Stone Mountain State Park 2023 May 24-30, 2023

 Day 24 Wednesday May 24, 2023 We went to Dirty Joe's Coffee Shop in Elkin this morning for our Latte fix. The man that gave us the $10 gift card was there when we walked in and he remembered us. I asked him if he was the owner. He said no he was just a “Groupie”. Later we went to Combs Butcher Shop for some more of their sausage and their $1.59 pasture raised eggs. Then a quick stop at Walmart for a few items and back to the campground to unload everything before we drove to Sparta to meet Joe and Joyce at The Pines Restaurant. We met Joe and Joyce in 2018 on a Carnival Cruise. They were one of the four couples at our dining room table. We normally get up with them when we are at Stone Mountain but we failed to do that last year. We had a great meal and a great waitress. Much different experience than yesterday's.

After a good visit and meal we returned to the campground to rest up for the start of our last week here.

Our Site

Day 25 Thursday May 25, 2023 Two wild turkeys walked across the site next to us this morning and we saw the rabbits for the first time this year. But we have only seen the deer one time which is unusual. We had nice weather today so we cleaned several sites in preparation for a busy Friday.

Wild Turkeys

Day 26 Friday May 26, 2023 We have 58 reservations today which is about normal for a Friday. We started our rounds at 8AM. It is only 56 degrees this morning. We saw rabbits on the site next to us. Rain is in the forecast for the entire weekend and Monday so we will probably have some cancellations and “no shows”.

We have seen a lot of unique campers but never one like this one.

We decided to pack up most of our outside items so we would not have to pack it up wet. 

Day 27 Saturday May 27, 2023 We had 16 “no shows” last night as expected due to the weather forecast probably. It was 52 degrees and windy this morning so we put our hoodies on again. We thought we wouldn't need them anymore this trip but they felt good this morning while we did our morning routine.

I worked at the Contact Station for 1.5 hours during the lunch musical chairs routine. 

Rain started about 4:30PM so we put out the Sunday night reservation signs because the forecast for tomorrow is all day rain. 

Day 28 Sunday May 28, 2023 Rain, rain and more rain. There is only one site other than us in our loop of 37 sites with a camper on it. The loop we are in is basically a tent site except our site.

There was a little break in the rain so I made a pass through the campground taking up reservation signs for the sites where the campers had arrived and checking for any issues in the campground. I got a little damp before I finished. The golf cart we use has a top and windshield but no doors.

Lena did the laundry while I  checked the campground.

Day 29 Monday May 29, 2023 It was not raining this morning so we put out the reservation signs came back and ate breakfast and then checked and cleaned all the vacant sites in Loop B and C. We had already checked Loop A Friday and Saturday and not many had been used since then.

When we went to the dumpster to empty all our trash we found that the bears had been in the dumpsters again and scattered trash behind the dumpsters so we cleaned up all of that.

Not sure what can be done about the bears because if the park staff secures the dumpsters so the bears can't get into them then the bears might wander into the campground and cause worse problems. So far the bears are satisfied with the dumpsters.

Later in the afternoon we went to the Contact Station to get the reservation sheet for Tuesday so we could put those reservation signs out as our last job for the month. We said goodbye to Jackie and the new seasonal hire, Sarah.

When a camper checks in they are given a yellow card that is about 4” x 4” with their site number on it and the date they are checking out, plus a similar card to hang on their vehicle's mirror. They are supposed to put the 4  x 4 card on the post at their site where the site number is. This tells us as we make our rounds in the campground that they have paid and checked in at the Contact Station. When we were finishing our last pass through the campground we notice one camper had not put their card on the site post but they had put the card on the mirror. We stopped to tell them to put their card up. The lady walked out to us and said you are not going to believe this but our “dog ate it”. I told her we had heard several stories but had never heard that one, except when we were in high school when some students used that as an excuse for not having their homework.

Day 30 Tuesday May 30, 2023 We departed the campground at 8:45AM after breakfast and turning in our radio and keys to Ranger Hicks. 

It rained off and on about half the way home. We got home about 3PM and got some of our stuff out just before it started raining again. 

We are thankful for a good month and safe trip.

Stone Mountain State Park NC May 16-23, 2023

 Day 16 Tuesday May 16, 2023 The photo of the small tree with white blossoms in the last post is of a Mountain Laurel. There are several on our campsite and in other places in the park.

Yesterday when we were making our last pass through the campground putting out the reservation signs for Tuesday and Wednesday we spotted an “intruder” on site 21. He had not checked in before setting up camp. 

Based on some research it appears to be an Ornate Box Turtle. 

We had some rain before dawn but the remainder of the day was very nice. 

We found a restaurant in Elkin we wanted to try this morning, Nanas Family Restaurant. But after eating there it is a “one and done” place for us. Our table cloth had syrup and food crumbs from Saturday per the waitress after we asked her to wipe it down. 

The tablecloth must have been original from when they open in 2019 because all the coloring on the material was worn away except around the edges that hung below the table top. It was so worn out the threads in the material was showing through the plastic top. Not very appealing. I ordered two biscuits with gravy with country ham. The biscuit was so hard on the bottom I could barely get the steak knife to cut through it. Gravy had no taste but the country ham and coffee was good. I didn't think about it until after we departed but I only got one biscuit that was split open into two pieces. I checked my receipt after we got in the car each of our meals was about $0.50 more than the menu stated. NOT going back.

We drove out to Hamptonville area to pick up a few items at the Shiloh General Store (an Amish business). They make fresh sourdough bread, whoopie pies and other bakery items daily plus all the other items you normally see in an Amish grocery store. Then we stopped at the Amish diary nearby and got some of their milk before returning to Elkin for our day off Latte fix at Dirty Joe's Coffee Shop. The gift card that the man gave us last week there was for $10. The whoopie pie and Latte sure was good.

We browsed some of the shops on Main street. Lena was looking for some new duds. On the way back to the campground we stopped near our turn off on hwy 21 to check out the Dollar General. It was built a few years ago and we have been planning to stop there to check their stock. Some times campers will ask us about where to get supplies that are not stocked in the little camp store in the Contact Station. They had a really good stock of items, almost like a mini WalMart except for fresh food items. It cost us $50 by the time we left there and we had only stopped to look. 

Just before nightfall a storm rolled through and dropped a lot of rain for over 30 minutes. 

Day 17 Wednesday May 17, 2023 Sometime last night Rocky, the raccoon, walked all over our campground golf cart seat with his muddy paws and also turned over one of the trash cans we use sometimes for hot fire pit ashes. 

Today we went to North Wilksboro to the Talia Espresso for out last Latte fix until next week. We have been here several times since discovering it a couple of years ago. It is a nice place in the old downtown area on Main Street, lots of seating, free WiFi and good coffee and scones.

We walked down the street looking in store fronts for something interesting when we saw what we thought was a antique flea market type business so we stepped in to loud barking from a dog that we couldn't see at first due to all the merchandise in the place. 

The owner spoke up and said she will not bite she just loves to see people. Her name was Angel. She was snow white and came up and wanted us to scratch her head. The man explained we were welcome to come in and browse around even though nothing in the place was for sale. I guess you could say he was kind of eccentric. He appeared to be about our age and had hair down below his shoulders. He said he formally published a weekly newspaper but now did an online newspaper and he just liked collecting things. He had a LOT of stuff in there. Lots of old hammers, different tools, some books, several jugs of marbles and a large glass 5 gallon jug with 35,000 pennies in it. Except for a narrow isle the place was “wall to wall” stuff. He was interesting to listen to. He said he also has two other storage buildings with old doors, windows, etc. that he does sell to people looking for items when restoring old houses.

After checking out a few more places we were getting hungry so we went to Applebees for lunch. I really like their Blacken Chicken and Shrimp with mushrooms, onions and garlic mashed potatoes.

