RVing – Page 3 – Wandering Dawgs

Throwback Thursday #10 – October 24, 2014

October 24, 2019October 23, 2019Posted in Alabama, RVingTagged autumn, Deerlick Creek COE, Memories, Throwback Thursday9 Comments

We’re not traveling as much in our fifth wheel anymore so I thought it would be fun to relive some of our most memorable days from previous RV trips.

Five years ago, on October 24, 2014, we were camped at Deerlick Creek Campground, a Corps of Engineers park near Tuscaloosa, Alabama. We were returning home after a fall RV trip to Missouri and Arkansas to attend University of Georgia away football games.

We always enjoy staying in Corps of Engineers parks so we went out of our way to stay at Deerlick Creek near Tuscaloosa. The park is located on Holt Lake on the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway in the rolling hills northeast of Tuscaloosa. What I didn’t know when I made the reservations was the campground is very hilly and some of the sites are difficult to get in and out of for a 35 foot fifth wheel.

This campground was like no other COE campground we had ever been to. Instead of being at lake level, the lake was way down at the bottom of the hill. Even the waterfront sites were located above the lake.

Our site was one of those that was difficult to get in and almost impossible to get out of. The road was narrow and our site was a back in site near the top of a hill. To back into the site took great skill on Henry’s part avoiding ditches and other obstacles. The good news is, it was a beautiful site with a few steps up to our picnic table behind the camper. When we finally got set up and had a chance to look around, we realized it would be almost impossible to get out of.

Overall, we still enjoyed our stay. Behind our campsite was a private area with picnic table and fire pit surrounded by trees.

There was not enough room for us to make a left turn out of the campsite so when it was time to leave our only option was to make a right turn down the hill, navigate a narrow hairpin turn with campers and cars right on the edge of the road, go to the bottom of the hill and turn around. Many thanks to the nice campers who helped us negotiate the tight turn at the bottom of the hill!

20141024Deerlick-Creek-(2) — A hairpin turn down the hill was in our future

Although we had a worrisome night wondering how we were going to get out, we survived to tell the tale. I would return to this park but not to site 28!

Find out more about our stay at Two COE Campgrounds in Alabama.

Throwback Thursday #9 – October 17, 2017

October 17, 2019October 16, 2019Posted in Georgia, North Carolina, RVing, WaterfallsTagged autumn, Memories, Nantahala National Forest, Scenic Drive, Scenic drives, Throwback Thursday8 Comments

We’re not traveling as much in our fifth wheel anymore so I thought it would be fun to relive some of our most memorable days from previous RV trips.

We spent this day two years ago, October 17, 2017, on scenic mountain roads visiting waterfalls in Nantahalla National Forest in North Carolina, and Sylvan Falls in Georgia.

20171017NC-Nantahala-National-Forest-Waterfalls-(18) — Dry Falls near Highlands, NC in the Nantahala National Forest

20171017NC-Nantahala-National-Forest-Waterfalls-(54) — Fall Colors in the Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina

20171017NC-Nantahala-National-Forest-Waterfalls-(83) — Behind Bridal Veil Falls near Highlands, NC

20171017NC-Nantahala-National-Forest-Waterfalls-(70) — Small waterfall beside Hwy 64 between Highlands and Franklin, NC

20171017Sylvan-Falls-(3) — Sylvan Falls in Mountain City, GA

There’s more about these and other mountain adventures two years ago at Wandering in the Georgia and North Carolina Mountains

Throwback Thursday #8 – October 3, 2007

October 3, 2019October 3, 2019Posted in Historic Sites, North Carolina, RVingTagged autumn, Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge Parkway, Cherokee NC, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Memories, Scenic drives, Throwback Thursday10 Comments

We’re not traveling as much in our fifth wheel anymore so I thought it would be fun to relive some of our most memorable days from previous RV trips.

Flash back to twelve years ago, October 3, 2007. We were camping in Cherokee, North Carolina, our home base for visiting the Great Smokey Mountain National Park and the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was foggy and drizzling for most of our stay but we managed to get in some sightseeing and scenic drives while we were there.

