Stone Mountain State Park NC May 20-30, 2022

 Day 22 Friday May 20, 2022 Busy morning as we have 63 reservations coming in today. If everyone comes we will have a full house tonight. No Vacancy at the Inn. There is no rain in the forecast and warm weather so a good looking weekend ahead. We got  all the sites ready by 12:30PM before it got hot. We had to turn the air conditioner on in the motorhome.

Day 23 Saturday May 21, 2022 Hot again today but our host site is very shady so was not so hot there. We only have 20 reservations tonight. We saw the third deer today. She walked across through the trees  a few yards from our site which was odd with as many campers as we have in the campground. Normally they stay away when the campground is busy.

We were supposed to have a couple singing this evening in the small amphitheater in the campground but it rained kind of hard from about 5 to 8PM.

Day 24 Sunday May 22, 2022 Typical Sunday, with lots of campers leaving but not so many checking in today as normally on Sunday. We cleaned about 40 sites and called it a day. Rained again in the afternoon.

Day 25 Monday May 23, 2022 We woke up and checked the weather and lots of rain is on the way so we hurried and put out the reservation signs out about 7:15AM, much earlier than normal. The gator does not have a roof or windshield so not much fun in the rain using it. At least the golf cart has a roof and windshield. Either some raccoon or bears got in one of the dumpsters again last night. 

Rained most of the day so we didn't put out the reservation signs for Tuesday and Wednesday like we normally do before our days off.

Day 26 Tuesday May 24, 2022    We put out the reservation signs for Tuesday and Wednesday before we went to town this morning. We also had to replace most of the site cards that goes on the site post that shows the camper has checked in and what day they are leaving. When the cards get wet they almost dissolve.

Then we went to Jonesville to the Breakfast Time Cafe for breakfast. Ranger Hicks told us we needed to try it. I got the Sampler Platter and it was Most tasty. Then we went to the Amish community to Shiloh General Store and Naturally Wholesome Products for fresh baked dinner roles, chips, milk and bacon. 

We returned to Elkin and stopped at Combs meat store. We have driven by it but never stopped. They process a lot of the meat they sell. A lady shopper had two hand carts full of their sausage and told us we needed to try it as it was very good, very meaty. We bought one pack to try. Then Dirty Joe's Coffee shop was calling us. We got caught up on some Internet stuff.

Day  27 Wednesday May 25, 2022 When we leave here on the 31st the GPS wants us to go down some country roads to get to I77 so we decided to drive them in the car first and stop at the Surry Diner near Dobson for breakfast. The Shelton Vineyards and Winery is just down the road from there.

We drove onto Dobson, then took some backroads through the country and ended up in Galax VA at the Briarpatch Marketplace & Cafe for a Latte and their great cinnamon rolls. We came back to the park via the Blueridge Parkway. It was very foggy on the parkway for several miles.

The man that deliveries the firewood to the campground had brought a new supply of firewood when we got back to the park so I helped unload it and put it in the storage building. Then we did a few things around our site in preparation for leaving here on the 31st.

Day 28 Thursday May 26, 2022 Two rangers and one of the admin men came and put a new belt on the golf cart while we were putting out the reservation signs this morning. So I cleaned up the Gator and put it back in the storage building. We are glad to get the golf cart running again. It works much better for doing our work than the Gator. 

We had breakfast and then cleaned all the sites that were recently vacated. It is a cool drizzly rainy day. One of the campers left their site to explore the park and left their trash bag lying on the ground on their site and the crows had a picnic and scattered trash all over the site and out in the street. This park has the most crows we have ever seen in one area. I picked up trash twice around the perimeter of their site but didn't get the trash bag as we are not supposed to bother anything on the campers site unless there is a danger or the camper ask us to.

About 6:30PM we got heavy rain for a few hours. We are tired of all the rain.

Day 29 Friday May 27, 2022 We had to get Dakota from the maintenance crew to tighten the belt on the golf cart as it was slipping and making it hard to start. It rained again this afternoon and part of the night. And we have “No Vacancy” at the Inn.

Day 30 Saturday May 28, 2022 Finally nice weather today and the kids are out having a blast in the campground. We began drying out our mats today since we are leaving Tuesday morning. Lots of park visitors today so they had to close the gate for awhile before noon because all the  parking lots were full.

Day 31 Sunday May 29, 2022 Only 9 reservations tonight and no rain so we cleaned up our Clam, patio mats, windshield cover, etc. in preparation for leaving Tuesday. Not much work today and perfect weather. But we will make up for it tomorrow.