Then we returned to the campground. Tomorrow we go back to work.

Day 18 Thursday May 18, 2023 Back to work, cool and no sunshine today made for a much cooler day. We did our normal morning routine by putting out the 25 reservation signs for campers coming in today. 

Then I had to run the contact station from 12 noon until 7:30PM, checking in campers, selling firewood, ice and other items in the little camp store. Jackie, the lady that normally works in the contact station took a week off, so I was asked to run the contact station today and again next Monday. Wilma that works every other weekend in the visitor center is running the contact station Friday through Sunday. Checking in the campers, registering “walkin campers” and selling the firewood, etc. is all handled via a computer. I was trained on the computer system when they got it a few years ago. 

Day 19 Friday May 19, 2023 We have 59 reservations today so we were busy, putting out the reservation signs, cleaning sites, etc. Sure glad it is not raining like it did last year on Fridays. It seems like it rained a lot last year on Friday.

Day 20 Saturday May 20, 2023 Not so busy today, not so many coming today. I relieved Wilma in the contact station during lunch time for a couple of hours.

Day 21 Sunday May 21, 2023 Busy today with 33 reservations and lots of campers leaving. I call it “shift change day” with weekend campers leaving and new one coming in. We cleaned as many sites as we could before the new campers came in. Beautiful weather today. I relieved Wilma during lunch again.

Day 22 Monday May 22, 2023 We have 16 reservations today. Had two campers that came in without reservations after the contact station closed last night. That is what we look out for on our first pass through the campground about 8-8:15AM. A few times they leave without paying before we find them. And we believe there was one on the site next to us that did exactly that last night. Lena said she cleaned that site yesterday after the camper that was there checked out and this morning she found trash on it and some ashes in the fire pit. So they must have come in after we closed our curtains last night and departed before we opened them this morning about 7:30AM.

One of the other two this morning didn't want to give me her telephone number so I could create a customer record in the computer so I could collect her payment. After refusing to give me her number 3-4 times she finally relented. 

 

As we were making our second pass through the campground after breakfast a camper with a nice new motorhome stopped us and asked to borrow some tools. Their satellite dish would not retract so they could travel without damaging it. 

We cleaned a few sites and I worked in the contact station from 12 noon to 6:30PM then we put out the 25 reservation signs for Tuesday and Wednesday (our days off).

Day 23 Tuesday May 23, 2023 Gregg and Judi, our friends from Bostic NC came about 10:30AM for a day visit. We drove to Sparta for lunch. We had planned to try a new steak restaurant that we were told is good but it and the other restaurant that we have ate at a few times are both closed today so we decided to try the Tex-Mex Cafe. There are two mexican restaurants in Sparta. Lena and I have ate at the other one twice and it is good but we decided to try this one. BIG mistake.

There was only three employees working. We found a table since no one payed any attention to us when we walked in. 15-20 minutes latter a waitress took our drink order. I think I got two cubes of ice in my tea.

While we were waiting for someone to take our food order a HUGE hornet landed on the window beside our table. The guys at the table next to us told us that if it stung us that it would be a serious pain. Gregg went looking for a fly swatter but was ignored when he asked for one. I finally got the chance to smash it with my shoe and when it fell off the window it landed in Judi's purse. She about freaked out.

Finally a man took our food order. Lena said it was about an hour after we arrived our food finally came out. Lena got a Tex-Mex salad that was the smallest salad we have ever seen for a meal order. My Burrito Bowl was good but Judi was very displeased with her order. The chicken meat in the enchiladas was yellow and very dry and the wrap was soggy. Gregg got a jumbo burrito but was surprised that the beans and rice was wrapped up in the burrito roll. 

One of the guys at the table next to us didn't get his meal until all his friends had finished their meals and only then after he went and asked about his order. 

This place makes the second “one and done” restaurant we have been to recently. Judi said we should have taken the big hornet at our window as an omen. Oh, and before the hornet a red wasp flew into Gregg's hair. He flipped him out and he landed near me on the window and I smashed him with a salt shaker. 

