- By Bill C.
April 16th – 17th – It has been dubbed the best campout ever, by many. I think I tend to agree. Every campout has been a good one. It was even a special day last year, when most of us got rained out. But that was not the case this year. Again, we were blessed with some great weather for one of our club events. I don’t believe it was much over 70 both days, if that. Plus, it was sunny and a mild breeze. I sound like a weatherman, don’t I?
For those of you who are new to this yearly tradition, as the title explains, we have been going to Mac Jones’ farm for a spring campout for 6 years in a row now. Mac and his family have ALWAYS been the best of hosts, going above and beyond opening up their farm and VW collection for us to enjoy for a couple of very special days. We are very grateful to them for what they do year after year.
Things seemed to go pretty smoothly. We had a fair number turn out from the Little Rock/Conway club (Central AR Volks Folks – CAVF) and the Jonesboro Club (NE AR Volks Folks – NEAVF). Our club and the NEAVF members met for the caravan at our normal location at Summer & White Station. I may have slowed our departure a bit due to a problem with Verty’s brake pedal return (a leftover of the pan replacement). Read more about it in “Rear View Mirror.” However, the CAVF members welcomed the delay, since they opted to enjoy a breakfast at Bob Evans, after arriving in Memphis way early. So our band of campy Vdubbers hitched up with them on highway 64. They (CAVF) missed all the fun of having their doors blown off on I-40 with us, however. By the time we reached Hickory Wythe, Verty’s brake pedal was really driving me whacko. So, when we reached the rendezvous for Ron S., I opted to let him lead the rest of the way. I was able to enjoy seeing the caravan from further back in the pack too. So, I tried snapping some pictures … with a camera that had dead batteries (sad). Bummer. But I was having a good time for a while, anyway.
We made good time to Mac’s place and all circled up around the barn for the “big turn around,” getting oriented to enter the meadow where we camped near the lake. With the exception of a little “damp spot” near the spillway, the ground was in good shape; perfect for a weekend of camping.
The bonfire was all built up, ready for the evening festivities, thanks to some earlier work done by Mac, with the help of Bobby B., Ron S., Richard D., and Rick D. and his friends, some weeks earlier. Again, thanks guys.
Everybody was free to set up camp wherever they elected. Paul C.’s family was the new guys this year, and unknowingly camped near our lovable “bus people.” Ha. But they didn’t mind. Even their pet ferret slept well. I don’t know, though. I thought I heard some coyotes howling down there, late that night. Ha.
Saturday afternoon was fun and relaxing. Some just wanted to sit in the shade and share stories. Others found entertainment in other ways; playing outdoor games, fishing in the lake, paddle boating, cruising the meadow. But one of the most memorable was LaRue H. and his RC model airplane. You see, he was trying to buzz us while we sat and gabbed. But there is this big cedar tree nearby; probably 30 or 40 feet tall. Yup, you guessed it. He managed to hang his RC right in the top. Can you believe this? LaRue climbed the center of that tree and got his plane down! And he didn’t break any branches or bones in the process. Where are the pictures!?!
I hope to get and share some file copies of the pictures that Mark H. took. I think he has some pretty good ones.
The pets enjoyed the day too. Mark’s new Boston Terrier pup… what was its name? Uh… OSCAR! (Inside joke) It was very wild seeing Oscar trying to attack the ferret. Funny!
Of course we had lots to eat. There was even some fish and such before the steak supper. The bonfire was great. Dave G. (CAVF) donated an old bug case. But we decided it must have been aluminum, because we never got to see the blinding light of magnesium burning. Well, we tried. It was more entertaining watching us try to roast hot dogs and marshmallows and keep from burning off our eyebrows. I think next time I will bring something like a police riot shield with a hole in it for my hot dog stick. Creativity rules!
Counting all the members and their families/guests of the 3 clubs, we had approximately 50 campers this year. Great turnout!
Bedtime? Eventually. But some of us were treated to a serenade by (humanoid) coyotes for a little while and the drone of one generator all night. No names. However, somebody said something about bringing some extra sugar for a gas tank next year. What’s that about? I prefer a potato up the tail pipe. Ha! Oh well, I got a nap once I got home on Sunday.
Oh yes; Sunday. It was a special treat to have a big pot (urn) of hot coffee ready for sipping. Ahhh! It made me a little more forgiving of the generator hum. Then, scrambled eggs, potatoes, biscuits, bacon and sausage, all cooked up by members. I don’t know everybody’s name. But a member of CAVF did a great job of improvising and cooking the eggs. Bobby B. and Ron S. answered the call again and shared their culinary arts too.
Later in the morning, after we had broke camp and cleaned up the area, Mac treated everybody to a tour of his garages and collection. It is a site to behold! Probably the favorite part of the trip for just about everybody.
Well, time to road trip back to Big-M and points beyond. It was another special one this year.
Thanks again to Mac and his family. And thanks to all the members of Mid-South VW Club, CAVF & NEAVF that attended and helped make this all possible. We are all looking forward to the 7th Annual Spring Campout next year. Where’s that potato? Air Bill
