This Tennessee Camping trip marked the first time my friend group had all been together in about 5 years. To say this trip was special would be an understatement. We were all coming from different directions. Scott and I headed south from Lafayette, IN, with some cloudy weather and rain. We had his two pups in the backseat being extra cute during the car ride. As soon as we hit Tennessee the clouds cleared up but left us with some super sticky humidity. But nothing was going to ruin this trip, so we were fine with it. By the way, that was not foreshadowing haha!

We pulled up and our friends Taylor, Kyle, Trent, & Rachel had beat us there by just a little bit. We set up camp at Bandy Creek Campground, a stunning area nestled in the trees, and close to running water bathrooms (the one thing Taylor requested haha). Big shout out to Kyle for picking the best location and planning the entire trip! I’m usually the one to plan every last detail but put my faith in Kyle this time and he came through big time!

While the boys started a fire and dinner, the girls played a few games of mini pool. Thank you Rachel for the outstanding purchase of the mini pool table. Rachel and I had gotten super into playing pool since she moved back home, so clearly we couldn’t take even just a few days off from our streak. For dinner, Scott & Kyle’s dad, Chef Dave, always hooks us up with the best meats and veggies. We sat around the table and spent the rest of the night talking about our old memories and making new ones.

The following morning we woke up to some mist, fog, and dew… and along with that, high humidity again. But that’s Tennessee in the summer for you. We started our adventure filled day with the best breakfast tacos in the world and a hike alongside the Bandy Creek. We stopped for a group picture on the way to our view, listened to Scott talk about the coal and silty clay loam (nerd alert), and eventually realized we took the wrong trail. No idea where we were actually supposed to go, but the real adventure is the friends you made along the way hahaha

After our hike, Scott and I hung around the campgrounds alone while the rest of the crew fetched firewood and other essentials for the evening. Both the pups were being extra cute this day so I couldn’t help myself from taking tons of pictures of them. Even seeing them in the background of photos cracks me up. After the rest of the crew returned, Rachel and I got our fix of mini pool again and the boys started cooking up the BEST steak I have ever had in my entire life. I remember Kyle being a little disappointed that they were over cooked, but I’m telling you, I still, to this day, think about that steak at least once a month.

In the morning we started with several cups of coffee before heading out on our second hike along the Sunset Overlook Trail. This hike was more like a walk, super mild and a short distance. But this time we busted out the map to make sure we knew exactly where we were going. Taylor & Rachel especially loved stopping for pictures of all the pretty flowers. And this is when I learned how to identify poison ivy. Now I use it as a party trick during my photo session. Gotta keep my clients safe if we’re walking through the woods! Oh! This is also about the time I saw a black widow spider for the very first time!

Back at camp, it was finally time for our group effort dinner! The boys called them hobos. It was just a plethora of meats and veggies we had left over that we threw in some foil and tossed on the fire. This was one of my favorite parts of our entire Tennessee camping trip. It was chaotic and messy, but we got to make our dinner together, and that felt extra special to me. For the remainder of the night we sat around the fire, went star gazing (which is how I found the constellation Scorpius for the first time – now one of my favorite constellations), and laughed until we cried. Or at least I was crying haha In the morning it was time to pack up and head our separate ways, but not before taunting Kyle about his hatred for ketchup one last time.