Spring Break 2025 - Day 1&2 Broken Bow

Spring Break 2025 brought us back together with D and the Jboys for another trip - kind of. Since 2013, D and I have gotten together to go on road trips with her 4 boys and my Boogs. Last year, we got together a few times but did not have a road trip. So D and I started asking the boys back in October 2024 if they would like to go on a camping trip for Spring Break 2025. Our Spring Breaks happened to line up this year.  J2, J3, and J4 were asked if they would like to go, J2 and J4 said yes. So we started planning a trip for 5. We wanted to go to Utah and see Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. 

We planned out the trip to meet up on Friday evening, March 14th, and head out early Saturday morning. We wanted to return on Sunday March 23rd. About 10 days before we were supposed to leave, J2 announced that his job would not let him off of work for that long. When he was hired, he had it in writing that he would need those days off. His job had agreed. Now, they were telling him he could take off from Saturday 3/15 to Wednesday 3/19, if he did not show up on Thursday 3/20 they said they would consider it "job abandonment" and fire him. He went back and forth with them and that was it. So, we made some adjustments and planned to shorten the trip. J3 then told us that he had taken off of work to join us on the trip even though he had been saying since October that he did not want to go. He informed us that he had taken off Monday through Friday for the trip. AAAAAAAA! It was so much easier then they were little boys and we could drag them around with us whenever we chose. D and I got together and tried to figure out how to make the trip work with J3 dates taken into consideration. 

We decided to scrap the trip to Utah. I guess going to Utah as a group is just not going to happen. This is the second Utah trip we have planned that did not work out. We talked about camping sort of close to Dallas and taking day trips into the city, that way J2 and J3 could drive out when they were available to join us. D said she really wanted to "cross a state line or it would not feel like a trip". Sigh. Texas is big. It would take 9 hours to cross into New Mexico, almost 6 hours to cross into Louisiana, and a little over 4 hours to cross into Oklahoma. 

D and I met up to go to a baby shower together and we sat in the parking lot and planned the trip in 20 minutes. We decided to go to Broken Bow, Oklahoma to the Ouachita Mountains for Saturday through Wednesday and then head back to Dallas Wednesday evening so J2 could go home and J3 could join us for parts of the trip. D and I are getting old and grumpy. We decided to rent an Airbnb cabin in Broken Bow Saturday through Wednesday instead of tent camping. We planned on camping Wednesday night through Sunday morning near Dallas. Reservations were set for the first part of our trip and we were ready to go.

Unfortunately, J2 had forgotten to set his alarm clock after Daylight Savings day and was late to work the Monday before our trip. At his work, anyone who came in late that Monday had to work on Saturday morning. It was one thing after another to take this trip. Boogs and I drove up to GiGi's house in Waco to meet up with D and J4 and wait for J2 to get off work. He was supposed to be off work at 11. But of course that did not happen.

We sat around playing cards while we waited. J2 was finally ready to leave for the trip at 3 pm. For some reason, GiGi insisted she take a picture of D and I with our faces covered with hair. I don't know... 

It was a 4 1/2 hour drive to Broken Bow from GiGi's. We had booked the Grande Welcome of Broken Bow cabin. It was a great place to stay. The hosts were amazing and responsive.

We had plenty of room with two large bedrooms and a bunkroom. 

The back porch had an outdoor dining table and a hot tub.

The boys loved the air hockey game.

We had dinner and settled in for the night. The weather was much cooler than we had been having in Austin. It was nice to use the hot tub but cold when getting out.

After breakfast on Sunday morning, we went to Beavers Bend State Park. The boys quickly remembered how much they hate the number of pictures D and I take on these trips. 

The park was REALLY busy. We decided to get away from the number of visitors by leaving the visitor center area and trails to go to another trail head a few miles away. The Cedar Bluff Trail was very pretty and well maintained. We had a nice a little hike.

We told the boys we should try staying in a yurt the next time we come back here. They said they preferred the cabin.

We spent the rest of the evening hanging out at the cabin. They boys tried to play badminton but it was very windy and a neighbor's dog was being aggressive. We played card games, set up hammocks on the back porch, watched a movie, napped, worked on a puzzle, used the hot tub. It was a really relaxing day.

It was kind of chilling on the shady back porch.

D and I were discussing what to make for dinner. I cannot remember exactly how the conversation was going but at one point Boogs looked at me and asked, "Potato?" I can't remember why it was so funny at the time, but D and I laughed for a long time. I took this pic right as Boogs was saying Potato.

It was great to have the hockey table. It got a lot of use during our visit.

We played SkipBo, Five Crowns, Phase 10, and a card game GiGi had introduced us to.

The cabin was really nice. I thought the only big problem it had was the lack of window covering. I took this giant picture off the wall each night to cover the front door windows. We thought this painting was something the owner's child had made but we looked it up and this artist has actually had gallery showing. We also used quilts to cover the bedroom windows.

It was a great first day of our trip. We had lovely weather, good meals, fun, and plenty of time to relax. We tried to book a four wheeler ATV tour for the boys, but found out they were to young to drive.