Little Miss Firecracker

The far end of a swimming beach on the Bogue Chitto River

For nearly a year, my friend Shawn has been inviting me to come out to her camp on the weekends. She and her husband bought a little piece of land and a trailer out near the Bogue Chitto River, near where he has some family land. It's about a two-hour drive, and Shawn has been having a ball fixing it up. 

If you know me at all, you know that I love fireworks. Like, I LOVE THEM. But there are a lot of rules (i.e. - laws) about when you can buy fireworks (only a few days right around July 4th and New Year's Day) and where (on private land, not within city limits, etc.) you can set them off. So, though I do buy my own fireworks for home celebrating, most of the really BIG fireworks to be had are typically observed at formal fireworks shows put on by professionals. (And those shows are wonderful.) 

The downside? These events are crowded, parking is a pain in the rear, it can be hard to get a good seat/vantage point, etc. 

River girl

So it seemed serendipitous this July when Independence Day rolled around, and Shawn invited me to the camp. There's plenty of private land there. You're out in the country, so you don't have any city ordinances about noise, etc. And the forecast for the weekend was clear. Off I went!

When Judith, a mutual friend of both Shawn and I, heard I was coming, she declared that she and her hubs would come, too, and bring their RV. (It was sounding more like a party all the time!) I threw a bunch of gear in a bag, and we headed out. 

When we arrived, I got the lay of the land. The camp is affectionately called the Bogue Chitto Yacht Club. It's a series of plots of land in close proximity to the river. Each plot has a little cabin, a trailer or some other place to nestle. There are some communal beaches where members swim, set up their chairs and hammocks, and otherwise hang out to swim, fish and socialize. 

After we arrived and got settled, we all put on our swimsuits and went down to the beach to relax. The afternoon was gorgeous, and the river water was the perfect temperature. I loved swimming down to one end of the beach and then floating on my back as the river's gentle current carried me to the other end. We stayed at the river, watching the sun get lower, until our rumbling stomachs sent us back to the trailer.

There, we showered and made dinner before sacking out for the night.

The next morning, we made a big breakfast in Shawn's outdoor kitchen. (Though Shawn's trailer is small, there's a huge outdoor deck around it. Shawn had wasted no time in outfitting it with an outdoor gas range, bar and seating area.) We cooked and ate, then took a quick walk around the piece of Shawn's family land. Her husband's family owns a pretty big tract, and parts of it front the river. They'd been out there, clearing the walking trails, and it's a nice little loop. They'd also set up a cool tent camp out there. 

Once we got back to the trailer, we changed into our swimsuits for float day on the river. 

Shawn, Judith and I all had inner tubes for the river float, and the boys were in canoes. The girls all tethered their inner tubes together, loaded our on-board cooler hatches with White Claws and headed out.

Low light above the water

This was so. Much. FUN! You had to watch the river, because there were plenty of obstructions in the water to navigate around - tree stumps, fallen branches, shallow rocky areas, etc. (This is also why good water shoes are a must for this activity.) But we had a BALL, hooting and hollering, drinking our drinks, and taking turns getting in the water to keep our little floating party rolling merrily along. 

Somewhere near the end of the float, poor Judith didn't bank quick enough, and her inner tube was popped by an errant branch. I tell you, she didn't seem at all disappointed as she hopped in one of the canoes, letting one of the boys paddle her away like the Queen of Sheba as she downed the last cold beer! 

This was such a fantastic day. The weather was perfect, the river water was cool and refreshing and the company couldn't have been better. Ten out of ten! 

When we got back to the trailer, we showered and made dinner. Once we'd rested a bit, it was time for the show! I had purchased 2-3 big bricks of fireworks. (I really like the kind where you light one fuse, and then the brick shoots fireworks for a couple of minutes. It's a big return for a small effort. The only thing to remember here is that you need to thoroughly douse the brick with water once it's finished firing.) 

We'd been telling a few other folks at the camp that we planned to shoot off fireworks that night, so when we arrived to the open area, we found other campers there with their fireworks, too! We set out our folding chairs, and the boys lit each firework in turn. It was such a great show! And then, we got to see the fireworks the other campers brought, too! 

I went to bed EXTREMELY happy that night.

After another big, gorgeous breakfast the next morning, we packed up and headed home. I was treated to such warm, open, loving hospitality on this trip, and our travel party had so many good conversations and laughs the whole weekend. If I can weasel my way into more invitations, this could become an annual tradition!