Camping at Rock Island

Our family loves to camp - in our camper of course. This year with our Disney vacation falling when it did we've only managed to go on two camping trips so far. This past weekend we spent a few nights at Rock Island state park. Since we'd never been there before we weren't sure what to expect. Well, I can honestly say Rock Island is beautiful - and HOT and HUMID in the summer.

The whole family was looking forward to this trip since we hadn't been camping since April - highly unusual for us. After a pleasant trip to the campground we checked in at the front office. There were lots of activities planned for the weekend and the kids wanted to participate in most of them. After setting up the camper we went to the first activity - making animal footprints. Princess made a new friend at the activity. We headed back to our campsite and the kids and T changed into swimsuits while I waited around to sign up for canoeing the next day (limited spots available - signup sheet to be posted in an hour or so). The kids cooled off in some beautiful waterfalls along the side of a hill. They were fairly small falls scattered along the hillside so that you could wade through them and even get underneath a few of them. We ate supper - which no one was very interested in because we were so HOT. Finally signed up for the canoeing - Yeah!.

The next day dawned HOT and HUMID. T was sweating while he cooked breakfast outside. Princess didn't want to go out because she was afraid she would get cold - not this trip sweetheart! Canoe trip was at 10 am. It was lots of fun - saw more waterfalls. Watched one couple tip their canoe twice. Miss Bee ended up with an asthma attack at the end of the trip because she got so hot paddling her canoe. The kids caught minnows in the lake while Miss Bee and T went back to the campsite for her inhaler. We ate an early-ish supper and discovered an idyllic pool of water known locally as "the warm hole" where we swam for an hour or so. We had to get back for the bat show at camp but promised ourselves we would return the next day. The bat show was fun, but there were no bats out since it was so HOT and HUMID. Apparently bats don't like heat either.

By the third day T was tired of sweating while making breakfast, but what could we do? We decided to spend at least part of the day in the water, so we packed a picnic lunch and headed back to the warm hole (I really think they could've come up with a better name for such a beautiful place). We swam, laughed at Miss Bee when she wouldn't get in the water because it had fish and crawldads in it, swam some more and ate lunch. After lunch Miss Bee learned she loved to snorkle in the water where she could watch fish. The warm hole is part of a river but is set apart from the main body of river so that it forms a calm pool of water like a lake (but not gross like lake water). Great for snorkeling. We were at the warm hole for about three hours and for most of that time we had the area all to our selves. So unlike the Smokies where you almost literally trip over people wherever you go. We hiked about half a mile to get to the pool, but it was well worth it.

That evening no one felt like eating supper because it was so HOT and HUMID, so we took off for Dairy Queen about 20 minutes away (thank you gps). On the way back we stopped at a little castle-like structure inside the park. It was an old water reservoir system from CCC days - so cute! We also walked to an overlook where we could see what was on the other side of our idyllic pool that we loved - it was a huge waterfall! We could hear the waterfall from the warm hole, but to get to it required climbing up a steep rock face - and the kids just weren't ready for that. (And as far as I'm concerned they never will be)

By the fourth day we were so tired of the HEAT and HUMIDITY we decided to just pack up and leave. Bottom line - we had a great time but won't return to Rock Island in summer any time soon.