Had to close the park gate again this morning for awhile due to the number of visitors. 

Day 32 Monday May 30, 2022 Lots of work today because the campers stayed until today since it was a holiday weekend. We started to work at 8AM and quit at 2:30PM with two 15 minute breaks. We wanted to get all the sites clean before we leave tomorrow because the lady host that follows us,  husband can't help her due to his health and we didn't want her to think we left them for her to clean.

Great weather again today. Our site is totally shady and with the gentle breeze rustling the leaves it was nice today after we finally got all the sites clean. We did 62 today and were pooped when we quite for lunch.

Stone Mountain State Park N.C. May 12-19, 2022

 Day 12 Tuesday May 10, 2022 We had breakfast at McGrady's Cafe. A local country cafe about 5 miles from the campground. Then we went to Wilkesboro to the Walmart to pick up a few items including a small leaf blower. There is so much tree debris falling on our mats and awnings it will make cleaning up so much easier. Then we stopped in North Wilkesboro for a Latte and pastry. 

We saw the first deer this morning on our way out. Normally we see lots of deer during the week when there are not as many campers around. There a lots of squirrels, bird and noisy crows around. Never been anywhere where there was as many crows.

Day 13 Wednesday May 11, 2022 This morning we drove across the state line via The Blueridge Parkway to Galax, VA., to get a Latte and cinnamon bun at one of our favorite coffee shops. The Briar Patch Marketplace and Cafe. I filled up the Jeep with fuel and paid $4.09 a gallon. The highest I have ever paid for fuel.

Then we stopped at the local Verizon Cellphone Store to ask about my iphone battery. The last two mornings it has been acting weird. Our iphones are over 5 years old so the batteries are showing their age. The agent said they are not able to change the batteries in the iphones and the nearest iphone shop was in Winston-Salem. He checked our records and we qualified for a promotion that Verizon has for our particular plan. So we got two new iphone 13 for $0.00 after he applied a good customer discount and our old iphones trade in value. All we had to pay for was the new protective cover, new screen protectors and the programming fee for the new iphones. And our monthly bill will be $2.56 less. A good deal in our book.

Day 14 Thursday May 12, 2022 I think the crows were having a family reunion about 7AM this morning right beside our motorhome. We only have 12 reservations today so we put those signs out, had breakfast and then cleaned all the sites that were available that needed cleaning.

Forgot to mention that Tuesday night and Wednesday we had three “beadie eyed” furry critters get in the motorhome. I heard the first one in the trash can under the sink so I set my “Top Secret” mouse trap out and just after we went to bed the first one was a dead sucker. Then sometime during the night the second one bit the dust and then later the third one joined his buddies in mouse heaven. 

Day 15 Friday May 13, 2022 We had early morning rain and off and on all day. We have 48 reservations tonight but expect several of the tent campers to not show up due to the weather.

Day 16 Saturday May 14, 2022 Heavy rain again during the night and as expected several of the tent campers did not show up but a few did. Only 9 reservations tonight. We stopped and talked to a couple that lives about 2 miles from us at home. They were here last May when we were here. A little sunshine today but mostly light rain and cloudy.

Day 17 Sunday May 15, 2022 I call Sunday “Shift Change” because we have a lot of departures on Sundays by the people that still work for a living and then we have mostly some travelers and retired people come in for a few days. We had 19 reservations tonight.

Day 18 Monday May 16, 2022 Typical Monday, 16 reservations for today. We put out the reservation signs, checked and cleaned some sites and had breakfast. The maintenance crew cleaned the fire pits that we had not done. Later I cleaned several sites in the tent area that we couldn't get to yesterday. Beautiful weather today but we did get rain for about 15 minutes.

Day 19 Tuesday May 17, 2022 Lena heard a loud noise around Midnight at the campground dumpsters that are about 300 yards from our site. At 7:15AM we heard Ranger Hicks on the radio calling for some assistance with trash cleanup at the dumpsters. Bears had crawled into the dumpsters and threw several trash bags out and scattered trash all over the place. 

You can see the bear's paw prints on the side of the dumpster

We drove to Elkin this morning and got a Latte and pastie at the other location of MoJoe's Coffee Shop. This location is moving to the other side of Elkin in the Jonesboro area.

Afterwards we drove to the downtown area of Elkin, parked and walked around downtown taking photos of the murals they have. We had seen one several times in the past but never took the time to stop and photograph it. But walking we found several. One of the shop keepers stopped and talked to us for several minutes. I guess he recognized us a tourists since we were taking photographs with my camera and Lena with her iPad.

