Camping trip at Ouabache State Park - Bluffton, Indiana

By Respect2Glory - Our camping trip July 14-15, 2006

Ouabache State Park is definitely appropriate for a weekend camping trip. We are going to return to check out their hiking trails, and maybe try some fishing in their 'catch and release' pond. We didn't even consider investigating any trails this time because of the heat index.

Below are a few pictures of our weekend, but I don't know why we didn't get any pictures of our campsite this time! I guess we were to busy staying cool - since our first camping trip this year - just happened to be during the record breaking temperatures for the USA. Argh!! It was so stuffy!!! I am so very glad for all of the shade trees we had...

Thanks to Jeff M., one of Clif's co-workers, for the tip to a roomier campsite. It was really great, with enough room for two sleeper dome tents and our dining tent, and we still had plenty of room! The tent areas were fairly level in this site. Thank you Jeff! :D

Two days out in that heat was enough. However, I really liked the campground. Probably since we had a very nice primitive site compared to some others. Not all of the campsites had much room, but there is ample shade over most of the campground. Most of the tent areas appeared fairly level. The showerhouse and restrooms were cleaned daily. The 11:00 pm quiet curfew was enforced, which made for a relaxing evening.

Raccoons ARE bold and WILL steal food that's sitting right beside you and your chair! Lock up your food whenever you leave camp, and certainly after supper. Those little raccoon bandits got a half bag of potato chips and a few small pieces of angelfood cake that was sealed in a plastic keeper. That kept them busy for hours as they attempted to break into that darn thing way into the wee morning hours. I don't know for sure, maybe they finally gave up, but it was well after 3 AM when I finally got that racket tuned out to where I could get to sleep.

(more story after pictures)

Click on pictures for larger view

The olympic size pool has 6 lifeguards, a pair of diving boards in the deep end, a mid-size curly water slide on the shallow end, beside two separate baby pools. The pool store has very reasonable prices (starting at 50 cents), and the dining area with picnic tables and tiltable umbrellas was a very nice touch. Another picnic table area was just area outside of the pool fence, with a wood frame shade roof, where parents could watch over their little swimmers. The poolhouse has roomy shower and dressing areas.

 Becky's nephew, Clif, and neighbor boy enjoy the pool.


 Yay, icecream again!


 It's time to tilt the umbrella...


 The guys take turns jumping off the board again and again...


 The neighbor is going back for more!
*with big grins*

There were well over 100 people in the pool. I'll guess that this pool could probably accommodate 250 people.

 Clif does a silly jump


 Clif does a fantastic backroll flip


 The nephew is going for height to get to the bottom of the pool, feet first.


 Guess who's the first one back to the slide when the line shortens?


 The neighbor boy is underwater.

I clicked to soon or to late :(


 The Firetower has a great view over the treetops. It's compiled of eight flights of stairs that we didn't feel like tackling in the record breaking heat that day.


 We watched the boys climb, and heard their 'ohs and ahs' of amazement as they reached the top.


 We'll go back another (and hopefully cooler) day to get some 'overview' pictures.


 


 WAY up there!


 

We visited a Buffalo refuge before leaving Ouabache State Park. The Buffalo were a bit shy when we approached their shaded corner, and they instantly but slowly retreated to under a single shade tree a few hundred yards away from us.

 Clif pats his pet buffalo... LOL


 Buffalo looking for peopleless shade


 The nephew and Aunt Becky take a break

~CAMPING COSTS~
State Park ENTRY FEE = $7/car (non-indiana), Primitive = $14/night
Visit Indiana's State Park Finder for more info : Complete Fee Listings

We got in a few games of frisbee in the early evening hours in an open area between our campsite and the showerhouse, with two small fields and a playground. We enjoyed warm showers every night before sitting before our campfire to roast hotdogs and marshmallows, or just watching the flames of the fire dance as we took turns adding wood to the fire.

The boys had fun swimming and hiking, besides the notorious nights of tossing out a few marshmallows for the raccoons to eat. They lightly toasted one mallow to see if the raccoon would eat it, but the mallow de-shelled, as to look like two, laying there stuck together. That raccoon couldn't retract from the sticky mess and continued to lick its paws until the boys laughed themselves silly.

I setup a motion light against 'the tent side' of a parking block that was about 3 feet directly in front of our tent. It did exactly as what I had thought about. The light came on when anyone or any raccoon stepped between the light and our tent. I opened my eyes a few times to see various size shadows appear on the front of our tent. I never knew that raccoons could look so big! Hahahaaa!! That was a last minute idea that came to me when I was packing for our trip. I just didn't want to try it out on the kids until they had heard about it first, and then they didn't ask to check it out either so I didn't offer. I think they could handle it. My nephew and the neighbor boy are both 12 years old.

I made breakfast while we packed up on Sunday morning. We let the boys go to the pool while we finished wrapping it up, packing the van, and getting in a shower. The boys got in more than 2 hours of swimming before we retrieved them, and we were ready for our hour ride home, if you don't count the boys' votes...

Our camping pictures are linked from PhotoBucket.com

- Secured Internet in Bluffton Indiana - We were amazed while cruising through Bluffon and could hardly find any unsecured internet access. In fact, we couldn't even connect to anything since these signals were so weak. We cruised nearly two hours trying to find something to connect to - just to get Clif's Newsletter out early. That 'no access' wall and the heat is what helped us to decide not to stay another night. Bluffton has the most secured networks of any city we've ever tried to hitch a cyber ride through. We have never had that non-cybering experience before! Yet, I must hail Bluffton Indiana for their internet security!



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