Last weekend we checked another item off of our 2016 fall bucketlist - camping at Jellystone Park {Yogi Bear} for their Fall Fiesta event. It's usually one of our favorite things to do in the fall and we look forward to it each year. But sadly, this will be our last year to camp there....
We've had some issues in the past with Jellystone, but put them aside and thought we'd give them another shot. We really do enjoy our time there, even if it costs a million bucks. {ha!} But, after this last trip we will most definitely not be going back.
My in-laws were about 45 minutes ahead of us when they arrived at Jellystone on Friday afternoon. We started getting texts that they damaged the camper by putting us in a spot that was entirely too little. The guy that led them to our camping spot waved them on through and said they were clear, but that wasn't the case at all. A tree hit the top of the camper and peeled back a layer of the roof. It was bad! There are several different deep gouges in the roof and the whole thing will need to be replaced. The staff had to get a chainsaw and cut down almost half of the tree in order for us to get the rest of the camper in the way-too-little-for-our-camper spot! And even then we didn't fit. We were hanging out on both ends. The owner {who was conveniently out of town} was called and notified of the incident and all he had to say was, "Well, they will have to follow up with their insurance" and that was it. No apology from him even though it was without a doubt their fault, not a comped stay, no free passes to any of the events that cost extra on top of the stay, NOTHING! I mean, it was the least they could have done. The camper will probably cost thousands to repair. I felt so horrible about the whole incident. I mean, if it weren't for us & Mason they probably never would have camped there. We were all pretty down on Friday, but we tried to make the best of the weekend.
Once we finally got our welcome packet and wristbands {a whole other issue} we signed up for the events we were interested in. Then Mason and I got in line for the Hocus Pocus Hey Hey Hey ride. It was enjoyable. After the hayride we hung out and decorated the campsite before our 8:30pm ticket time for the Haunted Hill. It's basically a trail you walk and scary things jump out at you. It was fun, but pretty short and there weren't too many people working the hill. So there were times you walked for a while without anything happening.
Saturday morning we had to be at the Bear's Den at 10:00 to get our pumpkin seeds for the magic pumpkin planting. In the years past you rode a hayride to the magic pumpkin patch, plant your seeds and then they bring you back. This year they handed out the seeds and then you were on your own as far getting over to the patch {a good ways away} and planting them. We went ahead and drove over to the patch to get it done so that we could leave and head to our favorite pumpkin patch, Mainstay Farm. Which is where we spent Saturday evening. But that's a whole separate post to come.
After we returned from Mainstay Farm I took Mason & Diesel to the playground while everyone else hung out at the camper and watched college football. Mason had a blast and made many new friends. I love how easily he makes friends!
After we played for a couple of hours at the park Mason wanted to put on his costume and go play at the Backstreet Patio. They have giant Jenga, Connect Four, Bean Bag Toss, and ping pong tables set up in that area. On our way back he found a group of kids to play with! They had so much fun and would chase each other among our group of campsites. And then our neighbors invited us over for some pinata fun.
After that it was time to start getting ready for Trick or Treating. It's so fun and neat to trick or treat among the campers and the cabins. Many of the campers participated this time. Mason made it a few rows and then he was ready to head back and hand out candy. He sat next to my father in law as still as could be with the bucket of candy. Everyone thought he was fake. Right when they would reach for candy out of his bucket he would jump at them and scare them! It was hilarious and he was the talk of the campgrounds that night. Everyone loved it!
After we passed out candy to the trick or treaters we grilled some hotdogs on the campfire. Then Nate and Mason left for the Zombie hunt. They rode in a hayride that was equipped with paintballs and drove around and shot zombies. They had fun but said it was short and there were not enough zombies to shoot at. Once they returned we had Frankenstein Floats and then called it a night.
Sorry for the super long post. I may have a problem when it comes to taking too many photos!!
And with our 2016 Halloween Pajama and Costume Party!
