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.
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