• Camped at Berry Bend – Truman Lake

    Our new MSR Mutha Hubba tent at Berry Bend Campground. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Our Mutha Hubba tent on it’s first outing at Berry Bend campground on Harry S. Truman Lake.

    We spent a long time researching and looking at tents. Each time we thought we’d found the one we wanted we saw another we liked even more. A three season tent was essential for spring and fall camping, some useable vestibule space that could double as a wind break for cooking if needed was also high on our wish list. It had to be big, or even a three person tent so that we can keep our packs inside if the weather was really foul.

    After a long search the prime contender was The North Face Madraque, but we couldn’t find any reviews, nor could we find anyone locally that stocked it. We had a play in the The North Face Minibus, and nearly bought one, but the oh so cutsie design put us off in the end.

    Popping into Dynamic Earth (something we do too much of at the moment) we had a look at the MSR Hubba Hubba which was far too small for our needs, and finally the Mutha Hubba, which was nice and roomy. It’s meant to be for three, but it fits two just right. We were very impressed with how light and easy to set up it was, the build quality looked very good too. We went away and checked the reviews (almost 100% positive) before buying the tent and footprint.

    In use we’ve found it very easy to set up, the footprint is an absolute essential, protecting the base of the tent, and also holding the tent poles in place. That lets you use the flysheet only, or in the rain, you can set the flysheet first and then set up the tent – enabling you to keep the tent dry.

    The aluminium tent poles are a joy to set up, and we loved the way they just push into grommets on the footprint, tent and flysheet. It’s a much simpler arrangement than the ‘Jacks Foot’ used on some other tents, which we thought might be prone to breaking as it is plastic.

  • Berry Bend Campfire

    Gary and Ginger Allman enjoying a campfire at Berry Bend Campground in November 2010
    Sitting by the camp fire. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    We cheated on the fire.

    We didn’t want to spend a lot of time and energy gathering and cutting wood, so we bought some logs for $4 and I split them. We did light the fire backpacking style using cotton wool pads coated with Vaseline.   We were  also  careful to ensure that sparks from the fire didn’t get near the chairs as a flat mattress would have been a disaster for the night. The mattresses provide the ground insulation for our Big Agnes sleeping bags. A mattress repair kit will have to be an essential item when we go backpacking.

  • Camping at Berry Bend

    Gary and Ginger Allman at Truman Lake, Missouri, wildlife and lake watching
    Gary and Ginger: wildlife and lake watching. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    This weekend we tried out our backpacking gear.

    Friday evening we took Alek, Katie, Emilie and Malaki to Kansas City for Happening. We needed to be on hand to collect them again Sunday afternoon, so we left Lanie in the capable hands of Betsy, put Getzger in charge at home and once we’d dropped the big kids off at Kansas City we went camping at Berry Bend on Harry S. Truman Lake.

    As our goal was to test the gear, not our ability to carry the packs we only backpacked the amazing distance of around 30 feet from the car to the campsite. We didn’t arrive until after nine p.m., which meant we had to make camp in the dark. It was remarkably easy considering we’ve only put up our new tent once before.

    We didn’t bother with the kayaks and had a quiet day sitting watching the lake and wildlife instead. It gave us a change to try out our chairs. I was dubious about the sitting so low to the ground, but they proved very comfortable. The great thing about the chairs is that they use our existing bed mattresses for the seat and seat back so there’s very little extra to carry.

    We saw loads of different woodpeckers, hawks, and other birds including a bald eagle. We also watched the squirrels and chipmunks rushing around. Over the course of the weekend we also saw a deer, possum, coyote, and evidence of a beaver.

    I never did get a chance to read the book I brought along, and I don’t think Ginger got much knitting done either.

  • Oh noes…

    Mr. Cat should be ashamed
    Mr. Cat should be ashamed

    …Getzger Cat realizes that the pictures of him sitting on the bed yesterday might end up on Facebook.

  • Oh, Getzger!

    Getger Cat continues to amaze and amuse us. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    “Oh, Getzger!” That’s a fairly frequent exclamation here. Once again Mr. Cat demonstrates his impeccable style and panache. Today Getzger practiced his ‘Jabba the Hutt’ impersonation.

  • Minivan Complete with ‘Stealth Pods’

    Put-in point for kayaking on James River. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    We call them stealth pods because once we have them on the roof people seem to be unable to see us coming and pull out in front of us, or even drive into us!

  • Kayaking on James River

    Kayaking on James River. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Look carefully and you’ll see Ginger in the distance.

  • James River Near the Crighton Access Point

    James River Near the Crighton Access Point. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    We put in at the Crighton access point on the James River this afternoon. The light was excellent and the colder weather meant that there was no one else around. This was our first time out in a ‘proper river’ with a bit of a current, so we had a bit of fun with a couple of riffles.