Lots of Vineyards in the Elkin area

1930's Gas Station on Main Street

On the way back to the park we stopped at a local convenience store to get some take out  fried chicken. They make good fried chicken and were very busy.  After we had lunch it was time to do laundry and get a few maintenance items done around the motorhome.

Day 20 Wednesday May 18, 2022 Friends from Bostic, NC came this morning for a visit. They have a motorhome very similar to ours and we share information with each other about maintenance and upkeep. 

We went to McGrady's Cafe for  a great lunch. Gregg, Judi and Lena got a breakfast meal and I got a BLT and homemade onion rings. They were the best onion rings I have ever had. Gregg and Judi really enjoyed their meal and said they would almost be willing to drive the 2.5 hours from their home to eat there again. They are planning to return sometime with their motorhome and stay in the park campground. He is a retired Colorado State Parks Ranger.

Day 21 Thursday May 19, 2022 Back to work today with 30 reservations coming in. We got all the reserved sites but two ready by 11:30 but will have to wait for the current occupants to leave to clean them. As we were returning to our site the generator/starter belt on the golf cart broke. I notified the Ranger on duty and he told us to get the John Deere Gator and use it. Later Ranger Hicks and Shannon came to check it and will try to find a new belt for it but it will probably be next week before it is fixed. We don't like the gator as much as the golf cart but at least we aren't having to walk to do our work. That would not work well as we have lot of ground to cover and need rakes, broom, trash buckets and trash pickup tools and our clipboards..

Our home away from home.

1978 GMC Royale

old ranger house 

View from site 90

Stone Mountain State Park N.C. May 5-11, 2022

 Day 7 Thursday May 5, 2022 Today we did our normal routine. Nothing unusual happened except we both got a nap in this afternoon. Must have been the homemade latte and strawberry shortcake with whipped cream that did us in.

Day 8 Friday May 6, 2022 About 50 reservations for today which is typical for a Friday, sometimes we have more but there is rain in the forecast. And the forecast was correct as we got rain that started about 3AM and stopped about 7AM and more predicted for the afternoon about the time the campers start to arrive. 

We had a little break after breakfast so I stretched out in my recliner for a few minutes and fell asleep and slept until 1PM. Very unusual. As expected some campers have canceled due to the weather. A small storm came through and we lost electrical power from 8PM until about 9:30PM.

Day 9 Saturday May 7, 2022 Again normal routine for today. Lots of “No Shows” due to the weather. I worked in the Contact Station from 12:30PM until about 2PM so Jackie could work in the Visitor Center to cover for a staff member while she got her lunch break.

Day 10 Sunday May 8, 2022 It is a “Hoodie” kind of day. We awoke to expected low temperature of 46 degrees this morning and no sunshine so the ride on the golf cart while we put out the reservation signs was kind of chilly. Just can't get the heater in that thing to work! The high predicted today is only 57 degrees with no sunshine so a very cool day.

There is not as much turnover today as usual on Sunday so our job was a little easier today. I relieved Jackie in the Contact Station from 12:00 – 1:30PM.

Day 11 Monday May 9, 2022 Another “Hoodie” kind of day. It was 42 degrees this morning when we got up. A typical Monday, not much turnover so not many sites to clean. Late in the afternoon we put out the reservation signs for Tuesday and Wednesday since we will be off those days.

Day 12 Tuesday May 10, 2022 We had breakfast at McGrady's Cafe. A local country cafe about 5 miles from the campground. Then we went to Wilkesboro to the Walmart to pick up a few items including a small leaf blower. There is so much tree debris falling on our mats and awnings it will make cleaning up so much easier. Then we stopped in North Wilkesboro for a Latte and pastry. 

We saw the first deer this morning on our way out. Normally we see lots of deer during the week when there are not as many campers around. There a lots of squirrels, bird and noisy crows around. Never been anywhere where there was as many crows.

Day 13 Wednesday May 11, 2022 This morning we drove across the state line via The Blueridge Parkway to Galax, VA., to get a Latte and cinnamon bun at one of our favorite coffee shops. The Briar Patch Marketplace and Cafe. I filled up the Jeep with fuel and paid $4.09 a gallon. The highest I have ever paid for fuel.

