Saturday 4-9 Lost Bridge North Campground & Trail

 

Beautiful Spring Day

We had a beautiful day with sunshine and very little wind. It was very cold this morning, 31 degrees but it got to 70 degrees. 

We decided to leave Prairie Creek Campground and move to Lost Bridge North Campground. We had breakfast and then we got the Minnie ready to move on. We have been on the road for three weeks and needed to do laundry so on our way we stopped at Splash N Dash Car Wash and Coin Laundry in Rogers, it was very nice and clean. We were in and out in about an hour and a half. After doing laundry we stopped at a Murphy USA and filled the Minnie. This was the cheapest gas so far. It was 3.459 per gallon. We have been paying between 3.699 and 3.779. The Minnie usually takes 26 gallons or more so this is a little of a savings. 

After getting gas we continued on. It was only 21 miles away. The drive was through Rogers and up a curvy mountain road. Lost Bridge North is also on Beaver Lake. There are eleven public campgrounds on Beaver Lake. Beaver Lake is a huge reservoir and beautiful.

We didn't have any reservations for Lost Bridge North so we drove through  the campground and found a site we liked. Larry parked the Minnie and went online to make reservations. He tried to use my Senior pass to get 50% off but he couldn't. He called to see why. The lady, who helped us said that since we had already reserved a site at Prairie Creek for tonight the system would not allow us to use the card for another site on the same night. Larry asked about simply cancelling the first reservation but the system will not allow you to cancel a reservation that is in the process of being used. So we had to pay full price, which was $22.00. That isn't bad.

Camping at Lost Bridge North Campground

A squirrel enjoying its dinner

After setting the Minnie up for the night we had a salad for lunch. It was a gorgeous day so after lunch we decided to check out the hiking trail. The hiking trail parking lot was next to our site so it wasn't too far away. The trail was a 6.6 loop trail and it took us 3 hours. The trail was very challenging, it went up and down the hillside and through trees and creeks. There were a lot of leaves on the trail so we had to be careful. At places there were loose rocks and roots. There were two guys hiking the trail in front of us and they got to a place where the trail disappeared. When we caught up to them Larry went on his phone and using the trail map he had downloaded along with the GPS he found that the trail ran along the creek so we walked a bit and he was able to find the trail. The guys hiked with us for a bit. When we separated, because they were faster, they thanked us. The trail took us by nice rock formations and some of them formed caves. During the hike we saw an old farmer's pond and what was left of a 1900's farm. There was a sign that gave the history of the farm, it was the Schrader's Farm. We met up with the two guys a few times. By the old farm there were some primitive camps. We sat on a big boulder and rested. The trail took us along the bank of Beaver Lake and by the marina. A family of six passed us on the trail going the other way. We had a great hike, even though we were worn down at the end.

Old Farm Pond

 

One of the rock formations

The marina from the trail

 Another rock formation

 

The trial we did

 

Steps we took to the top

After our hike I played my computer games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. Then I did the Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 49 minutes and 28 seconds to complete, which put me in 15th in my group.

For dinner we had leftovers. After dinner I went on an hour hike/walk. I walked down to the shower building, which was a mile down the road to the main entrance. I started the walk by going around the campground because I missed understood what Larry told me. I took the trail to the main road, which was about .2 of a mile. The first time I went left instead of right. But that was ok because it took me by the marina, boat ramp and around the campground. The second time I took the trail to the main road and went right, which took me up and down the hill. At one point I had to walk up hill for a half a mile. I was exhausted by the time I got to the top but it was close to the showers. The showers were very old and rundown. We were thinking about using them on the way out but maybe not. The walk back didn't take me as long because it was mainly downhill. It was a workout. When I got home I finished doing my steps in place. I ended up doing 28,400 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group. 

After doing my steps I baked chocolate chip cookies. We spent the rest of the night reading.