Tackling Tallulah Gorge

Tallulah Gorge State Park, Tallulah Falls, GA May 21 to 25-2016

This is a wonderful place to go hiking and sight seeing. Lots of trails, a museum with loads of historical information about the Gorge and the towns around it. The museum is named the Jane Hurt Yarn Interpetive Center. The first time we visited years ago, we wondered who Jane Hurt was and why she would donate a museum about yarn. Oops! A visit to the museum back then quickly showed our assumption was wrong. Do go if you’re in the area, and admission is included in the day use fee.

We had made reservations several days ago to make sure we could get in for the weekend. The on line reservation indicated there was only one site available that could accommodate our rig so we signed up for it.

When we got there, it turns out there were 3 open spots we could get into. We made our choice and settled in for the next 4 days.

After several hours of driving to get here, we needed to get some exercise. We took a hike down to the dam to see how much water was being let into the gorge. The answer was not much, enough to see some rapids, but not enough to do any kayaking.

After weeks of getting prepared, always being in project mode, and visiting with friends, we decided to just take Sunday off. It was a little cool (yay!) and Mocha wanted a warm lap to sit in.

Late in the day, we had a bit of a scare when the Clampet Clan pulled into the campground looking for a place to land. First they parked close to us then decided it wasn’t good enough and drove over the landscaping to get off the site where they had parked. The first part of the clan was driving a big Ford Expedition pulling a huge flat bed trailer loaded down with lawn chairs, barbque grilles, bicycles, and even a powered wheel chair. Next came an old travel trailer that had seen better days. Somewhere in this mix was a passle of kids. (That’s country for a bunch) We were relieved when they drove up over the hill to the other side of the campground. They wanted two sites side by side and we were between 2 empty sites that they were eye balling.

On Monday, we figured the tourists had left Helen, GA so we decided to drive over and see the sights.

On the way we, as we are known to do, we got side tracked by a covered bridge. The Stovall Bridge still stands, although it’s pretty much covered by graffiti.

How nice it is to visit a tourist destination when there are hardly any tourists there. No crowds to fight, no standing in line, it was great!

We had lunch at the Troll Tavern, so named because its under the bridge. Well, not really. But the outside dining area is lower than the bridge, so I guess that counts. Sauerkraut is really not my favorite, but EJ really wanted some, and I figured what the heck, it can’t be as bad as I remembered. It was on turkey ruben sandwich, and it was actually pretty good. I may have to revise my opinion.

After luch and walking around town, EJ suggested we go visit Anna Ruby Falls. You have to go through the Chattahoochee National Forest to get there. Once again the Geezer Pass came through and we got in for free. It was about a half mile hike from the parking lot to the Falls and back with some sections steep enough that we were wondering what happened to all the oxygen in the air.

And of course a selfie pic to prove we were really there.

When we got back two families had set up next to us, one with a tent set up in an RV only site. After a while, the camp host drove around and straightened that out. Ahh! The joys of camping in a state park.

On Tuesday, our last full day here, we took another hike in the park. Even though it was pretty warm in the direct sunlight, most of the hike was under the trees and comfortable. The views were gorgeous and we found a spot where we could actually see the gorge and falls.

Some of the local wildlife.

Frank thinking “Boy, this is really deep!”

What’s left of one of the Karl Wallenda towers.

And if you walk down 310 steps you get to cross a suspension bridge. Then you get to walk back up 310 steps.

On Wednesday our visit comes to an end and it’s time to pack up and go. Part of the process is to protect Sunny. Over the years we’ve tried various forms of toad protecters and each one resulted in damage to the car is some fashion. From chipped paint to broken fog lights. We hope this method will be the answer. Thanks KC & Sheila for sharing the info for this great product.

Our next stop will be Gaffney, SC where Big Guy will get his annual maintenance.

Blue Ridge Blast

Blue Ridge Lodge and RV Park, Blue Ridge GA – May 17-20, 2016

No matter how far in advance we know the date we plan to leave, we’re scrambling at the last minute to get ready. And, there are always little projects, jobs, that pop up that you hadn’t planned on. We don’t know how other travelers seem to have their act together as they calmly prepare to travel. For us, it’s always frantic.

