Beavers Bend State Park

Kyle and I decided last minute to get away for the weekend and go camping. We had originally planned to head to Beavers Bend a few months ago, however, that ended up getting a rain check due to the weather. We decided this would be the perfect weekend to try again (except for that it might be a little toasty weather wise - 100 degrees!). We headed out Friday afternoon a little later than we were hoping and also got stuck in some traffic causing us to detour and take back roads for most of the trip. Long story short, we were getting there just as the sun was setting and it was starting to get dark. Luckily, we had enough daylight to scope out a sweet campsite and set up shop before it got too dark. We also started fixing dinner but it started to get a bit dark by then. Kyle and I have decided we are getting pretty good at camping now. There were a few incidences where we had forgotten some pretty critical supplies but we have our system mastered and down pat now! Lessons learned I tell ya.

We fixed a pretty tasty dinner of chicken and veggie fajitas... who said you can't eat tasty meals while camping?! After dinner we settled in for some quiet time just enjoying the evening. I headed into the tent a little earlier than Kyle... thank goodness I did. Literally, MAYBE 2 minutes after I was in the tent.. we had a little visitor hop up on the table right beside Kyle-- a raccoon! Neither one of us heard the little guy (or gal) creeping up but it was definitely funny. Sneaky little fellas. The temperature that night was nearly perfect. We ditched the sleeping bags this trip and just went with sheets. Dare I say I actually got a little chilly during the night?

The next morning we woke up fairly early and Kyle headed out for a run along the trails. He put in a solid 12ish miles while I had some quiet time digging into the word and relaxing in our hammock... Life is hard sometimes. After he returned he was definitely hungry so we whipped up our brunch of breakfast tacos (eggs, bacon, cheese, all the shenanigans). We also spent some down time hanging at camp before we decided to go paddle board. Well, should I say attempt to paddle board. We headed to the water but there were SO many people there. We decided to lay by the water and enjoy a slushy in the sun instead. PS. if you didn't know, slushies really are great for hot days. They hydrate you and cool down your body. It is a win win in my book. We tested out the water, but it is a "river lake" so it was basically freezing and that didn't last long. 

After toasting we headed back to camp for some relaxing and frisbee. Kyle and I tried to work on my accuracy. I continue to be inconsistent... but when I am on, I'm on! We prepared chicken sausages in the cast iron over an open fire. We are so rugged it is unreal! Sidenote: if you haven't had the chicken sausages from Trader Joe's we would recommend them. Super tasty. Kyle built a really nice fire so we spent much of the night hanging by the fire and catching up on reading and quality time.

We woke up the next morning a little later. Kyle again headed out for run #2 while I spent time in the word and relaxed in the hammock. I mean, someone has to do it or it will just sit there all alone! Once Kyle returned we had a less exciting breakfast of muffins and yogurt. Our original plan was to head and paddle board that morning but we ended up not having time. We packed up and headed back to Dallas just in time to hang out with some new friends! Whoop whoop! All in all, I will be the first to admit I was slightly skeptical with camping in Oklahoma in the middle of July. I was expecting the weather to be way too hot. We lucked out and got a really shady campsite so the temperature was really not so bad. I was really glad we were able to get away also in a no cell zone. Makes camping even better when you can unplug from technology and really enjoy yourself! Below are some pictures to summarize parts of our adventure: