I think we're all glad to have turned the page from 2020...
Diesel wishes you the best smells and treats (and health!)
as we continue camping into 2021.
Friday, January 1, 2021
Thursday, December 31, 2020
2020 Camping Trips
July 10-12: Lockhart State Park (F) Site #5
July 17-20th: Brazos Bend State Park - Burr Oak (50a/W) Site #126
August 14-16th: Mission Tejas State Park (30a/W) Site #12 (Car Camping)
September 10-13th: Cedar Hill State Park - Eagle Ford Camping Loop (50a/W) Site #123
September 24-27th: Martin Dies Jr State Park - Walnut Ridge Unit (50a/W) Site #507
October 2-5th: Lake Corpus Christi State Park - Opossum Bend Loop (30a/W) Site #17
October 8-11th: Cedar Hill State Park - Lakeview Camping Loop (F) Site # 209 (Girl's Night)
October 29th - November 1st: The Vineyards Campgrounds on Lake Grapevine (F) Site #6 (Randshe's HalloWedding)
November 1st - Nov 2nd: Lake Tawakoni State Park - Spring Point Camping Loop (50a/W) Site #65
November 12-15th: Choke Canyon State Park (50a/W) Site #108
- November 19-22nd: Martin Creek Lake State Park - Bee Tree loop (50a/W) Site #39 (Sis and TJ)
- November 22-25th: Cooper Lake State Park - South Sulphur, Bright Star loop (50a/W) Site #5
- November 25-27th: Ray Roberts Lake State Park - Johnson Branch (30a/W) Site #61 (Thanksgiving)
- November 27 - 30th: Fort Parker State Park (30a/W) Site #10 (NOT a good park for large RVs)
December 10-13th: Mother Neff State Park Site (F) #20
- December 24th: North Little Rock/Junction I40, AR KOA (F) #G6
- December 25th: Nashville East/Lebanon, TN KOA (30amp) #25
- December 26th: Cartersville/Cass-ville White, GA KOA (F) #D11
- December 27th: Greensboro, NC KOA (F) #22
- December 28-31st: Jordan Lake Recreation Area, Apex, NC - Poplar Point (50a/no water at sites during winter months) Site C037
- December 31st - January 2nd: Falls Lake Recreation Area, Durham, NC - Rolling Hills (30a/W) Site A025 (New Year’s)
Auld Lang Syne
Thursday, New Year's Eve, we made the move from Jordan Lake to Falls Lake. With a run to WalMart to restock and the new site a fair bit further away from family (down some windy twisty back roads), there really wasn't much else we did that day except to head over to A&R's to smoke out steaks and enjoy a quiet NYE with them.
New Year's day, back at the new camp site, RDB and I started the year of right with a few mimosas.
Diesel, being too young to drink, spent the morning sleeping in and goofing off.
We had hoped to see RDB's lil sis and her family during our week in Raleigh, but it didn't work out. We stayed at the campsite Friday day hoping for one last try, but it just wasn't meant to be.
Thankfully, there were others who made the effort to come see us on our last day, including MS, one of RDB's long time friends, SPNC drove up after work, and A&R came back once more.
RDB grilled out hamburgers...
MS had brought a few nice cigars...
SPNC got to play with Diesel for a bit...
And A and I got to enjoy time chatting about life and family, frustrations and gratefulness.
I'm certainly grateful to have such a loving family in my life. And RDB's tea the next morning just confirmed even more-so what I already knew:
Saturday morning we packed up from Raleigh and hit the long road back home. We're taking a much slower pace, and a southern route, and I'm so looking forward to these next campsites and the adventures they will bring.
We were at Falls Lake Recreation Area, Rolling View loop, Site #25. 30amp and water - which they DO keep on during the winter months. The picnic table and fire ring are down a set of steps on a lower level of the site, and as you keep going down you'll be right on the water's edge. Plenty of room side to side to be able to park the trailer and truck next to each other. Very wooded - I'd imagine during the spring and summer months you probably can't even see the water, and in the fall, perhaps the leaves changing colors would be magical. It was a nice site, but we likely wouldn't come back to this one - simply because of the driving distance from north Raleigh down to Garner where the family is.
For more camping pictures, go here.
And for a quick primer on Auld Lang Syne, go here.
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
A Slice of Paradise
Monday evening, after we set up the camper, we drove over to RDB's parents to have dinner (RDB was craving Smithfield BBQ, so we checked that off the must-do list). It was great to see them and spend a bit of time with R Sr before he was scheduled to head into work (night shift). JN and BNDN live just a few houses up the street, so they and the kids came down to see us (and Diesel) before we headed back to the campsite. NC is under a state-wide curfew (10pm) as a way to combat coronavirus, and we wanted to respect that, so we made sure to get back before then.
Tuesday morning I got the blog caught up on our cross country chaos (the view above was my "desk" that morning- my goodness, I could work from this place forever!) RDB took a shower over in the bathhouse (we're conserving water in the camper since we don't have hook ups). He came back over and showed me the set up - no adjustments for hot and cold, and no knob to keep the water turned on. Come to find out, it's like the sinks in public bathrooms that are motion activated - he had to keep dancing in the shower to keep the water running!
JN and the kids came over to the campground after lunch and we did some geocaching. It was great to introduce them to the sport and to get out and enjoy a bit of the woods around the park.
We took dinner over to A&R's - including my favorite no bake pumpkin cream pie - and then brought the kids back over to stay the night in the camper with us. C cracked me up with his comment on the way back: "I wanted to see if I can handle the intensity of camping." Oh, bud, there's nothing intense about "glamping" with us!
Wednesday morning RDB's long time friend Cupcake came over. (So, obviously his name isn't Cupcake, but RDB has two friends here in NC with the same first name, and since this one's wife has a cupcake business, well, that's my nickname for him!) He brought his fishing gear and RDB got a fire going (it was back into the 20*s again last night). The kids did a little fishing, more exploring, and we all just enjoying being out here in this great campsite.
It was really great to see Cupcake and hear all the laughter between RDB and him; we were so grateful that he made the effort to come over to see us on this trip - good friends are hard to come by!
Ok, so maybe I call him Cupcake for a few reasons.... ;-)
We loaded the kids into the truck and took off down south to go visit Spuds. We couldn't stay for long (he was still at work) but it was worth it to get the few moments with him and for the kids to see their big brother. We're hoping he gets a bit of time off work New Years and we'll get to spend more than just a moment with him. The B men can really grow that facial hair!
We rounded off the evening back at the camper with A&R and the kids in tow. Since they live just a few houses down, the kids will ride back with their grandparents this evening. In the meantime, we're enjoying a couple glasses of wine (the adults) while they (the kids) are playing our Nintendo switch.
Today is Wednesday (I have to keep reminding myself) and we're about half way thru our time here in Raleigh. Tomorrow we switch campgrounds, need to do a Walmart run to restock, and then plan to spend New Year's Eve down at A&Rs smoking steaks and welcoming in another year.
We were at Jordan Lake Rec Area, Poplar Point in site C37. WE WILL BE BACK. It was such an incredible location with the view of the lake and the length of the site. 50/30amp and water, but know that in the winter months the camping loops do not have water at the sites though you can get your tanks filled again with potable water at the bathhouse and dump stations. Internet here was fast enough that I could blog and upload pictures without much issue. We loved this spot, and kinda wish we were here for the whole week!
For more camping pictures, go here.
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Camping Cache: Pittsboro, NC
Found:
Stow-away
Hwy 64 Pit Stop
Stop & Grab - Sugar Lake
Did Not Find:
Columbidae
Balboa
RDB and I had a great time introducing JN and the kids to Geocaching while we were in town. I'll say this - they were all great sports, as the first two we tried to find, thinking it would be an easy set along the riverbank, well, they weren't easy at. all. The trail had washed out right beside the parking lot (that should have been our first clue) and with the fallen leaves, obvious water line from recent rains, and the GPS having issues since we were down in a ravine, well, those were definite DNFs. I was super proud of Sis though, for forging thru and taking those leaps of faith from rock to rock over the waters!
We also released two trackables into the wide - one for T and one for C - to commemorate their first finds!
Monday, December 28, 2020
Cross Country Camping Chaos
From Houston to Little Rock to Nashville to Anderson to Raleigh, and then back home. 18 days camping and our longest trip away from home in the new camper.
We're heading to Raleigh to spend the New Year's holiday with RDB's family - and hopefully see a few of our friends from there during our week long stay as well. Leaving from Houston on Christmas Eve, then heading back Jan 2nd, we'll be home to TX on Jan 10th. Long trip, but great itinerary.
We made a few additions to the camper to have a little fun along the way:
We started out a bit later in the day then planned, but I have to remind myself sometimes, that's normal. I can want/think that we're leaving at 7am in the morning to get a jump on things, and if we don't leave till noon or later, guess what? It's still 100% ok.
And I suppose, that's a big part of the learning curve on our first cross country COLD trip - that we can plan a lot of things to work out just fine, and then, well, they don't. And that's ok.
So, here's what was happening:
We made it to our Little Rock, AR KOA as planned on Christmas eve, even arriving with enough Christmas spirit to put up a few Christmas decorations.
I'd been watching the weather for this trip - knowing that we were taking the northern route and trying to be prepared for cold weather. We had purchased a heated water line (damn, those are pricey!) and our camper already came with the "all-season" package - heaters for the fresh/gray/black tanks, as well as additional insulation on the floors of the slides.
What we didn't expect was that the furnace, both electric and gas, would stop working. And of course, we didn't know this until we were already set in our site in Arkansas, with the nightly temps expected to get into the 20s.
Don't worry about Diesel - in all of these issues, I think he was 100% just fine!
We left our chilly Christmas morning in Little Rock heading out to Nashville and on our way the news broke about the intentional attack on the AT&T building in downtown. Thankfully, we had no plans to go downtown, but unfortunately, this meant that cell service was down in the region - and that impacted our BRIX hotspot in the camper (and the phone lines of the local 911, as well as the phone lines of the local RV dealership we reached out to to help with the next set of problems).
So, we knew we had an issue with the furnace not working - and I posted on the TX Camping and RVing Facebook community to see what others had experienced, but in addition to that problem, we noticed on our lunch break that the fridge was not running off the power inverter from the truck battery. Good thing about the frozen temps is that the fridge turning into a cooler wasn't the biggest of our problems.
The biggest of our problems was the water line leaking in the basement of our camper. Again. And the water heater not heating water. Again. I've honestly lost count how many times we've had the techs at Ron Hoover working on these issues - as recently as the day before we left for this trip.
We arrived in Nashville with no heater, no water, a fridge that only worked on shore power, and phone and internet issues. Exhausted, we cuddled up and went to bed. And froze.
We were both wide awake around 3am. (Cold will do that to you.)
We bundled up and stepped outside, armed with troubleshooting ideas from our Facebook community; we were just too tired to try anything when we rolled in and set up for the night, thinking we could make it thru like we did in Arkansas; but 19* is a whole lot colder than 29*. (Cold will motivate you, too, ya know.)
Flashlight in hand, we opened up the backside of the furnace, threw the main switch off and on again, toggled the sail switch and as luck would have it - the heater started!! You might have heard our celebratory high-five a few miles away.
The following morning, we called the local Route 66 dealer, who was literally just 2 miles up the road from the KOA, to ask for help with the leak issue, and they totally blew us off. Not worth mentioning their name here, but I sure plan to blast them on Yelp and Google... we were completely shocked by their lack of customer service when an out-of-towner in their service network was having a problem. Shame on them. I'll be sure to lodge a complaint with Route 66 as well.
With no help in sight for the water leak, we packed up from the East Nashville/Lebanon KOA and continued the journey down towards Anderson, SC for our next stop (heading south, as planned, now that we had picked up a bottle from Nelson's Greenbriar Distillery) We'd have to make other arrangements for the leak (like putting a pickle bucket underneath it in the basement to catch the water for the duration and just dumping it as need be.)
When we stopped for dinner, RDB worked on the inverter and (thank goodness!) the fridge began working again! We were starting to feel a bit positive!
But then as we continued down into Georgia, the traffic began to snarl around Lookout Mountain. What should have taken 2 and a half hours had taken 4 and a half, so we decided to find a closer KOA and give up the attempt at making it to Anderson, SC that evening. Cartersville KOA to the rescue - with a 50amp full hook-ups site that we settled into.
Crossing our fingers as we hooked up, the furnace came on (yeah!), the fridge was working properly (yippee!) and the water heater was producing wonderful, glorious hot water! (hoorah!). The showers we took Sunday morning definitely bolstered our mindset.
 |
| Small things to be grateful for. |
Our original plan had us arriving in the Raleigh area Sunday afternoon, and it was still plausible, but with the traffic delays we hit Saturday, it was going to be a solid 7 hours on the road and we'd be arriving long after dark. Not a problem, we do that often in our weekend trips in Texas state parks. I started looking up the details to call the NC state park and find out their late check-in procedures, when I noticed online that they locked their gates at 6pm. Ok, not problem, the parks in TX do that too, they just give us the gate code. As I continued reading, I was informed that they do NOT give out the gate code (emphasis theirs).
Well. That's a problem.
We certainly wouldn't be there in time on Sunday evening so we had to make other arrangements (Greensboro KOA to the rescue!). And beyond just Sunday, a 6pm "curfew" really puts a damper on hanging out with family and friends- either at the campsite or at their homes, as everyone is still working this week. We may have to find somewhere else to stay altogether. Ugh.
(Side note: I just read back thru what I've written, and twice I said "KOA to the rescue!" You know what? I'm totally feeling that vibe this weekend! Thank goodness we've found them as a resource on this long distance trip - having the chance to drop in near the highways and byways, as we've "Kamped Over America," has really been a blessing!)
The nice thing about the stop in Greensboro is that it meant our final destination was only an hour and a little bit away the next morning. Back in the truck, one more time, to drive those final miles... not that Diesel minded at all, he just curls up in the back seat, farts occasionally (bad enough that we roll down the windows and THAT wakes him up) and hangs out until we get to where we're going. Spoiled pup.
I called the NC State campground again to see if I could get a live person to pick up (it was only answering machines over the weekend) and thankfully got to talk to a ranger. Come to find out, no, they don't have a curfew in the park - they stopped closing the gates at night about a month ago (gee, I wonder why!) but yes, they have turned off water in the individual sites, but there's two different places where we can refill our onboard freshwater tanks during our stay.
And once again, everything was ok.
We made it in to the Jordan Lake Rec Area - Poplar Point late afternoon. Y'all - I had forgotten that we were in a site on the water. With an incredible view of Jordan Lake....
More to come, we're here for a few days. Just so grateful to be settling in for a fun week with family.
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