    I decided not to take my anchor of fishing gear. I should have taken both; the anchor so we could stay in one place when we stopped for a drink, and the fishing gear because there were a lot of likely looking spots for fishing.

  • Ginger kayaking on James River

    Ginger kayaking on James River. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Shallows on James River

    Shallows on James River. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
    Shallows on James River. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    We put in at the Crighton access point on the James River this afternoon. The light was excellent and the colder weather meant that there was no one else around. This was our first time out in a ‘proper river’ with a bit of a current, so we had a bit of fun with a couple of riffles. I decided not to take my anchor of fishing gear. I should have taken both; the anchor so we could stay in one place when we stopped for a drink, and the fishing gear because there were a lot of likely looking spots for fishing.    

  • Kayaking and Fishing on Stockton Lake

    Ascend FS10 Kayak on the shore of Stockton Lake, Missouri
    Kayaking and Fishing on Stockton Lake. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    We decided to make the most of the nice weather and packed the van the previous night, got up extra early and loaded the Kayaks on the van before the school run. We were on the lake by 9.30am.

    We put in at Mutton Creek, and we took it quite easy, paddling north up the lake and I spent a fair time fishing – catching three fish. There was hardly anyone out today. We stopped here for lunch and to have a swim. It may not look like it but the lake drops to over 50′ deep very quickly here.

    Changing the subject – I’m really looking forward to changing the color of my paddles to something a little darker, that blue clashes with the camo.

  • Kayak storage problem solved

    Photograph of kayak storage in a garage using ceiling hoists.
    Kayak storage problem solved. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Now we’ve got a place to keep the kayaks, we need to put away the camping gear. Then we will be able to get the van in the garage.

    Ginger has done some sterling work sorting out the storage, so the camping gear just needs to be put away in the shed and then there’ll be plenty of room for the van.

  • Pre-Dawn at Table Rock Lake

    Pre-dawn on Table Rock Lake at the Big Bay Recreation Area. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.Copyright © 2013 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    We were up late watching the Perseids meteor shower, which we did laying in the warm waters of Table Rock Lake.

    The Perseids put on a reasonable but not startling show this year. I will say that it pays not to have too active an imagination if you are going to float in a lake in the dark.

    After retiring to our tent, we learned that the lantern holders on wooden posts do not make good trash holders. Young Raccoons can climb them easily, and we were visited several times overnight by a family of three or more young raccoons and their mother.

    While investigating the young raccoon that was sorting and throwing out our trash while tenaciously hanging on to the pole, I came face to face with one of its siblings who was partway up a nearby tree. I’m not sure who was more surprised.

    After all that excitement, I’m amazed that I was out of bed and down at the lakeside again before dawn with my camera and fishing gear.   

    Pre-dawn on Table Rock Lake at the Big Bay Recreation Area – A black and white version – because I can. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Note to self, bring a floating beer cooler if we do this again.

  • Still Waters

    Still Waters. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved

    Waiting for the dawn on Table Rock Lake.

  • Red Bluff on Huzzah Creek, Davisville, Missouri

    Color photograph of Red Bluff on Huzzah Creek, Davisville, Missouri
    Red Bluff on Huzzah Creek, Davisville, Missouri. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    A couple of days break.

    With Mick heading back to the UK, we had a couple of days of leisure time before we had to collect the girls at St. Louis and then get ready to start back on the school routine. We decided to take a couple of days on the trip and spend some more time at the Pines Overlook campsite. It also gave me yet another opportunity to try and get a decent picture of Red Bluff. The lighting is challenging, and it is only now (2015) that I’m reasonably happy with the post-processing.   

  • Deer at the Springfield Nature Conservation Center

    Deer at the Springfield Nature Conservation CenterCopyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    A fairly scrawny looking deer, but it didn’t appear to be at all put-out by us watching it for a while.   

    Deer at the Springfield Nature Conservation Center. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Prairie Flowers at the Springfield Nature Conservation Center

    Photograph of Prairie flowers at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center
    Prairie flowers at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Despite the horrid heat, today we took Mick on a walk around the nature center.

    He enjoyed the birds, and we spent a long time watching a totally oblivious Muskrat foraging for food. One day I’ll get round to uploading the video. We also saw a very indifferent vishus deer, it didn’t seem to have any qualms about us watching it.

  • Floating on the Big Piney

    Float Trip on the Big Piney and Gasconade Rivers. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • 1963 Chrysler gas turbine car – rear light cluster

    1963 Chrysler gas turbine car – rear light cluster. Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    You can read all about the car on Wikipedia   

  • Pines Overlook Campsite at night

    Pines Overlook Campsite at night. Red Bluff Campgound, Davisville
    Pines Overlook Campsite at night. Red Bluff Campground, Davisville

    Our campsite by hurricane lamp and moonlight. You can read all about Red Bluff campground and the Pines Overlook on our Ozarks Walkabout website.   

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