Camping at Duck Creek

Hey guys,

I went camping with my mother on Wednesday – Thursday morning this week up at Duck Creek. We both had such an amazing time, from the scenery to little hikes we went on. This blog will mostly be pictures, since I took so many, plus pictures are worth a 1000 words sometimes. So I hope you enjoy as much as we did. 😉

We found a waterfall on the way so stopped to take a pic.

The road driving to Duck creek.

Passed by a really cool family fishing area that also had zip-lining!

More of the area at the Mystic River

The Mystic River was really cool, they have a stocked pond that you can catch and release, or save your catches. If you or your kids are new to fishing they are very helpful and willing to teach both of you the ways of the pole. If you decided your hungry they actually have an area to clean your fish and will cook it for you right then and there. Talk about fresh!

The lake and entrance to Duck Creek

The lake was so beautiful and clear. I wanted to jump right in! It was really easy finding our camp ground and checking in. All we had to do was drive into our space and set up camp.There was already a sticker saying our name and how long we were to be there.

our camp site

It was really easy to set up camp, took both me and my mom about fifteen minutes to set up our tent and bed inside. which gave me time to take a bunch of pictures along the way lol. After setting up camp we decided to head to the visitor center and find out some things to do in the area. The visitor center was right across the street from the campground so we didn’t have to travel far.  We were told about an ” Ice Cave ” and a “Waterfall” which threw me for a loop. An ice cave? Really? I was determined to see it! My mother wasn’t exactly ecstatic about the waterfall since it required a short hike.

Ice cave adventure

I was told that this cave was used by Native Americans to store food in the winter. The cave would fill up with snow and keep the food safe. Even though it is June, when I made it down I was shocked to see that there was still a sheet of ice along the whole bottom of the cave! It was cold and felt amazing, I could see my breath that’s how cold it was. My mom didn’t want to climb down since all there was, was a rope to get you back up. It was fairly easy to get back up, but upper body strength is a must to have!

nature we saw on our way to the cascade falls

After the cave we made our way to Cascade Falls. It was about a five mile drive to get there. The scenery on the way to get there was amazing! so many trees and green pastures. I instantly decided that one day I will on a farm with the same type of nature. There was an area that had lava rock everywhere, I didn’t ask about this so I don’t know the exact story behind it.

Parking area and trail head

some pictures along the hike

It was that long of a hike in reality. 3/4 of a mile one way, seemed shorter when you are always stopping and laughing along the way. The trail is really well kept and easy enough that anyone of any age could enjoy it. Just make sure to keep your small children next to at all times.

the falls

When we arrived at the falls I was flabbergasted, the view was amazing! They have an enclosed viewing area so you can safely take pictures of everything and anything. I kind of found a way around that and climbed as close as I dared get to the falls. All while giving my mother a heart attack lol.

While there in the viewing area it started to sprinkle, which I was happy about because I wanted to hike in the rain, my mother however didn’t want her camera wet so we turned around and started our hike back. It wasn’t raining too bad until we got about half way back. The drizzle turned into a  more constant rain and the sound of thunder made itself known. We picked up the pace for fear of getting stuck. That is when the hail started. It was small at first and really cool because I had never been stuck exposed to hail so I enjoyed it, until they started to get bigger. Laughing about the pain and running to the car was honestly the funnest part. Even though we were being attacked by it you couldn’t help but laugh at being stuck and having to endure it.

all wet from the rain and hail, but safe in the car!

We made it back to our campground and discovered we had forgotten to completely zip up our tent, so all of out bedding was soaked. First thing I did was start a fire so we could get these things dry! As the night carried on the sky and clouds had such pretty colors I needed to take a picture. It had finally stopped raining so we decided to visit Duck Creek Village and see what shopping we could do.

There was this neat shop we found, called The Lofty Nest, a cool little vintage shop that had some really great decorating pieces. I decided to get a vial of Dead Sea salt that was mixed with lavender for a relaxing bath salt.

Luckily while we were there we found an inn keeper that was so nice and let us use her dryer to dry our blankets. She said she was the only one in the area that actually had a washer and dryer, but they were planning on building a laundry facility in the area by next year.

After that we headed back to our tent with our newly dried bedding and called it a night. Between the rain and the hikes We both were tired.

breakfast

That morning we both woke up refreshed and ready to go, well I did, someone still needed some coffee! lol. After breakfast we started packing up camp and decided we were going to take a leisure scenic route back home and stop at all the shops we could. We found a couple rock shops, an antique store, and a potential spot for future camping. I bought a couple of crystals from both of the rock shops we passed. At the antique shop my mom ended up finding some sports memorabilia for her boyfriend  (Emmett Smith action figure and trading cards from his rookie year) I bought an old scroll for a self playing piano.

The first rock shop ‘Joe’s Rock Shop”

The second rock shop “The Rock Stop”

The Rock Stop actually had soft serve ice cream which was very tasty! It had some really great collections of rocks and I know for sure I will be back to talk more with one of the owners about crystals.

The antique shop

I loved going to antique shops back in California when I had nothing to do. So I was very happy to had discovered this place.

Overall it was an amazing trip, and although it was only a day it was so relaxing and laid back that it felt longer. Thanks Duck creek for all the laughs, I will definitely be back before the summer ends!