Trip theme: "Baby, it's cold outside..."
Lake Loramie State Park was originally created as a reservoir for the Miami and Erie canals; it became a State Park in 1949. It's a scenic park that offers lots of opportunities to enjoy being outdoors. Given that April weather in Ohio is unpredictable at best (April is the cruelest month, after all), it turned out to be a perfect location for the first PaCO outing of the year.
A few members arrived on Thursday, the last day of a stretch of beautiful Spring weather. Wil arrived first, and Harold and Laurie were almost set up when Mary and Eric (and their dogs) arrived. Gloria and Teddy arrived in time for dinner - out came the pie irons for them, and Mary and Eric went into town to check out Moeller's Brew Barn. They returned with some red ale to share with everyone.
It rained hard Thursday night, including a pretty vicious thunderstorm for good measure. Friday morning was windy and cold. The sun tried to peek out, but mostly, it felt more like November than April. All weekend, temps were in the 50's with lows dipping into the 30's. Brrr.
The rest of the group arrived Friday afternoon - Ruth, Ron, Jilinda, Laura, Joanne, Kathy, Denny, Steve, Coleen (and Murphy), Liz, Joanne, Karen, Helen, Tom G, Tom B and Lance. Wil's son Andy camped with us, and we had an evening visit with Andy's family and, as an added bonus, Sebastian and Carter Wil's grandkids (who are not really kids anymore!). It was a great turnout and so fun to see a mix of old and new members. We found a perfect spot for the club canopy, and a group of about 10 people helped get it set up. Some people had dinner at camp, others opted to go across the street to eat at Morrie's Landing. We sat by the fire in small groups before the cold and wind sent us to our warm sleeping bags.
We agreed to put in and paddle around the lake, thinking we'd depart around 10:00 Saturday morning. We awoke to high winds, cold temps, and whitecaps on the water, so the conditions clearly dictated otherwise. When the club canopy came down because of the wind, we knew we'd be looking for other things to do for the day. First things first, we took the canopy apart and laid it to rest. Harold missed getting a picture, but Steve decided to take it home and see what he could salvage. It's probably a good thing that canopy can't tell stories...it holds lots of OHCRA memories.
Always resourceful, everyone found ways to have some fun. Karen, Joanne, Lance, Coleen, Laura and Liz went sightseeing, taking in the Maria Stein Shrine of Holy Relics and the Temple of Tolerance in Wapakoneta (with a lunch stop at Subway). The rest of us hung out, napped, visited, hiked, went birding and went geocaching. Steve convinced a small group to go out on the pontoon boat in the later afternoon. When the group got back from sight-seeing, we agreed to have an early pot luck so we could get on the water once the winds died down.
Our 5:00 potluck was a feast, as usual. More of the Baughm clan joined us for dinner, Anne, AJ and Anthony. Two soups, two types of chili (venison and beef), beef stew, jalapeno poppers, Swedish baked beans, deviled eggs, pasta salad, cheesy potatoes and more - yum. We had quite an array of delicious desserts as well, including apple crisp made with apples from Lance's tree. After dinner, a group of hearty souls decided to get on the water. Wil was worried that if no one paddled, we would become FaCO (Food and Camp Ohio) instead of PaCO. He and Andy, Ruth, and Tom and Helen went out and paddled around the canals of the campground. Almost every campsite at Lake Loramie is on the water. Steve took another crew for an evening float on the pontoon boat. The rest of us sat around the fire.
Sunday morning was even colder and still windy. We put together a breakfast potluck feast and many hung out at the fire playing a True/False game Lance brought called The Urban Myth Game. Many in the group started packing up, and soon only Steve, Coleen, Liz, Laura and Ruth remained. Liz, Steve, Laura and Coleen made pie irons for lunch while Ruth took a well-deserved break. Steve napped on the pontoon boat while the others sat around the fire. The whole group had dinner at Morrie's Landing (thank goodness for that place!) and took a group photo by the campground's entrance sign. Steve took everyone on a moonlight cruise, except for Ruth, who opted to hike around the campground instead. Everyone reconvened at the campfire before retiring for the night. Monday morning, Ruth and Laura went to Morrie's for breakfast (the place to be for the weekend), while Liz made a breakfast skillet for the others. They packed up ,and Steve and Coleen took a last pontoon trip around the lake.
It was a great weekend, and even though the weather didn't fully cooperate, we found ways to have fun. It was terrific to have such a large group together and to reconnect after winter. Ruth did a great job planning and leading the trip.
By the numbers:
Participants: 23, plus visitors
Dogs: 4 (Murphy, Teddy, Gordie and Bodhi)
Boats on the water: One pontoon, two tandem canoes, one solo canoe
Boats on cars: One kayak, four canoes
Camp Set-up: One hot tent (even though they never stoked the stove inside...it was cold but not cold enough), five other tents, three trailers and one car sleeper
Food: When one buffet is not enough, have two - our Signature Potluck Dinner Saturday and Sunday breakfast buffet, and when in doubt, Morrie's Landing
Important Note for Future Trip Leaders:
If you reserve at an Ohio State Park, the system accepts a Golden Buckeye Card for ONE site only. If you are booking multiple sites, you'll need to use a different name and card for each site.
Next up...Greenville Creek.Here's hoping for perfect water and great weather!
View All Pictures From Lake Loramie