Dinosaurs, Caves, and Camping (part 2)

May 23-28, 2008---We arrived in Cave City late Friday afternoon and check into our cabin at Jellystone Park. There are not a lot of options for lodging in Cave City and we were actually excited about staying at the home of Yogi and Boo Boo. We rented a four bedroom 2 bath cabin titled Boo Boo's Bungalow (so appropriate for Chloe). Well, I can say it looked good on paper but reality was a different story. I have never stayed at a true campground and was totally shocked at the number of Billy Bobs and Bubbas surrounding us. It looked like Nascar was in town (haha--no offense to those of you who are into racing; you're an exception to the typical fan) . There were tents, RVs, and all their gear on every grassy surface to be seen. The cabins were all full too. Apparently it was standing room only at Jellystone. A lot of people were driving around on rented golf carts. You can imagine drunk rednecks racing on golf carts---quite an experience!

And don't even get me started on Boo Boo's Bungalow. We knew that each of the four bedrooms had bunk beds. One bedroom had one bunk bed with a full on bottom and twin on top. Rick, Chloe, and I took this room (even though Anna Catherine called it first). And no, we didn't put Chloe on the top bunk; we used it for storage. We brought Chloe's pack and play and put it in the corner. That filled our bedroom; it was the smallest bedroom. Each of the three other bedrooms had two sets of twin bunk beds. None of the bedrooms had a dresser or armoire but they did have a closet although it was smaller than a hotel closet. Jackson and Anna Catherine shared a room, Mimi had her own room, and the third was used as a playroom. The two bathrooms were very tiny as well. Each had a pedestal sink, toilet, and a standing shower and are very, very small. We did have a full size kitchen with a sink, refrigerator, stove, microwave, toaster, coffee maker, and a large table with eight chairs. There was no living room/den area. Very disappointed. We had to congregate in the kitchen, which is where most people gather, but there was no comfy furniture to veg on...just hard, wooden kitchen chairs. There was a flat screen plasma TV on the wall in the kitchen. It was the only television in the cabin and only received about six channels, one of which was auto racing 24 hours a day--very appropriate considering the typical clientele at this establishment. It was not working when we arrived and maintenance had to come out to fix it. Then it went out again Monday around noon and never came back on. Oh, I forgot to mention that the hot water heater sounds like Rick after too much Taco Bell. It belches and gurgles whenever you turn the hot water on. And it actually stopped working at least six times and had to be reset. We had our own bbq grill, fire pit, and a porch where the kids could play with their toys and blow bubbles. Rick, Anna Catherine, and Jackson toasted marshmallows and made s'mores.

I must admit Jellystone offers a lot of activities for families onsite. There was a swimming pool, kiddie pool, 300 foot water slide (which Anna Catherine went down at least twenty times one day), a putt-putt golf course, playground, indoor game room, outdoor movie theater, water wars, storytime with Yogi and Boo Boo, scavenger hunts, "hey" rides, arts and crafts, volleyball, basketball, bingo, karaoke, and dances.

Rick and his mom say it's not as bad as I make it out to be but honestly, I have not exaggerated any of my descriptions of the campsite. Maybe I have a negative opinion because I am not a camper. I must have a cabin with electricity, TV, and indoor plumbing in order to camp. I'm just not into becoming one with nature--to many critters, bugs, dirt, and boredom. I'm not high maintenance by any means but I'm just not into camping. I guess it hasn't been too bad and we will probably do this again. I'm trying. I really am. There are many Jellystone Parks yet to explore. There's even one in Mississippi between Jackson and Meridian. We may have to go down there for a long weekend. There are over a hundred Jellystone Park campsites nationwide.

The company website is http://www.campjellystone.com/

The website for our campground is http://www.jellystonemammothcave.com/