Stone Mountain State Park April 17-24, 2018

Campground view

Day 17 Thursday April 12, 2018 Finally a nice day with sunshine. Lena was not feeling well today so I did all the work in the campground that was required. I worked in the Contact Station selling wood and ice and also checking  in campers off and on until about 7PM because there was no one scheduled to work in the Contact Station today. I also repaired a water hydrant that was not working properly. This relieved the Rangers do attend to other responsibilities.

Day 18 Friday April 13, 2018 We had another beautiful sunshine day. Lena is still sick with a bad sinus head cold but did go out with me to put out the 60 reservation signs for campers that are coming in today. After breakfast I cleaned a few sites that needed it before today's campers came in, then I releaved Jackie at the Contact Station while she took her lunch break. It was nice to set outside and relax and read in the sunshine today in between performing our duties. Out of 88 sites we have only 10 not occuied or reserved tonight.

Day 19 Saturday April 14, 2018 We only have 16 reservations today so I put them out and checked the campground for any issues before breakfast. There were lots of campers outside this morning cooking breakfast so I got to smell bacon, etc. cooking while out doing my duties, so I was ready for breakfast when I got back to the motorhome.

Later in the afternoon Lena was feeling a little better so she went out with me to check the campground so she could get some fresh air. Rain is predicted for tomorrow so we put out the reservation sign for Sunday. We only have 9 for Sunday.

Dau 20 Sunday April 15, 2018 We had a good breakfast of Lena's blueberry pancakes then started working in the campground getting the sites cleaned as the campers leave. We try to get the sites cleaned before the next campers come in if we can. Sunday is busy with most of the weekend campers leaving and new campers coming in.

The rain started about 2PM, with heavy rain and winds, with a tornado warning so we brought our awnings in and lowered the canopy over the picnic table. Sure am glad all the tent campers have packed up and gone home because it would be rather uncomfortable in a tent in this weather. The rain continued on until around midnight.

Day 21 Monday April 16, 2018 We got about 4” of rain yesterday so the Big Sandy Creek running through the campground had plenty of water in it today. Temps in the low 40's this morning and windy. I went out to check the campground for any problems after the storm yesterday and checked in a couple of campers that arrived before the Contact Station opened. We only have three reservations today plus any “walk-ins” that may show up so it is a quite day. We worked hard yesterday morning so we are taking advantage of the slow day today. The temps never got above 43 degrees today and windy. We got a little bit of snow starting about 7PM.

Day 22 Tuesday April 17, 2018 It was our first of two days off so we went to Terry's Cafe in State Road for breakfast and then to McDonalds's to use their WiFi and get a Latte before driving out to Hamptonville to the Amish store for some groceries. The dogwoods and azaleas have bloomed since last week when we were out this way and the leaves on the trees have popped out, more so that at the campground which is a little higher elevation. On the way back to the campground we also stopped at Walmart to get a few grocery items.
The weather was warmer today but windy so we were able to enjoy setting outside in the sun and read before supper.

Day 23 Wednesday April 18, 2018 Finally we have a warm day with sunshine and it is our day off so we were outside most of the day enjoying a relaxing warm day. We hiked up to the top of Stone Mountain Falls and then came back and I cooked my “almost world famous” baby back ribs in my Dutch Oven. They sure were good and tender. Then I built a campfire with some Bio-Wood that Ranger Kassie wanted me to test out. Bio-Wood is a block of compressed sawdust. The company had sent the park a box of it for us to test in the hopes the park would purchase it for resale to campers. She also had one of the campers do a test of it and we both had about the same thoughts about the product. Not something we would recommend or use.

Top of Stone Mountain Falls

Big Sandy Creek feeding the falls

One of the old chimneys from one of the cabins of the homesteaders that liven on this land

Day 24 Thursday April 19, 2018 We did our normal morning campground duties had breakfast and relaxed for awhile. There was noone scheduled to work in the Contact Station today so I had to run back and forth from our site to the contact station when campers came in to check them in. Finally I just stayed at the contact station and didn't get to close up until 8:15PM when all the reservations but one had come in.

Day 25 Friday April 20, 2018 We had 62 reservations signs to put out this morning which is typical for a Friday. Then I opened the Contact Station at 11AM and began checking in campers while Lena did the laundry. I was relieved about 3:30PM by a park employee. We did a final campground check about 7PM and called it a day. The weather had been nice today without the heavy winds and cold air that we had Thursday.

This church group filled this site up with tents

Day 26 Saturday April 21, 2018 We have 25 reservations for today. Some of yesterday's reservations has not come in yet. All 88 sites are reserved for tonight eventhough some will probably not show up and not cancel their reservations to free up the site. After the sun warmed the air it was a nice pleasant day. I had to work at the Contact Station for an hour during the lunch hour.

We saw a first this afternoon. Three horses and riders came walking down the road through the campground. And of course one of them left a “present” right in the middle of the road in front of a campsite for me to clean up.

Day 27 Sunday April 22, 2018 We only have 8 reservations today but most everyone here is leaving today as is usual on Sunday. I call Sunday “shift change day”. We raked and cleaned several sites before we relieved Shannon at the contact station during the lunch period. After we had lunch we cleaned several more sites before quitting for the day. Lots of rain is exxpected tomorrow so we tried to get as much done today as possible.

Day 28 Monday April 23, 2018 We only had 8 reservations signs for today so we got them out early before the predicted rain started. The rain began about 10AM and it continued all day and night. I opened the Contact Station and checked in one camper, then ate lunch and went back to the station for a couple of hours but no one else came in so I quit and went back to the motorhome.

Day 29 Tuesday April 24, 2018 This is our day off so we headed to the Circle L Cafe in Sparta for breakfast, but we rode through the campground and put out the 4 reservation signs that are due in today. Later we rode through some of the backroads enjoying the beautiful views eventhough it was drizzling rain. We returned to Sparta for lunch at a Mexican restaurant for lunch, then did some more back roads before returning to the campground.

Bridge with no railings that flooded last night