It has been nearly a week since you last heard from us. In large part, that was because we chose to spend Spring Break in a place that was above the cell towers in Arkansas.

As John Muir once said, “The mountains are calling and I must go.”

About a year ago, my friend Joshua Martin and I made reservations for our families to camp at Mount Magazine State Park in Paris, AR.

It’s funny what can happen when you put yourself in a location with very little in recreation other than your own creativity. The closest town was at the foot of the mountain about 30 minutes away. So, we filled our time with hiking, sitting around a campfire telling stories, and learning to tie knots.

I have often found myself in situations where I needed to know how to tie specific knots, which meant I needed to up my game. Plus, I thought it would provide something fun to add to the blog.

After I mastered the basic knots, which I will cover in future posts, we moved on to more adventurous things, like making an emergency safety harness for the kids. It was a surprisingly simple thing to do. Joshua is never short on rope or carabiners, so we were ready to roll.

The kids were more than happy to be hoisted into a nearby tree.

After that, we fashioned a tree swing from a piece of firewood. That swing kept the children entertained for days.

The weather varied widely while we were there. It was beautiful and sunny the first day. By the second day, a creepy fog crept over the mountain. We took it as a sign that we should stage our own version of zombies coming from the woods. (If you want to see something entertaining, be sure to watch the creepy children late in the video on this post.)

The fog was followed by a couple of days of rain.

The rain was followed by strong winds and extreme cold.

It made for quite the memorable week with friends.

As far as campgrounds go, Mount Magazine was a nice place to visit. There are only about a dozen campsites, which means that the campground isn’t crowded. We never had to worry about passing trucks or campers while the kids played.

There is also a lodge with a restaurant nearby. I didn’t have high hopes, but the food was surprisingly good.

Finally home, I wanted to share this video to give you a taste of our week camping in under 9 minutes.

Now, there is only one question to ask. Where do we go next?