The "Force" was with me

After almost six hours on the road and 233 miles, I made it to Bennett Springs State Park outside of Lebanon, MO. The drive was a beautiful one through the Ozarks of north central Arkansas, albeit slow because of the grades and the two lane highway. I waved as I bypassed Branson, MO, and headed northeast to Bennett Springs.

Once at the park, it was quite a twisting road journey to find the check-in place for the campgrounds. I had checked their website out last week and knew that none of the reservable sites were available for the five nights I have scheduled for here. That's because I need to stay through Friday night, which is the first night of the Memorial Day Weekend. I'm due to arrive at the Escapade in Sedalia on Saturday. So, I figured I'd find a first come first served site in the #5 campground that only has electricity. When I arrived at the check station, the volunteer informed me that they had one site available on a first come first served basis in the full hookup campground. She didn't have to bend my arm too much for me to change plans and take advantage of this situation. After setting up, I headed back to pay up and she told me that three rigs came in just minutes after me looking for a similar site. The Force was with me! And besides that, I was able to get full bars with roaming for the internet and phone and I found both satellites with the DISH. Yahoo!

This park seems to be very popular. I'd bet about 75% of all the sites are taken on a weekday, and it's only the middle of May. I guess this is one of the best trout fishing sites in the state. I know I was surprised to see so many people out fishing on a Monday afternoon as I drove in. Wading boots at the camping sites are also a common sight.

I took a drive this evening around the four other campgrounds, and am satisfied with my decision to take the site I did. Tomorrow I'll further explore the park and see how the fishing is going.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy