Stone Mountain State Park NC - March 25-31, 2015

Day 23 – 3-25-15 Wednesday We ate breakfast and drove to Sparta to get a Latte at Backwoods Coffee and use their WiFi to catch up on some Internet stuff. Ranger Hicks had told us about a Mexican Restaurant in Sparta named Mis Arados so we stopped there for lunch. It was very good. On the way back to the campground we drove up a side road to Camp Cherrio which sits on the mountain above Stone Mountain State Park. The fog was so bad we could only see about 50 feet ahead so we didn't see much. The elevation there is over 1000 feet higher than at the campground so the weather is different. The campground is at about 2000' elevation. We stopped at the Visitor's Center on the way back to the campground to get some T-Shirts for the grandkids. Since we are working at the park we get employee discounts.

Day 24 – 3-26-15 Thursday I rode through the campground, talked to some of the campers and checked the sites that had been vacated in the last couple of days while we were not working. I also checked the bath houses and found the shower head broken off in the men's handicap shower, so I notified the maintenance crew. The maintenance crew told me the contractors that were building a new bridle trail would be doing some rock blasting all day and that all the trails had been closed for the day. I opened the Contact Station at 4:30PM. I only sold 4 bundles of wood and no campers checked in even though there were 3 that had reservations. We are a little surprised at the number of people that make reservations and never show up. There are only 7 sites occupied tonight but lots are reserved for the weekend so it will be busier Friday.

Day 25 – 3-27-15 Friday We woke up to rain again but it cleared around noon. Later in the morning I rode through the campground to check everything. We relaxed today and did some reading until it was time to open the Contact Station. It sleeted a few minutes about 3:45PM. We opened the Contact Station at 4:30PM and checked in several campers, sold firewood and answered questions about the park, etc. Again we had 3 campers with reservations that did not show up. We had several people checkin that were camping in tents and it is predicted to get down to 31 degrees tonight.

Day 26 – 3-28-15 Saturday We got up at 8AM and the temperature was 26 degrees and our water hose and water spigot was frozen. I didn't disconnect it based on the predicted low temps of 31 degrees. We always keep water in our fresh water holding tank so we were okay. It started snowing about 8:45AM and it snowed lightly for about 1 ½ hours. I took some hot water and poured over the water spigot and thawed it out and laid the hose in the sun and it soon thawed out. We worked in the Visitor's Center from 12 to 1PM to relieve Wilma during her lunch period then drove out of the park to have lunch at a local grill called Foothills Grocery. Later I rode around the campground with the golf cart to get a list of occupied sites before opening the Contact Station at 4:30PM. Even though it was rather cool in the mid 40's the campers were enjoying the outside – kids were riding their bicycles and the adults were out playing games or setting by the campfire. We checked in several campers and sold $180 of firewood.

Day 27 – 2-29-15 Sunday The temperature got down to 25 last night but the sun is shining this morning and it is supposed to warm up nicely today to 52 degrees so there should be lots of people in the park hiking. I rode around the campground to check on things and then we went to the Visitor's Center to relieve Wilma but she came in late and was not going to take a lunch break so we stayed awhile and talked before leaving. After lunch we took a 1.2 mile hike up to the Stone Mountain Falls. Most of the campers had departed by 3PM which is checkout time. After our hike I checked and cleaned a few of the vacate sites before opening the Contact Station at 4:30PM. It was a typical Sunday evening – checked in three campers and sold some firewood.

Stone Mountain Falls

Stone Mountain Falls

Day 28 – 3-30-15 Monday This will be our last day to work. After breakfast I raked/cleaned all the remaining vacated sites in Loop B. Lena's shoulder was bothering her from the fall last Tuesday so she was using the heating pad on it while I worked. Then we did all the prep work we could for tomorrow's departure. We relaxed after lunch until we opened the Contact Station at 4:30PM.

We have sold $760 of firewood during our month of hosting and we didn't have any campers that gave us any problems. The staff at the park has been really nice to us and complimented the job we did.  We have enjoyed being the Campground Hosts more than we expected we would so we can tick off one more item on the “Bucket List”. We head home tomorrow morning and the April hosts comes in tomorrow afternoon.

Day 29 – 3-31-15 Tuesday We finished our departure list and departed at 10AM, arriving home about 4PM.

Stone Mountain State Park NC - March 17-24, 2015

Day 15 – 3-17-15 Today was our day off so we drove to McDonald's in Elkin for breakfast and used their WiFi so I could update the We-2-B's Blog and check some other things on the Internet. Afterwards we went to Wal-Mart for some groceries before returning to the campground. After lunch we took a 1.5 mile hike on an unmarked trail off the backside of  Loop A in the campground. Someone in the campground had told us there was the remains of a one room school house up the trail but we sure couldn't find it and it was rather steep hiking walking through lots of large oak leaves with round rocks underneath so we had to watch our step so we didn't trip and fall. I had planned to cook over a campfire for supper but the wind was blowing so hard I decided not to.

Sunset from last night

Day 16 – 3-18-15 Wednesday We were off again today. The temps were down to 41 this morning. The wind was calm so I split some firewood and cooked my “almost famous” Dutch Oven Pototoes and Sausage over a campfire for lunch. I use pototoes, onions, sausage, zucchini  and squash with some seasoning. It takes about two hours to cook – ummm good. After lunch we drove out of the park and did a little exploring around the area and then stopped at the local Country Store to use their WiFi. I bought an 8 ounce Coca-Cola and a Baby Ruth candy bar – first softdrink I have had in a long time. Together they cost $2.44. When I was a teenager working on the farm in tobacco I usually got a Coca-Cola and Baby Ruth for our morning break and they cost me $0.10 each and the drink was 10 ounces and the Baby Ruth was about three times as big as the one I got today. But back then I was only making $0.75 and hour. Today we have been in one spot for 16 days – we have never stayed in one spot with our motor home this long before.

Day 17 – 3-19-15 Thursday  It was raining when we woke up and it rained all day and into the night. We did our normal duties hosting duties. We didn't expect many campers but we did have a few check in, even one family in a tent. When I returned to the motor home after closing the Contact Station there were 3 deer that had bedded down under a white pine tree just across from our motor home. The tree was providing shelter from the rain.

Day 18 – 3-20-15 Friday It was really foggy this morning and the temperature was down to 40 degrees. We rode through the campground about 9:30AM and the fog was so thick we could only see about 50 yards or so ahead of us. It cleared later in the morning and the sun finally came out after 12 noon and the rest of the day was beautiful. We were really busy checking in campers and selling firewood today after 4:30PM. The campground is over half full tonight.

Day 19 – 3-21-15 Saturday After breakfast we took a slow ride around the campground to see how everything was going and to check the bathouses for supplies. The kids were out riding ther scooters and bicycles having fun and the adults were setting around their campfires socializing. At noon we relieved Wilma at the Visitor's Center so she could have lunch. Later in the day we rode around the campground again to get a list of occupied sites to make sure everyone had checked in as required then we ran the Contact Station from 4:30-8PM. The weather was great today and the park had lots of visitors and the campground had over 50 sites occupied out of 88 and it is only late March.

Day 20 – 3-22-15 Sunday This morning there were lots of campers enjoying their morning campfires – smoke drifting through the trees and the smell of the outdoors as  when we rode around to checked out the campground after breakfast. Later I did a walk around the campground to get some exercise before we relieved Wilma in the Visitor's Center while she had lunch. Around 2PM there was a steady stream of campers leaving – a typical event on Sunday afternoon as most people had to return to work on Monday morning. We worked a couple of hours raking and cleaning several of the vacated sites before we opened the Contact Station at 4:30PM. It was a slow night, which is typical on Sunday night.

Contact Station where we work

Day 21 – 3-23-15 Monday After breakfast we helped the park staff finish cleaning and raking all the other campsites then we drove over to a local store to see what type of products they stocked so we would be better informed when giving information to campers that needed supplies. Then we went to McGrady's Cafe for lunch. The park staff had told us about it so we decided to try it. Then we continued on down the road to see where the road went. We ended up in Elkin, so we stopped at Wal-Mart to get a few groceries before returning to the park. At 4:30PM we opened the Contact Station. It was a slow night as we only checked in two campers and sold one bundle of wood.

Day 22 – 3-24-15 Tuesday After breakfast we got our backpacks, hiking sticks and drove to the Lower Trailhead Parking Lot to hike the Middle and Lower Falls Trail. As we were hiking the trail by the Hutcheonson Homestead we found one of the park's water spigots spraying water everywhere. I called the Visitor's Center to report it and they sent out Ranger Jones and one of the maintenance crew. We continued on our hike after they arrived. The Lower Falls was not as impressive as the Middle Falls but to get down to the area for good photos at the Middle Falls was a little difficult. When we had got just a short distance from the parking lot on our return hike Lena stepped wrong on one of the steps that was built into the trail and fell with her full weight on her right arm and shoulder. Thankfully there were no rocks where she fell, if so she probably would have broken some bones. The hike was 5.2 miles which was longer than we normally take. We returned to the campground, Lena put the heating pad on her shoulder and I built a campfire.

The Co-Pilot

Stone Mountain SP NC Middle Falls

Stone Mountain State Park NC - March 3-16, 2015

 Day 1 - Tuesday 3-3-15 We departed for Stone Mountain State Park N.C. at 8:30AM for our first trip of 2015. We accepted the job to be the Volunteer Campground Hosts for the month of March for the park's campground. We arrived about 2PM, meet one of the park Rangers and then proceed to setup the motor home in the campground host's site. The host's job does not pay except for a free full hookup site. We are supposed to get trained tomorrow so we will see want that entails.

Host Site

Day 2 - Wednesday 3-4-15  After breakfast we went to the Visitor's Center to introduce ourselves  to the office manager and to find out when we would be trained on our duties. She told us that Ranger Jones would meet us about 4:30PM to go over our duties. Then we drove to Elkin to find a car wash and to pick up a few items at Wal-Mart. The Jeep was a mess after the trip here in the rain with all the stuff that had been sprayed on the roads during the recent snows. We returned to the campground and set outside in the sunshine and read for awhile. The weather was just beautiful today – reaching the high 60's. The ranger came about 4:30PM to go through our duties. We were surprised to find out all we are required to do is manage the Contact Station from 4:30-8PM to check-in any campers that arrive after the Visitor's Center closes at 4:30PM and sell firewood and on Saturday and Sunday relieve the person in the Visitor's Center from 12- 1PM while she goes to lunch. We were expecting to have to also check and clean the campsites after the campers checked out. He said some of the hosts did this and it was a big help to the rangers. We told the ranger we would be glad to do this. They have a large park to patrol and are short handed.

Day 3 - Thursday 3-5-15 It started raining during the night and rained almost all day. We stayed inside and read most of the day. This was our first day to manage the Contact Station so we went to the Visitor's Center to get the keys, campground reservation list and the money pouch, etc. Ranger Jones met us at the Contact Station at 4:30PM to assist us since it was our first day. We only had one camper come in and I forgot to tell them a couple of things that I was supposed to tell them but the ranger covered for me. Tomorrow I'll do better.

Day 4 - Friday 3-6-15 The temps got down to 20 degrees last night and will get up to only about 39 today with sunshine and then it is supposed to warm up tomorrow. I got the golf cart that is assigned to us this morning. I have named it the “Campground Cadillac”. I rode around the campground a couple of times to check for any sites that needed any attention and the only thing that needed doing was rake a few leaves and pick up some dead limbs. We had several campers come in while we were operating the Contact Station so we got some practice doing the paperwork so today went much better.

Day 5 - Saturday 3-7-15 The temps were a little warmer at 24 in the morning and about 50 for a high. We had to relieve the lady in the Visitor's Center from 12-1PM while she had lunch. The duties there were about the same as what we do in the Contact Building with the addition of answering more questions, giving directions, answering the telephone and selling shirts, caps, etc that are for sale in the center. The Visitor's Center is a large building with signs directing all campers to check in before going to the campground anytime between 8-4:30PM but there were some campers to either not see the building and sign or just ignore them and go on to the campground and set up before checking in. One group checked in and went to their assigned site – decided they didn't like that site and just moved to another site without asking anyone. I found out about that from another camper. So I ask the Ranger to check it out. He had a discussion with them but agreed to let them stay on the site and he changed the records after verifying that the site was not reserved. There are several white tail deer that roams the park near our site. When I was returning to the site after closing the Contact Station at 8PM I saw an albino (white) deer.

Day 6 - Sunday 3-8-15 Finally a sunny day. After breakfast I  checked and cleaned the sites that had been vacated. There was only 3 that needed attention. Most campers leave their sites clean but some don't. I noticed a strong smell of beer on one site as I was picking up beer bottle caps and trash on the site. That afternoon when I was talking to Ranger Jones he told me that as he was patrolling the campground Saturday night he noticed the campers on this site were drinking alcohol which is prohibited in the park. They had 2 cases of beer and also whiskey so he made them pour all of it on the ground. That is why the beer smell was so strong. There are lots of people in the park today enjoying the warm sunshine. Many were hiking the trails. We didn't have any new campers tonight but I did sell 5 bundles of wood at $5 each. So that makes $100 of wood sold since Thursday.

Day 7 - Monday 3-9-15 After breakfast I did a ride around of the campground, then we drove to Sparta to Backwoods Bean to get a specialty coffee and use their WiFi. Then we went to Brown's Restaurant for lunch. We found this restaurant in 2013 when we were in the area. The food is great, priced right and very generous portions. We could not eat it all, so we asked for a take out box as there was enough for both of us to have another meal. We stopped for a few groceries before returning to the campground.  I only had one new camper to checkin this afternoon.

