Stone Mountain State Park May 9 - 20, 2024

 Day 10  Thursday  May 9, 2024

Back to work today. We had a fairly easy day today. No very many new arrivals or departures so not many sites to clean. We did have to rake a few to get the grass clippings off the site after the mowing crew finally mowed the grass and didn’t direct the clippings away from the site. It seems we get a little rain about every day now. 

Day 11  Friday  May 10, 2024 

We have 64 reservations for today so it took awhile to get all the signs out. We also got the grass clippings off a couple more sites. If everyone shows up we will have a full campground tonight.  

The Park Superintendent that is overseeing this park until the new Superintendent is in place stopped to talk to us as we were working and introduced himself and thanked us for what we are doing. That made us feel good that he would take the time to do that. He is the  Park Superintendent for another nearby park but is overseeing this one also until the new one is in place which he told us should be in 3-4 weeks. 

We had a fairly easy day.  Most of the campers didn’t come in until after 3PM and we had all the sites ready by then. Usually the weekenders have to get off work on Friday afternoon before they can come here. 

I added a new skill to my skills list today……snake wrangler. We found a snake on the street in the B Loop near Big Sandy Creek so I took one of our trash grabbers and encouraged him to slither down the creek bank. He was not a poisonous snake and even if he was I would not have killed him as it is against the rules. Occasionally rattlesnakes and copper heads are found in and around the campground. 

Day 12  Saturday  May 11, 2024

The temperature was 48 degrees when we got out this morning at 8AM. So we put on our hooded sweatshirts.  The heater on the golf cart don’t work 😅. 

Most campers leave their site mostly clean, except maybe a bread tie or small pieces of paper will be missed but sometimes we have someone that just leaves a mess as we did this morning. This was a grown man that had been here several days and left his firepit full of trash, not wood but trash. I almost filled a bucket with the trash he left. Now I am sure he would not have wanted to check into a site and find it like he left this one. 

We made our last round about 5:30 and called it a day. 

About 9PM I saw a beady eyed furry critter run across the floor in the motorhome. So I got me a peanut and set my mouse trap. He got the first peanut so I baited it again and just after we went to bed at 10 Lena heard the trap snap. GOT him. 😝

Day 13  Sunday   May 12, 2024

It was 50 degrees when we got out at 8 this morning to start our day. We expect to be busy today. I call Sunday “shift change day”. Most of the weekend campers will leave today and we have 26 reservations for tonight so we will have a lot of campsites to check/clean. 

We started out this morning with our hooded sweatshirts but by mid morning we had them off after the sun came out and warmed things up. We had a big Mother’s Day breakfast, rested a bit and went back out and got the sites cleaned that had been vacated. 

Checkout here is not until 3PM and some wait until the last minute to leave which is okay as that is their privilege. That is changing in June when all state parks in North Carolina will change to a 12 Noon checkout with a 3 PM checkin. Here at this park when a new camper comes in, even if it is before checkin time they can setup in their reserved site if it is vacant. 

We got all the sites ready by about 3 PM so I grilled a couple of hamburgers for lunch. As far as weather goes this has been a really nice day, sunshine and a light breeze. 

Day 14  Monday   May 13, 2024

We only have a dozen reservations today so it didn’t take us long to do our first pass through the campground. We got all the sites ready yesterday so no sites to clean this morning except for one firepit that was hot yesterday. 

We had breakfast and then we had some chores to do around the motorhome. There is no one working in the Contact Station today so I told Ranger Hicks yesterday that I would take care of it today. I worked there from Noon until 5:30 checking in campers, selling firewood, ice and decals from the little store we have in the Contact Station. Then we put out the 7 reservations that are due in Tuesday since we will be off Tuesday and Wednesday. 

We heard another bug eyed furry creature last night after we went to bed. He managed to get the bait out of the snap trap I set. I baited it this afternoon to make it more difficult to get it out and he got brave and came out about 7PM and he got caught this time. Our host campsite is surrounded by trees so it not surprising that there are mice about. We didn’t get any last year but already have caught two this month. 

One of the campers stopped at the Contact Station to asked about getting a Diet Coke which we don’t have. He had an interesting painting on the side of his small van so I asked him about it. He explained the meaning behind everything in the painting and recited part of a poem that the painting was about. Very interesting. He was originally from Australia which I expected from his accent. 

