Anyhow, that happened to us recently. Well, you already know that. It always does. I called around to all our "standby" campgrounds. These are the ones who know us so well that they reserve a sight for us every weekend. Except for some strange reason they always confuse me for someone they don't know. Go figure. So in desperation, I begged my family to please remember all the places we had stayed the past 7 years and then tell me which one I liked best. A psychologically devastating place to be when your "standby" campgrounds cannot be relied upon.
So after a moment of pondering, my wife burst out "oh! I know! Remember that campground we went that one weekend years ago and we really liked it but we never have gone back for some reason although we had a really good time?" No, she really doesn't talk in run-on sentences, that was just my exuberance in realizing we could possibly go camping. After several minutes feeling like I was a contestant in the game "Pictionary", with campgrounds being thrown out in rapid succession, I finally and triumphantly shouted "Beaver Dam Campground!" It's one of those brief moments in life where you feel that you are possibly the most astute person within inches of yourself. Yeah, it's that special.
I grabbed my iPad, looked up their website, found their phone number and frantically began dialing. You'd think my life depended on it. However, only my sanity did. After she did the "welcome to....blah, blah..." I said "Ummm, go ahead and tell me you are completely booked for the weekend and that I should try some other time" I don't need to tell you how confused that made her. "Excuse me?" I think I mumbled something about a joke and it being funny. Silence. I thought she was going to hang up but graciously, she did not and finally said they had 1 full hookup site left. "We'll take it!" I quite nearly shouted. To this day, I still don't know how close she came to calling the straight jacket people to come take me away.
The next day, to the rousing chant of "We're going camping, we're going camping!" we were off. Ok, we might not have actually chanted that. As in I know we didn't. We've been camping far to often for everyone else but me to be that demented. So it was just me...chanting in my head.
Now let me say this about Beaver Dam. The owners are very humble. How so? Well, if you didn't use GPS to help you know where they are located, you just might well blow past the campground and not even know it was there. Unless you had the eyesight akin to a bird of prey. You know you have reached the campground by their relatively small sign. No, not one that screams "Hey, check us out! We are a nice campground that really wants your business!" A small sign. And to backup the low-key approach, they made the drive into the campground at a dip in the road, with plenty of trees to discourage a person from knowing the entrance actually exists. But once you locate the campground and turn up the drive, you start to think "oh yeah, this ain't so bad!" Or if you aren't me, you can probably say it out loud, and no one in the vehicle will give you strange looks.
The campground is smallish, 65 or so sites with some seasonals included in that number. And their full hookup sites are also limited to 24 sites. And most of the seasonals appear to be in those sites. Say what? And why do I go on and on about full hookups? Because camping just isn't camping without them, thats why. I mean, in a pinch, we could be persuaded stay in 2 way hookups, but only in dire emergencies. Like if it's the difference between camping and not camping.
So anyway, back to us pulling into the campground. After checking in at the office, which also is attached to the rec hall, which is attached to the movie screen area, which is attached to the tractor shed which it attached to something else, we drove toward our site
Now a point of interest, as you drive up the outside loop of the campground, you softly whistle under your breath. Again, maybe you don't. Maybe I just need to stop saying "you" and start saying "I" or "me". Might be less confusing to you, but the then again, maybe the change would further confuse me. I'll stick with what works. As if any of that needed to be said! Why the whistle? Because you notice that every campsite in this section is be a mere few feet from the lake. Really? Why hadn't we come back here? Oh yes, I remember! We are stupid! But I think you've already figured that out.
We pulled up to our site and did our high-fives that we do when we come upon a site we really like, and then set about to back in. Now another point of interest, or not, is that we were having a heat wave that particular weekend, with temps in the high 90's. 98 to be exact. And so when my wife got out to direct me in my backup efforts, I refused to roll the window down on grounds that I might lose some of the precious air conditioning that I was currently enjoying. She rather pointedly and correctly stated that I could not possibly hear her directions, but I thought it was a risk worth taking, as I was cool and wouldn't be if I rolled the window down. She was a great sport about it, throwing her hands up and moving under the shade of big pine tree while I backed up, pulled forward, backed up, pulled forward backed up...well you get the idea. Fortunately, she knows what a idiot I am, and by the time I finally got it right, we were laughing as hard as our neighbors were...at us. We do our best to entertain.
The kids quickly found that right next to our site was a dock that they could fish off of, or catch turtles, or just hang out and realize how fortunate they are to have such awesome parents that take them to cool places like this.
My wife was also pleased as punch that for every site or two, they have a regular-sized trash can, which they emptied twice daily. No more hoofing it the mile or 2 to the dumpster other campgrounds put in the most remote spot they can diabolically come up with.
There are other nice little touches they have to make the campground enjoyable during your stay. They have themed weekends, where they provide some activities for the kids, but the campground also has some permanent things to help the whole family pass the time away, such as a pool with water that sometimes feels a few degrees above freezing
and playground
and kayaks, canoes and paddle boats for rent
And swimming beach area, complete with swimming platform anchored just far enough out that it might provide hours of amusement to see who can, or can't make it out to it, and quietly laugh at those who can't
Now I'm sure those of you who don't have kids are thinking "Great! Thank you! I was thinking of coming to this campground, but you can count me out! Too many kids!" But don't be so hasty, may I just remind you, if the kids are being entertained at one end of the campground, that leaves the whole other part of the campground kid free and quiet...oh yeah!!...we were the lucky recipients of that little gift, as our nice kids found 2 other nice kids to play with all weekend. Ahhh...the bliss! Indeed, there's something for everyone. Plus the diminutive size of the campground lends itself to peace and quiet to begin with.
A note of interest, however. When we were there several years ago, it was their wet and wild weekend, where people were apt to carry water canons around and randomly soak the unsuspecting, and guess who the worst "offenders" were? Nope. You're wrong. Not the bratty kids or teenagers...not even the adults. It was the grandpas in the Class A diesel pushers. Thats right them. Geriatrics. And they seemed to be having as much fun as the kids. I rest my case. What case? There was no argument.
In addition to the already mentioned amenities, they have the Dam Diner, a utility trailer turned into a fast food takeout restaurant which is not a restaurant because there is nowhere to sit down, just to take out. Well, except the picnic tables in front of the Dam Diner. You could sit down there. While we did not need the services it offered, for those who tent camp, or just don't want to make pancakes or hot dogs, it just might fit the bill. Plus, the name is plain funny, so why not have it?
All in all, being in an environment that is quiet, picturesque and family friendly is a nice change from the bigger, busier, noisier campgrounds which are within 30 minutes of this campground. Yes, when you can sit here and relax at the end of the day
or see this mere steps from your site in the late evening
it kind of makes it hard to understand why we didn't make this one of our "standby" campgrounds. Except then, they'd forget who I was too...
