Camping in Hot Temperatures at Lake Milford Near Junction City, Kansas

Thursday we spent the morning running errands and checking lists to make sure we had everything for a two night stay at Lake Milford just outside of Junction City, Kansas. Carrie and I actually drove in to check our reservation the week before just to see where we would be and good thing we did as we ended up changing spots. The previous camp site we had we could not see the lake and there was not any shade to protect from what we knew was going to be an extremely hot couple of days camping. So, we changed spots and are happy with the new camp site.

We are going camping with Greg and Erin for the first time. I am beyond excited to spend a few days around the water and Friday we rented a boat although there will be more on that later in this update. Greg, Erin, Carrie, and I got together Monday night to go through our provisions, who was picking up what, and who was taking what in our cars. We already knew we would have to take two cars as Carrie and I fill up our Honda Pilot with no problem just the two of us camping. 

Thursday

We had a wonderful first night. Spent the afternoon/evening around our camp site. We have a very shady spot, so even though it was hot, it was not bad at all. We had to move our chairs around to avoid the sun, but it was not a problem. We cooked dinner late so that we could avoid the heat of the day which worked out well as we did tacos. They were excellent! We did them on the Firedisc along with the tortillas and we all ate well the first night. 

We stayed up late… I am not even sure what time we went to bed, but I know at one point I looked at my watch and it said 1 am. A perfect first night where we ate well, drank, laughed, and told stories.

Friday

The first night in the tent sleeping came with mixed reviews. Erin, Greg, and Carrie all did not sleep well. We had set up the tent to have each couple sleeping against the ends so we were sleeping at either end of the tent leaving the middle section completely open. I do not recall putting my head on the pillow before I woke up the next morning. Erin, Greg, and Carrie all were hot from the start and remained hot through the evening. Through the day on Friday, we discussed how we would adjust the sleeping to see if it made it better.

This day we had a boat rented and would be on the lake from 11:45 to 3:45, so we started the day with a light breakfast. We had to run to get ice for the boat before heading to the marina. The Acorns Resort where we went to get the boat had a nice set up. We rented a pontoon boat which was only about two weeks old the guy told us as we were getting set up on how to use the boat.

I really enjoyed our time on the water. Carrie had the idea the week or two before our camping dates as she wanted to surprise Greg and Erin with getting a boat to use for the day, but I think I was the one most excited about having the boat. Lake Milford is the largest lake in Kansas and although it had been a long time since I had driven a boat, I remembered everything like it was just yesterday.

 We wanted to find a spot where we could sit, float in the water, and chill, but we realized soon that not many spots on the lake were calm with the winds gusting through the day. There were white caps and no anchor in the boat we rented, so we ended up driving to one end and then floating. It was great! We tied off some life jackets so we could have a line to hold on to as we floated with the boat. Enjoyable day on the water and we are already talking of doing it again at the next site we go to camp.

Following the day on the water, we decided to drive around looking at various camp sites. We saw some sites we would like to book in the future. We also saw the log cabins that are available to rent and we want to do that sometime too. We got back from driving around looking at camp sites and decided to take some drinks down to the water, took our chairs, and wade out into the water. 

Dinner Friday night everyone was anxious to eat the meal. We were cooking bratwursts and fried potatoes which we did on the Firedisc. Our first time doing bratwursts on the Firedisc as well as the fried potatoes, but well worth the wait.

The evening was much more low key than our first night. Full from dinner, feeling good from drinks, we listened to the Royals game (won the game and snapped a losing streak), and played some games as we relaxed. Erin, Greg, and Carrie were concerned about going to bed and being warm, so Carrie and Erin made changes to our beds to move them to the center of the tent and changing how our bodies were positioned to move them away from the tent ends and into the middle of the tent.

I was in bed by midnight and sound asleep not long after. A fun second night and we packed a lot into our second day of camping. 

Saturday

Erin and Greg woke up early and started consolidating coolers. I got out of bed about 8 or 8:30. We did not have much planned for the day as it was packing up and heading back home day. We decided not to do breakfast and grab something on the way back to Topeka. 

As we packed, we saw other RVs and campers arriving for the weekend. So far after three camping adventures for Carrie and I, it is still a sad feeling as we begin to pack up and know that are camping is coming to an end. This is likely our last camping trip for the summer and we will resume again in the fall.

Wrapping Up

Our time at Milford State Park was a success and we had a great time. I think we have two more fans of camping in Greg and Erin. It was fun to have them on our camping adventure and to share in our stories. 

 We did learn as we were cleaning up on Saturday morning that with our camp site in the woods, we had a lot more spiders than Carrie and I had seen at our previous two camp sites. One spider we saw as we were taking down the tent as on the tarp we put our tent on. Erin pulled back a corner and made a comment about what she saw. The picture to the left is the spider that was hiding out under our tent. Erin threw the package of crackers to give perspective of the spider. I will just say that Erins’ reaction to seeing the spider to what I would have done was much more civilized. The spider lived as no one wanted to mess with it and it was really fast on the ground.

While our camping might be done of the summer, we did talk about going back to Milford State Park as there was a beach that was near our camp that we liked a lot as it felt like we were the beach with waves crashing into the shore. We might do a trip into the lake one weekend to enjoy the water.

The rental of the boat was perfect. I think we all had a great time with the boat, seeing the lake, camping, and the eating. We could all do without the spiders, but I think Carrie and I learned something about where to select for a camp site. This was in heavy tree line, so that appears to have increased the likelihood of spiders. The good news is that we have not seen any ticks, but the search continues. 

We also learned that when we can park the car is to offload and load the car is important. We were able to change camp sites which we are so happy we were able to do. The camp site we wanted was next door to the one we had for this weekend, but it was already taken. 

Until next time, happy camping and I leave you with some more pictures from our weekend…