Then we stopped at the local Verizon Cellphone Store to ask about my iphone battery. The last two mornings it has been acting weird. Our iphones are over 5 years old so the batteries are showing their age. The agent said they are not able to change the batteries in the iphones and the nearest iphone shop was in Winston-Salem. He checked our records and we qualified for a promotion that Verizon has for our particular plan. So we got two new iphone 13 for $0.00 after he applied a good customer discount and our old iphones trade in value. All we had to pay for was the new protective cover, new screen protectors and the programming fee for the new iphones. And our monthly bill will be $2.56 less. A good deal in our book.

Stone Mountain State Park N.C. April 29 - May 4, 2022

 Day 1 Friday  April 29, 2022 Today we are returning to Stone Mountain State Park North Carolina to work our 7th year as Volunteer Campground Hosts at the 88 site campground there. 

We departed at 7:30AM after several days of completing an extensive checklist to prepare for this trip and the one that will follow right behind our month stay at the park. We stopped for a quick breakfast at the local McDonalds in Wallace and like about 50% of the time they messed the order up but we didn't take the time to take it back and wait for it to be corrected. 

We had a good trip, nice weather, fairly light traffic and only one 18 wheeler trying to crowd us out of our lane. The second time he did it I let him hear our air horns. 

We arrive at the park about 1PM and parked the motorhome on the host site and setup everything. Then we went over to the Contact Station to get our keys, radio and the golf cart. I installed a new tool rack on the golf cart that I had built to hold the yard rakes, broom and pickup tools. We met a couple of campers at the Contact Station that are from Palmer Alaska. We will be there sometime in late July. Then I gave the golf cart a quick bath. Later we made a pass through the campground and noted the maintenance crew had done some much needed repairs on some of the sites in the A loop.

Day 2 Saturday April 30, 2022 We went out at 8AM to put out all the reservation signs and pick up the signs for the sites that were occupied. We picked up a little bit of trash and answered some questions from campers and checked in some campers. Then we returned to the motorhome for breakfast, then I spruced up the host site a little and made another pass through the campground at Noon and again at 5PM.

We had a relaxing afternoon, nice sunshine but just a nip of coolness in the shade. We have an enclosure kind of like a tent called a Clam that we setup here for the month. It has mesh on the sides and has a zipup door. We set it over the picnic table which keeps the table clean and we can set up two chairs in it if it is a little cool outside because it sheds the breeze but let's the warmth of the sun in.

Day 3 Sunday May 1, 2022 Like all Sundays here we were very busy.  AT 8AM we put out the reservation signs before we ate breakfast. Then we began cleaning the sites as they were vacated. The checkout time here is 3PM and checkin is 4PM but most campers will leave prior to 3 and most will come in before 4 and if their site is vacant they are allowed to checkin and setup. We try to get as many of the reserved sites cleaned and raked as we can before the next camper comes in but we can't always get all of them. Today we got 43 ready before we broke for lunch.

We got a rain shower between 3:15 and 4:30PM but thankfully we didn't get the wind and hail here that was predicted. One of the campers that came in said it was hailing so bad a few miles up the road it was bad driving.

We made our final pass around the campground at 5PM and stopped and chatted with some of the campers before calling it a day.

Day 4 Monday May 2, 2022  We did our same routine today but not as busy as yesterday. We had time to relax and do some reading in the afternoon. Since we will be off work Tuesday and Wednesday we put out the reservation signs for those day this afternoon.

Day 5 Tuesday May 3, 2022 We went to Dirty Joe's in Elkin for a cinnamon bun and Latte and WiFi access. The bun was okay but kind of  “heavy”. Then we went to the Amish Shiloh General Store near Hamptonville about 15 miles away to get some of their products. We also stopped at an Amish farm nearby for some of their milk, etc. They raise beef cattle, have a dairy herd and  hogs. Lena wanted some side meat but they have just taken the hogs to be slaughtered so they didn't have any.

We sat outside in the afternoon and relaxed until about 6PM when an arriving camper came to our site and wanted to change his site. The one he reserved would not work for his camper, so I went to the Contact Station and got on the computer and transferred him to a better site. Then some more campers came up so I checked them in and sold some firewood and ice. The Park doesn't have anyone working in the Contact Station on Tuesday and Wednesday this time of the year so sometimes I go over after the Visitor Center closes and check campers in and sell sites to “walk ins”.

Day 6 Wednesday May 4, 2022 We went to Sparta this morning for breakfast at the Circle L Cafe. This is a small country cafe but they make a good breakfast. I get one of their “Hubcap” blueberry pancakes. Then we stopped at Backwood Beans for a Latte and use of their WiFi.

We drove some of the back country roads on the way back to the Park.

We had another beautiful afternoon sitting outside  reading.