So to treat ourselves we went to the coffee shop in town that we found on this trip and got a good coffee. Then we stopped at the artist and crafts guild store in town to browse all the nice crafts before returning to the campground so Gregg and Judi could head home.

Stone Mountain State Park May 9-15, 2023

 Day 9 Tuesday May 9, 2023 Today is the first day of our weekend so we drove to Galax VA to a get our Latte and Cinnamon Bun fix at Briarpatch Marketeplace and Cafe. We always visit this place when we are in the area. They normally have some of the best Lattes and Cinnamon Buns. Today the Lattes were not as good as normal, it seems a lot depends on the person making them even if from the same place. The couple that now own the cafe and antique business purchased it just before COVID hit. They have really turned the antique part of the business into a much nicer shopping experience. There is not so much “junk” and not crowded and musty smelling. They have also expanded the options in the Cafe and have lots more seating, some over in the antique section. 

I spotted a reproduction of an old Pie Safe that I really like so I took several photos and I may try building one later this year. 

We walked around the historical section of town and stopped in to look around the Chestnut Creek School of the Arts. There are a lot of different types of artist in this area and the school has several classes in different types of crafts and arts. 

There was a large display of artistic quilts on the second floor. These were not functional type quilts like my mother made by hand one stitch at a time. These were all machine  made quilts with the fabric laid out in an artistic fashion. They were very pretty but so were the prices. 

We rode through Fries VA and stopped at the Fries RV Park where we have stayed several times but not recently. From there we headed back via Independence VA and stopped for lunch at the Mexican Restaurant there. We try to stop there at least one time while we are working at Stone Mountain. It is a good Mexican Restaurant.

Day 10 Wednesday May 10, 2023 Today we planned to eat breakfast at McGradys Grill a few miles from here but they have closed permanently. There were signs out front that it will reopen soon under a different name.  We found out later the McGradys had sold out due to health issues. So we drove onto Jonesville and ate breakfast at Breakfast Time. Jonesville is a small town on the edge of Elkin. I got pancakes with strawberries, blueberries and nuts. Yummy!!

We returned to Elkin and stopped at Combs Butcher Shop to get some of their homemade breakfast sausage. We bought some last year and it was very good. It is mild as we don't like spicy sausage. We also bought a package of sliced country ham. And found some free range eggs for $1.59 a dozen. That is a bargain now for eggs. We will see how good they are. Lena is picky about her eggs. She likes the yoke to be as yellow as possible. And you don't get that with eggs from chickens kept in cages.

We spotted a new mural so we stopped to get a photo of it before we stopped at Dirty Joe's for a Latte. Ekin has lot of murals and we try to photograph everyone we see when we are traveling. While in the coffee shop a man, we assume the owner, gave us a gift card for our next visit. The sleeve it was in had $20 written on it but he said it was not for that much, but he didn't know how much it was worth. We will see on our next visit.

Then it was onto Walmart for a few supplies. On the way back to the park we stopped at Foothills Grocery and Grill for four pieces of their fried chicken. They are well know for their fried chicken around here. Then we returned to the park for a restful afternoon before getting back in the grove tomorrow.

Day 11 Thursday May 11, 2023 We only have 19 reservations for today plus every how many “walkin” we have so not much to do today and the weather is really nice.

Day 12 Friday May 12, 2023 Typical Friday as we have 61 reservations for tonight. Most will stay the weekend and some longer. 

We are still getting night time visits from BoBo the bear or bears and occasionally Rocky the raccoon will also visit the dumpsters here at the entrance to the campground. The dumpsters are about 3-4 hundred yards from our campsite and some times we hear them when they are banging the lids on the dumpsters. This morning they were banging the lids at 4:14AM. They pulled some of the trash out and scattered it on the pavement in front of the dumpsters. Normally the first ranger on duty cleans it up when they open the gates to the park at 7AM.

