I realize that going camping at a public space, such as Greers Ferry Lake, comes with the chance that one will run into obnoxious people.  However, it has always been my experience when camping that fellow campers generally respect, or otherwise try their hardest not to disturb other people.  This weekend, Liz and I went camping to disconnect, get away from the city, and otherwise enjoy a relaxing weekend.  Unfortunately, this was not the case as every spot around us was full of redneck young adults — you know the type, Jeff Foxworthy-sounding, uneducated, disrespectful, alpha-male types.

Pano of the 3 way junction.

It all started as we were pulling into camp, albeit late.  We were supposed to leave Little Rock around 5:30 and make the quick hour and fifteen minute drive up to Heber Springs, pick out a camp at the JFK site, and enjoy a nice weekend.  Instead, we left Little Rock around 6:15 and arrived around 7:30 due to traffic and a few necessary stops (a Rt 44 Coke at Sonic does not make a bladder feel well while driving Arkansas roads.)  Anyway, we arrived at the JFK park and of course it was already full.  I had failed to realize that this weekend was the start of many schools’ spring breaks and as such failed to take into consideration the fact that every decent camp site would be taken by the time we arrived.  In any event, we turned around and headed a few minutes down the road to the Dam Site park.

Example of a road in Arkansas

Dam Site park is the largest of the 3 on the south side of the lake, so it was least likely to be full.  It wasn’t, but the spots that were left open were not ideal for privacy, let alone peace.  Our first spot was on the corner of a 3 way junction, with very little in the way of vegetation to block out the headlights.  As it was already dark and I didn’t want to mess with losing the one 1/2 way decent site we found, we took this spot and set up camp.  After camp was set up, we headed down to WalMart to pick up last minute supplies and some ice for the cooler.  Arriving back at camp around 10, our idiot redneck neighbors had the music blasting (rap, mixed with classic rock and country) and were obviously drunk as you could hear their conversations clear across the woods.  Between these idiots and the constant barrage of headlights, sleep was elusive.

The next day, we woke up to find our neighbors packing their camp to leave.  This was a great thing as we could move and get more space, out of the path of the headlights, and have a tad bit more privacy.  We emptied the tent and after the neighbors left, we picked the tent up  (still assembled mind you) and walked it the 30 yards or so to the new camp and dropped the tent where it was to stay.  While still somewhat out in the open, this spot was much better suited for privacy than the other and the headlights weren’t as much of an issue — even less so after I put the tarp up.  Oh, and new rednecks.

Rednecks

As we were unloading after our move, some Larry the Cable Guy-looking idiots pulled up across from us.  All of them were no more than 21 years of age, if not 18.  These idiots had a newer truck, yet you could hear it a mile away as it sounded like a loud Harley Davidson.  In other words, they took the muffler off.  It was daytime, so I wasn’t too concerned about them at this point.  It wasn’t until it started turning dark that this bunch became an issue.  Evidently their girlfriends or wives couldn’t figure out that it is best to go to the bathroom at the same time as it is safer, faster, and ecologically friendly to do so.  So every 30 minutes or so, the hicks would get in their truck, rev the motor a few times, then chug down the road as fast — and as loud — as they could.  It didn’t matter if it was 7pm or 1am, the sound of the truck was like clockwork.

So now, we have the rednecks across from us and their loud truck, the idiots from next to our previous spot (still within easy earshot), and a new group of teens who arrived and set up NEXT to us.  This bunch could have been from a city, they weren’t acting like rednecks, and were dressed in clothes from Abercrombe.  Their issue was they decided to invite the rednecks from across the street over where they partied until at least 1am.  Oh, did I mention park quiet time was 10pm? Yeah, they forgot about it too.  Needless to say, I am enjoying the peace and quiet of my bedroom as I write this.

So this morning we woke up and all was quiet.  The rednecks left before the sun really had a chance to show itself, and by the time we got out of the tent, the people next to us were starting to wake up, obviously hung over from the night before.  All I could do was smile, as I saw new people moving in across the street and around us knowing what they were in for with all the kids.  The good news is, I have plenty of new material for my new project, Real Campsite Photos. Leaving camp around 10:30, we didn’t look back as we were anxious to be as far away from these idiot rednecks and the outdoors as we could.

On this day, 1 year and about 4 hours ago, a little bug hatched into the world.  Take a look into her 3rd day of life here, and most of all, happy birthday, my sweet little Chloe.

He is in the front row, standing next to his girlfriend Abby.  I just wish he showed a little more showmanship here, but by and large, he did a good job.

Click the image for the full size image and you can see my system time (the time I checked the site)

Late night check  in
We left Little Rock around 6pm to head to Dallas for a little kid-free relaxation and some shopping.  Liz has been wanting to go to IKEA for a while to check out some stuff for the wedding and start getting ideas for the remodel of Hunter’s room.  I needed to go to the Micro Center to pick up a new power supply for my PC as my other was under powered.   I also wanted to hit up the recently discovered outlet mall up in Allen while we were nearby as I have been on a mission for quite some time to find a pair of shoes that actually feel good and look decently — you know, anything but those clown shoes the youngsters wear today.  But I digress.  We finally got out of Little Rock after a brief stint in traffic and headed out on the long, dark and relatively lonesome highway.

After a few quick stops for various reasons and a rather lengthy stop at a Dairy Queen in Hooks, TX, we arrived in Dallas around 11:15 — about 15 minutes ahead of schedule, surprisingly.  We pull into the Courtyard and there is a line of cars in the reception area — at 11:15pm.  I find a spot and hop out and upon entering the lobby, I see why there were so many cars.  There was some event going on in town and everyone (who all knew each other and lived in the same town) were driving separate cars.)  After waiting 20 minutes for the group to be checked in, I had another guy in front of me who was trying to pay for his girlfriends? room but she had already paid for two nights.  A small argument ensued with her (the girlfriend?) finally coming down to clear things up.  Luckily the night manager had come out of the back office and I was able to check in with relative ease.  As it was nearing midnight, I didn’t want to argue that our room was not as I had requested in the reservation, but it really made smoking a pain.  In any event, a pleasant and quiet night completed the long and winding trip that had begun nearly 6 hours ago.

That’s right, at 6:06PM Central Standard Time, join me on KUAR 89.1 FM as I discuss complex technologies and their uses in every day life, as well as what the future is bringing.  For those of you out of town, or out of the listening area, feel free to visit kuar.org to listen live online.  Immediately following the radio interview, I will travel to the Afterthought on Kavanaugh road to join in a panel discussion on the same topics.  Joining me on the panel is:

• Michael Douglas, Ph.D., Professor and Director at UAMS and BioVentures.
• Charley Jones, Director of Operations at the Little Rock National Airport.

I hope to see many of my readers there to support this project — this is my first on air gig and my first panel discussion.  If it goes well, I may participate again, or in a similar program.

To my readers and friends on Twitter:  I apologize for all the spam you have received over the last few weeks as I have worked to reskin my website.  Seems the plugin I was using to post twitter updates has gone rogue and was posting every revision and update to every page and post on the site.

I have removed the offending plugin and replaced it with another, so hopefully the new plugin will work and you won’t be spammed every time I find a punctuation or spelling error somewhere on the site.

Thanks

Hopefully, this site will be easier to manage and maintain so more content should be released sooner.  I am not quite done tweeking this site, so I’m sure you will see some things change or maybe even disappear in the not to distant future.  In the mean time, sit back and enjoy my content.