Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Clinton Lake

We're settling in for the sixth of six fabulous nights here at Clinton Lake. It's been a wonderful visit. The weather has been stellar, and our campground just can't be beat. This is a look at our first site, a 50 amp full-hookup pull-through in the Cedar Creek Campground.

Clinton Lake is yet another Corps of Engineers lake close to our old home town. The Corps operates five campgrounds around the lake. Two other campgrounds are located in the state park on the north side. With so many choices, you really can't go wrong finding a place to camp here. But, the Corps campgrounds are our favorite. We liked them so much we tried out two during our stay.

Long before this beautiful lake existed, the Wakarusa Valley was home to the towns of Sigil, Belvoir and Bloomington. A small piece of Bloomington history remains in this historic smokehouse that stands between the Hickory and Walnut Campgrounds in the aptly named Bloomington Park area of Clinton Lake. Over time, Bloomington changed its name to Clinton, which is now a place some 500 people call home in this small town adjacent to the lake.

In the 1850s, the people of Bloomington helped slaves escape through the Underground Railroad. Evidence of this important piece of history exists in the Clinton Cemetery, which is one of the oldest burial grounds in Douglas County. While searching for a geocache in the area, we spotted this headstone of a former slave.

We split our stay here between sites in two campgrounds. After spending three nights with all the "luxuries" Cedar Creek had to offer, we decided to "rough it" with a 30 amp and water back-in at nearby Walnut Campground. This campground closes September 30th, so we practically had the place to ourselves. We loved it!

Our site faces a treed area that houses all kinds of Kansas wildlife. The other night I followed the hoot of an owl and went looking for him. If you look ever so closely on this picture (click on it to enlarge), you'll see the well-camouflaged but very cute little guy.


Well, it's just about cocktail hour around here, so we'll close. We'll check in again soon from Kansas City. But, right now all we can say from here in these peaceful environs of eastern Kansas is....Cheers!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved the picture of the owl!!! I like the campground too, but the picture at the end????...I really like looking at some of my favorite people!!!

Sue and Doug said...

nice capture of the owl!!...glad to see you both celebrating happy hour!!..cheers!!

Erin said...

Good job getting a shot of the owl; looks like you had two lovely campgrounds to enjoy.