Our one-month summer, nearly done now

We had 24 Perfect Camping Nights in August!

And now August makes way for September, cooler nights, and back to school. What a month it was, though! Of the 31 days, barely a week of them in total failed to qualify for camping perfection. We won't talk about July, which resembled late spring far more than mid-summer. We didn't get out as much as we wanted to in August, but did enjoy every gorgeous summer evening, camping or not.

We three boys managed to sneak our camper into a wooded site at Holiday Hill, near Springwater NY, on a very busy August weekend. All of our "usual" spots were taken, so we found a new -- and very nice -- place to camp. There were less than ten available sites when we arrived, and we liked this one the best.

We never got to Holiday Hill last year, when gasoline peaked at over $4 per gallon. Instead, we stayed much closer to home at the Canandaigua KOA. The Hill is one of our favorites, just because. Maybe it's the secluded but popular location; maybe it's the people (though HH has new owners this year); maybe it's the great swimming pool. Some places just 'feel right,' and this is one of them.

Our new site was in the brighter section of the woods, near the Froggy Pond, and still close to all the amenities. The boys spent some time in the game room, and later at the pavilion for a musical event. It was a bit cloudy and cool for swimming, so we didn't get wet. Plenty of other campers jumped in during the afternoon. We played mini-golf instead.

Night arrived suddenly, back there in the trees. We spent some time reading, until we couldn't see anymore, then just hanging out together by a roaring fire. We forgot to bring marshmallows. The mosquitoes left us alone, though; so that was a relief.

Of course that weekend trip was over too quickly, as any good camping outing always is. No sense complaining. We've had a decent summer of short camping vacations. Got lucky back in July with a rain-free weekend at the nearby KOA for our first trip. Our journey to Sackets Harbor was sopping wet, but the weather turned sunny on arrival. Late July found us in Mexico NY at the Jellystone campground with a whole batch of good friends -- another lucky, sunny weekend. The fireworks, for Oswego's Harbor Festival, were incredible as always.

We have one more trip in the books, for the Labor Day weekend. We've always loved the Dansville Balloon Festival, and camping is the way to spend some quality time there. The current forecast is excellent, although the nights are already seeing temp's dropping down below 50 degrees. Last year's festival was ruined by horrid weather; we didn't even make it a day-trip and most of the vendors gave up and went home. Fingers crossed for this year.

Soon enough, it'll be time to switch to day hikes and photo-tours of the fall foliage. Just don't rush me, okay?
_______________________________________________

How about you? Do you have a campground story you'd like to share? If you'd like to submit your review for posting, you can reach me via Comments or by using the link at the top of this page.