We talked to a young lady this morning in the campground with an accent that I thought was German and she confirmed it. She is from Berlin.

Possible evening showers so we may have some “no shows”. But it rained just lightly just after 6PM for about 20 minutes otherwise good weather today.

Several of these trees on our campsite

Day 13 Saturday May 13, 2023 About the same today weatherwise. Most of yesterday's reservations showed up. It was a normal Saturday for us and I worked in the Contact Station for 2 hours so Jackie and Wilma in the Visitor Center could have a lunch break. 

EMS had to be called for one of the campers due to chest pains, that turned out to be gall bladder infection with gall stones. He is due for surgery. 

Day 14 Sunday May 14, 2023 Today is what I call “shift change” day. Lots of weekend campers leaving and several coming in for the week days. After we got as many sites cleaned as we could before noon I worked in the Contact Station for 2.5 hours checking in campers and selling supplies. Rain in the forecast and no sunshine but only had light sprinkles.

Day 15 Monday May 15, 2023 After putting out the reservation signs and having breakfast we cleaned  up several sites before lunch. The weather was just a little cool this morning so it was a good day to rake the sites and clean fire pits. 

For lunch I grilled some really good pork chops from Billy's, our butcher shop in Wallace

It started raining about 3PM. We ended the day by putting out the reservation signs for Tuesday and Wednesday since we will be on weekend those days.

Stone Mountain State Park NC May 1-8, 2023

 Day 1 Monday May 1, 20223 We departed home at 7 AM, stopped in Wallace at McDonald's for breakfast, then headed for Stone Mountain State Park for our 8th year working as Volunteer Campground Hosts. We stopped again in Greensboro at the Farmers Market for a break and check to see if any fresh vegetables were available. Didn't see anything we wanted other than the $10 bill Lena found on the ground.

We arrived at the campground just after 1PM, setup, ate lunch, rested for awhile then picked up our keys, radio, etc from Jackie at the Contact Station and checked out the campground and put out the reservation signs for Tuesday and Wednesday.  Normally the hosts switch out on Tuesday or Wednesday which are the hosts days off but the April hosts wanted to leave on either Sunday or Monday so we agreed to arrive on Monday. There is only one other host couple that has been working here longer than we have. Usually the host age out and can't do the work or sell their camper and have to quit. 

It has been really windy and cool all day.

Day 2 Tuesday May 2, 2023 It is still cool and windy but the sun is out so it is a little warmer today. We decided to have breakfast at the Circle L near Sparta. They make huge pancakes and this morning I had a desire for some country ham and a pancake. I only get one pancake because they are as large as a dinner plate. I didn't know that the first time we ate here and I ordered two pancakes and some of the locals that were sitting at the next table laughed at me when they came out.

After we had breakfast we drove on into Sparta to try out a new Coffee Shop called The Gathering Place. They have lots of gift items, women's clothing and about any kind of coffee you can imagine and some pastries. The coffee and cinnamon buns were good, not the best we have had but okay. Better than the other coffee shop in town we normally go to. Yea I know we are picky when it comes to a good Latte. They had several small round tables with two or three chairs at each table. I didn't like the chairs at all. The metal bar that was the back of the chair hurt my back.

We left the coffee shop and rode out into the country on the twisting mountain roads to look at the scenery and take photos. It seems the leaves have come out earlier than the last two years we were here in May. We rode part of the Blue Ridge Parkway on the way back to the campground. They are preparing to do some major repaving and repairs on 75 miles of the parkway from hwy 21 near Sparta to near Grandfather Mountain. It is a 3 year, 98 million project. It sure needs updating because the payment is getting in bad shape, lots of potholes.

After returning to the campground I did some cleanup of dead limbs on the hosts site. The last hosts didn't clean it up very good before they left. 

Day 3 Wednesday May 3, 2023 This morning we decided to go to North Wilkesboro to try a new coffee shop there named Anchor Coffee. We were disappointed they didn't have any pastries to go with the coffee. We were pleased they served the Lattes in a regular mug and did the fancy decoration on the top but the coffee wasn't as hot as it should have been in our opinion. We chose to set on a old couch because every chair had a flat wood seat and flat wood seat back that didn't look comfortable at all.  Picky, Picky!!