However, our mode, once on the road, is to slow down and take it easy. There is absolutely no sense in busting our butts trying to make mega miles every day when we don’t have to. Which is why we took two days to get to Blue Ridge, GA. It’s a 430 mile trip, and we don’t like doing more than 200 miles a day. In fact, we prefer closer to 150. But the folks we’re going to visit, Jim and Shelley, are leaving on Sunday, and we want to spend a couple of days with them so we’re going to stretch the miles a little bit.

Because of cheaper fuel prices, more RV’ers are on the road, campgrounds are more in demand and overnight stays are getting more expensive. Our research is already finding that rates are running $40 and $45 a night.

We always like to have an idea of where we will stop for the night with an alternate, or backup plan. Generally Walmart is the backup plan. But since the temperatures are uncomfortably warm, we will need to run the air conditioner, which means we need an electric hookup, or we’ll have to run the generator.

Just before we got to Dublin we came upon something you never want to see.

It was a pretty bad accident. They shut down a section of the hiway and rerouted traffic to bypass the scene.

EJ found a small little known campground in Dublin, Georgia that caters mostly to construction workers. She called to see if they had a space for us. The owner said they had 2 empty spots but they had just had 3 1/2” of rain in the last hour. It was wet, but we shouldn’t get stuck! They accept Passport America which means we can stay for half price. That saves us $20 right there, so we decide to check it out. Our backup plan was a Walmart about 30 miles on down the road.

We snagged the No. 1 spot where we are posed to depart ASAP if necessary. As you can see it was a pretty small RV Park. If I remember correctly, it had 15 sites with full hookups.

In Blue Ridge, there are 2 RV Parks, Mineral Springs RV Park and Blue Ridge Lodge and RV Park. Mineral Springs is the cheaper of the 2 at $35 per night for full hookups and 30 amps. But the moment they find out you are in a motorhome the price gets jacked up by $10 a night because they require you to use a 50 amp connection. No amount of cojoling can convince them you can use 30 amps just fine. Nope, they have it their head that you will burn up their electric connection if you hook up to it. That’s 300 bucks a month. That’s twice what we use in our 1400 square foot house during the hottest months of summer.

Blue Ridge RV Park is slightly more expensive at $40 but they only charge $5 for 50 amps. Again, no negotiation was accepted. Mineral Springs RV Park is located in a depression that gets very muddy when it rains. Blue Ridge Lodge and RV Park is high on a ridge and you actually have a view. So at $45 a night at both places, it was a no brainer.

We spent two a half days with Jim and Shelley. Jim is a bourbon afficianado and I’m kinda partial to it myself. So we had to sample a few varieties during our stay. Of course we made a visit to downtown Blue Ridge where after a brief shopping foray, Jim and I retired to the local pub to sample a few brews while the girls continued shopping. They call it a Husband Daycare Center.

While we were there, another couple came in and we watched them while she played with her smart phone and he played kissy face with his parrot.

On Friday, I watched Jim ignite a brief but spectactular inferno that singed the hairs off of his forearm. He had converted a portable fire pit from wood burning to propane. Some serious design modifications are in order after that quick although glorious fireball.

Later that day, we went exploring and found a local brewery.

I thought the name was rather appropriate given my normal disposition. We enjoyed talking to the owners who started brewing beer as a hobby. They are now doing their “last” building expansion as they are needing some more room for supplies. They say they are not interested in growing the business because it would then seem like more of a job and less like a hobby. This way they can hang out and drink beer with their buddies.

We also found out that Georgia has some strange rules when it comes to breweries. They can’t sell their beers to consumers. So instead, they sell “tours” where you can sample the beers. The tour consists of pointing at the brew tanks and saying that’s where the beer is brewed. But hey, where else can you drink beer all afternoon for the price of a $10 tour.

Even EJ and Shelley had a few sips. Wait a minute, I don’t see any mugs.

All too soon it was time to leave Blue Ridge and let Jim and Shelley pack up for their trip back to Florida. Our next destination is Tallulah Gorge State Park in Tallulah Falls, Georgia.

It’s Been Busy

Wow! Since we returned to Orange Park in December 2015 it’s been a whirlwind of projects.

Replaced a windshield in Big Guy.

New roof for the townhouse.

New sidewalk and patio.

Getting Miss Mocha squared away. (She has hyper-thyroidism).

New (to us) toad.

Repair Big Guy ceiling in slide that leaked in 2015.

Peel off ugly 3M shield on front of Big Guy.

Replaced Big Guy house batteries with AGM 6 volts.

Rewired Big Guy to incorporate a hardwired voltage/surge protector.

Fell off a ladder.