We started the day with a three mile hike along the Oconaluftee River inside Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

20071003Blue-Ridge-Parkway-(7) — Oconaluftee River in Great Smokey Mountain National, Park

20071003Blue-Ridge-Parkway-(2) — Beaver evidence next to the river

Next up was a scenic drive starting at the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The farther north we got, the thicker the fog. After a while it drizzling. I was able to get a few photos before before the weather got too bad.

20071003Blue-Ridge-Parkway-(15) — Old homestead on Blue Ridge Parkway, NC

20071003Blue-Ridge-Parkway-(16) — Old homestead on Blue Ridge Parkway, NC

20071003Blue-Ridge-Parkway-(18) — Blue Ridge Mountains, NC

It was a wonderful fall getaway with camping in Cherokee, visiting the national park, and taking drives on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Throwback Thursday #7 – September 19, 2016

September 19, 2019September 17, 2019Posted in Arkansas, Birds, RVingTagged Jones Bar-B-Q Diner, Memories, Mississippi River State Park, Throwback Thursday7 Comments

We’re not traveling as much in our fifth wheel anymore so I thought it would be fun to relive some of our most memorable days from previous RV trips.

On this day 3 years ago, on September 19, 2016, we were camping at Mississippi River State Park, a small Arkansas park located in the Mississippi Delta on the Crowley’s Ridge Parkway and the Great River Road within the St. Francis National Forest. We had driven through a fierce thunderstorm the day before and were ready to kick back and relax for a day.

We drove into the nearby town of Marianna, Arkansas in the morning to pick up some James Beard Award winning barbeque from Jones Bar-B-Q Diner. We discovered this place on a previous visit and knew that the restaurant often sold out by noon.

With enough food for dinner that night and some extra to put in the freezer to take home, we returned to the campground to do some camp chair sitting in one of the best waterfront campsites we’ve ever had.

20160918Mississippi-River-State-Park-(3) — Water front camping at it’s best, Beech Point Campground on Bear Creek Lake

This Great Blue Heron, an egret, and some turtles kept us entertained as we enjoyed the peace and quiet for the rest of the day.

20160919Mississippi-River-State-Park-(41) — This heron entertained us while we were relaxing in our campsite

20160919Mississippi-River-State-Park-Egret-(3) — Great Egret at Mississippi River State Park, Arkansas

Our melt in your mouth delicious pulled pork dinner was a perfect meal to end the day.

There’s more about our stay here at Lakefront Campground, Award Winning Barbeque, Scenic Drives, and Delta History

Throwback Thursday #6 – September 12, 2015

September 12, 2019Posted in RVing, VirginiaTagged Claytor Lake State Park, fifth wheel camping, Memories, Throwback Thursday, White Tail Deer11 Comments

We’re not traveling as much in our fifth wheel anymore so I thought it would be fun to relive some of our most memorable days from previous RV trips.

On this day four years ago, September 12 2015. we were camping at Claytor Lake State Park, Virginia, one of our favorite state park campgrounds. Our daughter lives nearby and we enjoyed the fall beauty of the park when we weren’t enjoying spending time with her family.

It’s always fun to be somewhere and have an unexpected event taking place. Four years ago today, the Claytor Lake Triathlon was going on. I walked over to the lake to watch some of the race.

20150912Claytor-Lake-Triathlon-(47) — Ready, set , go!

20150912Claytor-Lake-Triathlon-(53) — Swimmers in the 2015 Claytor Lake Triathlon

Swimmers heading for the beach at Claytor Lake

I enjoyed walking the trails in the state park every morning. One morning I spotted white tailed deer in the woods.

20150914Claytor-Lake-Deer-(11) — White tailed deer at Claytor Lake State Park, VA

We enjoyed Claytor Lake so much we have camped there multiple times. There’s more about this stay at A few days in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia.

Last week’s Throwback Thursday was interrupted by Hurricane Dorian. After waiting on pins and needles for several days to see where it was going to go, we decided not to evacuate. The center of the storm passed offshore about 80 miles east of us at about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, September 4, 2019. The wind gusts were strong at times but we had no damage and no flooding. Other than some yard cleanup we were fine and only lost power for 18 minutes. Our neighborhood had no major damage and for that I am very grateful.

The Bahamas did not fare so well. Please keep the Bahamian people in your prayers. It will be a long time before many of them will be able to recover from the devastation Dorian caused there.