We were still hungry after drinking our coffee so we went to The Coffee House restaurant to get a regular breakfast. Then onto Walmart and Aldi for a few items. On the way back to the campground we did some more exploring on back roads.

It is still windy and cool today, about 50 degrees but the forecast for tomorrow looks better. We hope so because we get back into the groove tomorrow and start working the campground.

Day 4 Thursday May 4, 2023 Nothing exciting today, just our normal routine. We put out the reservation signs in the morning, came back to our motorhome and had breakfast, then went back out and cleaned sites, talked to the campers. The weather was much nicer today. 

Day 5 Friday May 5, 2023 Great weather today, warm and sunshine. Approximately  60 RVs and tent campers coming in today for the weekend.  We have 88 sites here and most will be occupied tonight if all the reservations come in. Normally some make reservation and don't show up and don't cancel their reservation, which could give them a refund if they cancel in time.

Day 6 Saturday May 6, 2023 Another good weather day, we worked in the campground doing our normal duties, then I worked in the Contact Station checking in camper, selling supplies so Jackie, that runs the contact station Thursday through Monday could relieve Mary at the Visitor Center so Mary could go to lunch. On weekends we play musical chairs for a while. 

I found a $20 bill on the street near one of the campsites. I asked the people nearby had they lost any money and they had not so I showed it to Lena and got to looking at it and noticed something odd about the bill. It had the word COPY printed in two places on the front. Then I noticed the small writing where it states that it is Legal Tender stating it was NOT Legal Tender but money used in Movies. 

Later I gave it to Jackie and had her fooled until I told her to look at it close. Anyone in a store that did not look at the bill close could be easily fooled.

Day 7 Sunday May 7, 2023 Another nice day but we did get a hard shower of rain mid afternoon for about 30 minutes. 

Most of the weekend campers departed today so we had lots of campsites to clean before those with reservations today comes in. We try to clean and rake all the vacated sites before the next camper comes but we don't always get to all of them before they come in. Check-in time is 4PM but lots of campers come much earlier than that. If the site is vacant we allow them to go ahead and setup unlike some commercial campgrounds. Now some of the commercial campgrounds will charge up to $20 extra if you arrive before stated check-in time even if the site is vacant. 

We did the musical chairs thing again at lunch time.

Just before dark we saw 5 deer out in front of our motorhome. They don't normally come out when a lot of people are hear but most had departed in our section of the campground at that time. 

Even though we have a large RV our site, the host site, is located in the Tent section. Years ago there was only a tent section at this park and the host handled the check-in, firewood sales, etc. so the host site was in the tent section and remained there after the other two sections were added to the campground. Loop A is what I call the tent section. There are no utility hookups in this Loop except our site is full hookup, only water hydrants spaced around the loop. Some of the sites can handle a small RV. Loop B is for RVs and have electricity and water hookups, two sites are full hookup and are designated handicap, but anyone can reserve them. Loop C is similar to Loop B but only has water hydrants scattered around the loop. We are glad that the host site is where it is because we feel like we would be bother a lot if we were located right where most of the RVs were. We are somewhat isolated from the busy part of the campground.

Day 8 Monday May 8, 2023 We only have 8 reservations today plus maybe some “Walkins”. After we did the reservations and had breakfast we cleaned some sites that we didn't get to yesterday and cleaned some fire pits and spruced up the 4 group sites. 

The group sites are normally used by groups from churches or the scouts. Mostly dozens of young people with adults leaders. They usually leave less trash on the sites that the adults in the regular camp sites. But to be honest most of the campers don't leave much trash, just small pieces of paper, bread ties, cigarette butts, etc. It seems that hershey bars are the favorite candy for the campers that come here because we find a lot of pieces of hershey bar wrappers.