Improved shoe storage.

Took shooting lessons at the local indoor range.

Drank some beer.

Painting part of the deck. Paring down our closets. Adding a new loveseat to Big Guy. Add extra solar panel for a total of 640 watts. Had new shocks installed. Removing stuff from Big Guy that received little to no use over the years.

All this led EJ to remark “All we’ve done since we got back is get ready for the next trip!” Well, she’s right! We end up feeling guilty if we are not constantly working on some project.

We even managed to squeeze in some fun with friends.

But finally, all the projects are done and on May 17 we are hooked up and ready to go.

See ya down the road!

Addison Arrival

Pleasant River Campground, Addison, ME 8-16-15

I wanted to get an early start much to EJ’s consternation as she had envisioned a more leisurely morning. I was determined to vacate our campsite at Mountain View RV Park by the 11AM deadline. I attempted to extend our stay by another day, but was told that our site had already been rented and we would have to move.

An interim move was what I was trying to avoid. The RV Park we were going to had told us we would have to park in overflow for one night before we could move into our permanent spot. If we stay here we have to move for the night too. Dang it, I only want to move once. No since in doing something twice if you don’t have to!

One more phone call to Pleasant River RV Park to let them know we’re willing to tough it out in their overflow spot. But wait, there is good news. They will let us have the permanent spot and move the other RV to overflow since they haven’t arrived yet. But, they caution, once we see the overflow spot we may not want to move.

Now the Pleasant River RV Park is a little different than any other park we’ve visited. The owners have elected to keep it very small, having only 6 rentable spots, and 4 trailers already set up that you can rent. Then there is the overflow spot you can only rent if none of the other sites are available. They don’t rent by the season as so many other campgrounds in the northeast do, but you can rent monthly all season long. (If you can get a reservation) Some folks have been coming here for years, so the chance of getting one of the prime spots is non-existent.

We roll in at 12:30PM and we look around. No one is around so we wander the campground. The site that looks like it might be available for us would be OK. Apparently we interrupted the owners lunch and as they come out to greet us, they are still chewing their food. OK, we feel bad now.

They show us the spot they are holding for us and we hem and haw about. Then they show us the overflow spot, up high on a hill, next to their garden, trees to provide afternoon shade and with full hookups. Uh oh, this looks pretty good and we would have an nice view of the Pleasant River. OK, we’re hooked. We rent the overflow spot for a week.

We busily go about the business of getting hooked up and leveled. Next comes the true test, can the Dish satellite connect? There are a few shows we enjoy watching and we record them on our Dish DVR. That means we can watch them with it’s convenient for us and we don’t have to watch commercials.

I push the button and we wait while the rooftop dish whirls around and around trying to find those Dish satellites in the sky. finally after about 20 minutes I put it out of it’s misery and shut it down. Those nice shade trees are in the way!

During this time it’s about 80 degrees or better, and there is not a cloud in the sky. And it’s not getting any cooler.

Plan “B” is to drag out the old manual dish and try to get it elevated, skewed and “azimuthed” towards those 3 Dish Network satellites up above. Having not set it up in at least two years if not more, it’s a challenge to just to find all the parts since it has to be completely broken down to fit into the various little spaces available.

Finally all the big parts are located and the assembly process can begin. First the tripod has to be located in a spot where the southwest sky is obstruction free ( ie no trees or structures in the way). Then it has to be leveled. This part involves shims and metal stakes to hold it in place. Then the dish has to be attached to the LNB arm which is then attached to the tripod without screwing up the level. Then the satellite meter is attached to the LNB leads and you start swiveling the dish to try and get the meter to indicate it’s found a signal. After several false signals, I get out the instructions.

During this time, I’m sweating up a storm because I have to be in the sunlight where there is nothing interfering with the manual dish seeing the  southwest sky. EJ is bringing me ice water by the glassful and I am not about to admit defeat to pile of metal parts.

Perusing the instructions, I realize the manual dish is setup for more southern latitudes than where we are currently located. Just where were we the last time we used this thing?  So the upper part of the assembly has to be disassembled, set up for more northern latitudes and reassembled. By this time, I’m taking breaks and drinking more of that water EJ Keeps bringing me.

Finally, after 2 hours, we emerge victorious over the pile of what by this time, is almost scrap metal. The only reason, I tell myself, that we did this is because we are going to be here 7 days.

I’m going inside. I’ve about used it all up for the day.