Tiffany began preparing dinner and I followed Bella around and helped when I could. Tiffany cooked turkey burgers with red peppers. They were the best! Honestly, I've never had such a delicious burger. I'm getting the recipe and adding them to our list of frequent dinners.

We turned in early as most campers do. It was cold without a fire! We slept great for some amount of time. I heard critters walking around, but nothing alarming. Later I heard what I thought was Tiffany searching for a bottle of water in the cooler. I figured "she" was wakened by the very loud steam release from a nearby power plant. After some prodding, Matt awoke and explained the eery steam sounds. When he heard the rustling of leaves, he promptly pointed a flash light outside to see what all the commotion was about. Penny also helped out by leaping out of the tent and barking loudly. There were raccoons! Matt got out, investigated and saw our breakfast potatoes spread all over the campsite. Later, we found the tortillas and cheese also stroon about. The best was all the little muddy paw prints all over our cooler. We certainly learned our lesson.
In typical dipping fashion, instead of eating the apple, Bella used it as a tool just to eat the caramel. There's nothing like fall weather, apples and caramel.
Here's Bella just before sunset on the beach. Obviously, she's a little tired and has a blank stare...but a cute outfit! It's all (including the shoes) from her friend Camilla.
As if the raccoons weren't enough! This armadillo was out and about at about 4 pm. We were all a bit leary. It was odd that he was awake and roaming at this hour, especially so close to a campsite with three barking dogs.
This is out of order, but I'll explain anyway. After the middle of the night steam release and raccon feasaco, Bella woke up because she was cold; it was 48 degrees in the tent. She was bundled, but her head and hands were still cold. She got into our sleeping bag which pretty much meant that I didn't get to sleep the rest of the night. We reached a point and thought it was just better to get up and out so we walked around until sunrise. Do you like the layered look?
Zahid had perfect form for skipping stones.
Tiffany and Bella enjoyed each other.
...and so did Bella and Zoey. Actually, I think Bella enjoyed Zoey more than Zoey enjoyed Bella. Zoey is Zahid's 15 year old dog. She's perfectly behaved. Quiet, tolerant, observant, beautiful. Matt loved her and compared her to Dutchess (even though Dutchess whined and barked frequently).
Shorty and Bella enjoyed time together in the hammock. Jersey (or Shorty) liked 'kissing' Bella.
We didn't bring any toys so Bella made do with what was around. The coffee maker has lots of parts which were fun to take apart and put back together.

The next night was so much better than the first. We all slept from 9 pm to 7 am, no interuptions or strange sounds. It was 60 degrees and absolutely perfect camping weather! We all had a great time!