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