Day 8 - Tuesday 3-10-15 Today was our day off so after breakfast we drove through the park and went out the lower gate on our way to Wilksboro. On the way through the park we saw several deer and geese. We were talking to one of the former campground host on Sunday and he was telling us that the Corps of Engineers Warriors Creek campground had been upgraded and the sites were much better. We drove to the campground but discovered it was closed until April 15th. Lena had to pick up a few items so we went to Wal-Mart and Lowes before stopping at Bojangles for lunch and access to their WiFi. Later in the day after returning to the campground I did a 1.24 mile walk around the campground. I walked by 5 deer near our site when I returned. All the sites in loop B have 50/30/10 AMP and water hookups. Sites in loop C are built just like loop B but do not have hookups but do have water hydrants scattered around the loop. Sites 87-89 are large enough for a 40' motor home and level.

Day 9 - 3-11-15 Wednesday We awoke to a drizzly rain and it rained all day so we stayed in and read. I did get out about 4PM and took a 1.3 mile walk in the drizzle. We were also off today as our days off are Tuesday and Wednesday. There are only 3 sites occupied today.

Day 10 - 3-12-15 Thursday After breakfast we took the “Campground Cadillac” and rode through the campground and cleaned and raked a few of the sites that had been vacated since Monday. I grilled porkchops and then we drove a couple of miles to Widow Creek Falls to see/photograph the falls. These falls are not as spectacular as the other falls in the park but are still very pretty.

Ranger Jones told me a story about a lady visitor to the park that have visited the area before the park was developed and accused the park personnel of moving the falls from where it was when she had visited area previously. The rocks around and in the falls are huge and would weight hyndreds of tons yet she still believed the park personnel had moved the falls. The ranger said he could not convience her that they did not move the falls.

I opened the Contact Station at 4:30PM and checked in several campers and sold some wood before closing at 8PM. The weather was really nice today but rain is expected the next couple of days.

Day 11 - 3-13-15 Friday We awoke to a rainy drizzle. After breakfast I rode around the campground to check the sites that had been vacated and talked to some of the campers. It drizzled rain off and on all day. I opened the Contact Station at 4:30PM and checked in several campers. Several were camping in tents so they had to setup in a rainy drizzle – one group wanted to know if I had any extra traups as they had forgot to bring any. The park does not provide camping supplies. Two groups wanted to know if we had a pavillion or shelter they could get under to cook – which we don't. I felt kind of sorry for them because we began camping in a tent and I know what they are going through.

Day 12 - 3-14-15 Saturday It is still drizzling rain this morning but is supposed to quit by noon and warm up to the low 60's. Well the rain stopped at noon but the temps didn't get above the mid 50's. We did our normal weekend duties – checking sites, releiving the lady in the Visitor's Center for lunch and operating the Contact Station from 4:30-8PM. Also provided some tips to a family new to RV'ing.

Day 13 – 3-15-15 Sunday It was warmer today but really windy. After breakfast I rode around the campground to check the sites that had been vacated. Then we releaved Wilma at the Visitor's Center at lunch time. Afterwards we drove out of the park a couple of miles to eat lunch at the Country Store and use their WiFi to catch up on things. It was good to set and enjoy the warm sunshine. Later we checked the vacated sites and then operated the Contact Station until 8PM.

Day 14 – 3-16-15 Monday After breakfast I checked the sites that had been vacated. Then we got our backpack, hiking sticks and drove to the Lower Parking Lot to hike some of the trails over/around the mountain. We hiked the Wolf Rock Trail and then returned on the Cedar Rock Trail for a total of 2 hours and 3.2 miles. These trails provide a great view of the face of Stone Mountain. About 2/3 the way on the Wolf Rock Trail it comes to a massive rock area named Wolf Rock. We walked out on it to take some photographs. The wind was really blowing a gale across it. I am sure it would we very uncomfortable on it if the weather had of been cold. We came upon a site of one of the old homesteads along the trail. There was a rather large rock chimney with a front and back fireplace and an old outbuilding that was still standing, This makes three rock chimneys that we have found in the park from the old homesteads.

We returned to the campground and cooked hamburgers for lunch and then I ran the Contact Station from 4:30-8PM.

Wolf Rock with Blue Ridge in background

    

Old chimney from a homestead in the park

Granite face of Stone Mountain

Cedar Rock with Stone Mountain in background