So, the primary purpose of this trip was to attend our niece's wedding in Cary, NC(Raleigh suburb). We arranged to spend each of the weeks before and after the wedding traveling and enjoying ourselves.
Departed home on July 23, in mid-afternoon. Our route to Wm. Sterling SP avoided highways, so it was somewhat tedious, although we had a very late lunch at the Double Deuce Diner(used to be StageCoach Stop) in Stockbridge, Mich. The SP campground is an open field on the west end of Lake Erie, but there is a nice paved trail along the shore.
The next night, we planned on visiting Lieth Run CG(Wayne NF) on the Ohio Riv. But there was a closed gate across the entrance from SR-7. So we spent the night at Cokeley CG in WV's North Bend SP. We found the 30A electric service at site 21 had the hot and neutral wires reversed (and socket upside down) so we moved. It's another large open field on a hill.
On the 25th, we drove about 3 1/2 hrs to Mountain Lake Campground, a large commercial CG on Summersville Lk near, you guessed it, Summersville, WV. The registration had 6-8 items to be initialed to show it had been read. But the site they let us have was right on the lake shore, even if it was shoehorned between much larger RVs with no separation to speak of. We enjoyed the afternoon driving the rural area west of the lake after lunch at Long Point Grille and Bar. Driving in the rural area was fun but some promising two track roads were gated or signed.
The following day, we arrived at Grayson Highlands SP in Va. which is a wonderful location for hikers. The CG was wooded with no views. The road to the top of the "highlands" has almost no views, but a short walk from the parking area reaches a nice viewing platform. A sign on the road back down highlights the only view of Mt Rogers, the highest point in Va.
The 27th had us arriving in Cary, NC at the Homewood Suites Raleigh/Cary. The wedding was the afternoon of the 28th and we left before noon on the 29th for Lake Sinclair Rec. Area in Georgia's Oconee NF.
On the 30th, we visited Ocmulgee NM, near Macon, Ga. It's the site of mounds that have seen extensive archeological digs for 200(?) years. While in Macon, we also did our laundry(Sunshine Ctr on Millerfield Rd). We met a character named Kevin at the Lake Sinclair CG. He drove trucks until physical problems retired him. He was scooting around the CG in an Amigo type chair and it's a mystery how he managed his pop-up camper and pick-up truck.
The 31st found us at Amicalola Falls SP north of Atlanta. The falls are a long cascading stream-bed, and there is an extensive Resort Park. The facilities are above a very steep road and the drive into the campground is steeper yet. Almost all of the campsites are on huge pads above retaining walls on the side of the hill. It must have cost a fortune to build, so it was disappointing that the washroom seemed to lack some serious maintenance. We spent the first driving the roads around the area. Notably, we found the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail in the Chattahoochee NF. More precisely, we found the parking area 1 mi. from the end of the Trail on Springer Mtn.
On Aug 2nd, we moved to Holly Bay CG in Daniel Boone NF, Kentucky. We were 26 mi. from my brother's home in Somerset, Ky. but weren't able to arrange a visit since we all had places to be. No matter, we had visited at his daughter's wedding a few days earlier.
On the 3rd, we drove north through Ky and Indiana to Mounds SP near Anderson, Indiana. On US-127 in Ky, we passed an incredible number of yard sales. Nearing the Ohio River we chose a route along the river to Milton. Of course we couldn't see the river for all the trees on the riverbank. Crossing the river, we followed US-421 north past Big Oaks NWR, formerly Jefferson Proving Ground, a WW-II munitions testing site where the danger of un-exploded ordinance requires visitors sign a waiver annually. So we hoped to get a campsite at Mounds SP on a Friday evening in August. What a foolish idea. And I was told, "What do you want to bet we drive the rest of the way home tonight?" So, we spent the night in this really crappy private campground "resort" a few miles off the freeway. It didn't have a dump station, apparently because each site had a "sewer connection". Ours was too high for us to use, not to mention that, unless we are staying for several nights, I don't want to tempt fate by using one of those "sewer connections." And the only hose I have is for drinking water, so I won't use it to rinse a holding tank hose. Oh well.
Saturday the 4th, we drove home after visiting Pokagon SP where we paid the $9 entry fee so we could use their dump station. Pokagon is a huge park with extensive ways to enjoy yourself, including a toboggan hill( a little warm for that ). So, we arrived home, unloaded almost everything, got Chinese take-out, and enjoyed being at home.
