It had to end

NOTE: This is the 12^th post of a multi-part series chronicling my family's two week vacation in the summer of 2010.

For links to the entire series, click here.

After the Grand Canyon, our two week summer vacation had nearly run its course. All that remained was the long drive back to central Arkansas. It was late afternoon by the time we left the South Rim, so we decided it would be best to find a place to spend the night.

We settled for the evening at the Quality Inn of Winslow, AZ. We slept in a decent room for a fair price. It wasn't anything fancy or luxurious, but we found nothing to complain about either. There was an inside pool that could be viewed from the rooms. The complimentary deluxe continental breakfast was one of the better we'd enjoyed in our many stays at various Choice Hotels across the West on this trip.

Almost 1200 miles separated us from home when we pulled out of Winslow, so we decided to take a couple of days to get there. Using the free wireless internet offered at our hotel, I was able to book a campsite for the next night at Santa Rosa Lake State Park in New Mexico. It was only about 400 miles from Winslow, but camping by a lake seemed like a good idea after two nights in hotels.

We arrived around 4:00 in the afternoon, plenty of time to set up camp and explore. The campsite we had reserved had running water and an electric hookup, so we were confident the girls would be happier here than they'd been in many of the campgrounds where we had stayed. There was a nice, covered concrete picnic table and for the first time in what seemed like ages, we weren't in bear country. So no warnings about food storage or what to do if a bear entered your tent. But that didn't mean there were no pests to annoy us.

Our first task was to set up camp. We unloaded the blazer and began the now practiced drill of erecting our tents. But this time we found a previously unknown adversary in our camping experience--ants. And plenty of them! As we tried to locate the smoothest spots to plant our canvass coverings we noticed quite a few of them scurrying around. But it wasn't until we began to drive the stakes into the ground that we realized the extent of the infestation.

The vibrations created by hammering the metal pegs into the hard ground apparently annoyed the army of ants camped just beneath the surface. Long before the tents were sufficiently tied down, the ground appeared to move as the six-legged critters emerged from their subsurface domicile. We finished the job and decided to explore a little, hoping our tiny neighbors would settle back in while we were gone.

The girls were hoping to find the lake suitable for swimming but that didn't work out. The campground sat high above the lake and it was a pretty good hike over a rocky path to make it to the shore. Once we reached the water's edge, the rocks and brush lining the lake made it difficult to locate a decent place to enter. Then, once we stepped into the water we realized it was way too cold to swim anyway. A little disappointed, we wandered back along the stony path to the campground.

Our ants had settled down, but there were still plenty to be seen. Using the provided picnic table, we were able to cook supper and eat before the insects could overtake us. The running water allowed us to clean up quickly, so we avoided being overwhelmed by our underground neighbors. But they did make it necessary to pack everything not in the tents back into the Blazer. Even though we were no longer in bear country, we wouldn't be able to leave our things outside.

We weren't able to keep all the ants out of our tents, but we did manage to get some sleep. The few that did get in would occasionally bite so the night was passed in a somewhat fitful sleep.

You've probably figured it out by now, but in case anyone is still unclear, this isn't a great place to camp in a tent. If you decide to spend the night here, I'd recommend doing it in an RV.

The next morning we awoke and quickly packed our things. The Blazer was loaded for the final leg, 800 miles, and we were all ready to get home.

The drive was uneventful for the most part, but there is one picture I'd like to share. Just east of Amarillo, TX we passed a huge metal cross beside the freeway. It was great to see this symbol of our Savior, communicating the message of salvation, proudly displayed beside the busy highway.

Reminded that all we had seen and done was made possible through Him, I said a little prayer thanking God for giving us the opportunity to share this experience as a family. He provided us the means and the desire to take the trip and it is my hope that, above all, these articles glorify Him.

We have decided to take another trip next year, but haven't yet decided on a destination. In the meantime, we'll be hiking at least once a month in Arkansas and will post articles and pictures describing those trails and their locations.

God bless and thanks for reading!