We get to meet a lot of different people in the campground. We talked to one couple yesterday and the man reminded me of a movie actor named Slim Pickings (he has stared in a lot of western movies). I asked the man if anyone had ever told him that he favored a famous movie actor. He laughed and said no one ever had. 

We walked down the street from our campsite to a place where we could see the Northern sky last night after 9PM to see if could see of the Northern Lights. I got some photos but they didn’t have the colors of the Northern Lights but did have a little swirl in them. Also saw a shooting star. 

After awhile I was ready to go back to the motorhome but Lena said she wanted to stay at least until 10PM. I told her the bears come out at 10. Then to our surprise about two minutes later we heard something behind us in the woods making noises like something breaking twigs walking through the woods. Lena was ready to leave right then. 

Day 15  Tuesday  May 14, 2024

We think it drizzled rain about all night and was still raining when we got up and decided to go to Mt. Airy to try Biscuitville for breakfast. We ate at one many years ago. It is supposed to serve Southern style breakfast meals. Well I don’t know who taught them how to make scrambled eggs but it sure wasn’t my mother or Lena. They were fried flat, about 1/8” thick and then cut into pieces, that is not a scrambled egg. And they were also cold. But  the biscuits, country ham, bacon, grits and coffee were good. We were a little disappointed, should have asked them to replace the eggs but I expect that is the way they cook eggs. 

Then we went on to downtown Mt. Airy to a coffee shop to get our Latte fix. We had trouble finding it. The cell phone reception was very weak, possibly due to the heavy overcast and rain. 

Then it was onto Walmart for milk and bacon. Then we decided to return to the campground. Not much fun sightseeing in the rain. We did get a few nice photos on a road we had to detour onto due to a road closure.  

We stopped at Foothills Grocery to get some takeout fried chicken for lunch. We have stopped here many times in the past for their good fried chicken. 

Rain is on the forecast for several days. This has been the rainiest month we have ever had working here. 

Day 16  Wednesday  May 15, 2024

It rained about all night I think but stopped for a few hours about the time we got up and headed to Elkin. We decided to try Dirty Joe’s other locations near Food Lion since the one downtown is closed for renovation. Well this location was closed and no indication it had ever been there, but it was there last year. A lady in the parking lot told us the owner had sold out completely so there is not a Dirty Joe’s anymore anywhere in Elkin. 

Last week we spotted a new coffee shop named River Roast Coffee in Jonesville which is just across the Yadkin River from Elkin so we headed there. The lady that told us about Dirty Joe’s closing down said the cinnamon buns at River Roast Coffee were really good. 

River Roast Coffee has lots more seating than did Dirty Joe’s. We ordered a couple lattes and a couple of cinnamon buns and took a table by the front window. We both decided that the lattes were the best we have had in a long time. We complimented the Barista on his lattes and that brought a smile to his face. This might become our second favorite coffee shop. The cinnamon buns were good also. Lots of customers came in while we were there so maybe they will make it. They just opened in late February. 

When we got to our table with our lattes we noticed what looked like a piece of deer poop on the lid. I didn’t know what it was but Lena knew it was a chocolate covered roasted coffee bean. I never heard of such a thing. I ate it and it was okay. I guess it was better than a piece of deer 💩. But since I have never ate a piece of deer 💩 I can’t say for sure. 

I watched the Barista and he was placing one of them on each cup of coffee as he made them. Just something a little different. 

After stopping at Food Lion for some chocolate milk, etc, we took some backroads as we wound our way back to the campground. 

Day 17  Thursday  May 16, 2024

Back to work today. It rained more last night but is supposed to be clear today. We hope so, getting a little tired of the rain. But at least we haven’t had any of the bad storms that some areas have had. 

We put out the reservation signs, picked up the expired site tags, picked up some trash and helped a camper with hiking trail questions. 

Then we had breakfast, rested awhile and I went back out and cleaned a few firepits while Lena got a rack of ribs ready for me to cook in my Dutch Oven. I have not cooked any ribs in the Dutch Oven in 2-3 years so I brought it with us on this trip. They didn’t taste as good as most I have cooked. I’m not sure if these ribs were not from an older hog. 

We did another pass through the campground after eating our lunch. We have had the best weather today we have had in a few days, no rain yet and sunshine. 

Day 18  Friday  May 17, 2024

We were expecting a full campground tonight but the weather forecast probably was the cause of the 17 cancellations we had. The A Loop which is mostly for tents was supposed to be full but will be less than 25% full tonight. 

We did our normal routine getting the sites ready for those that were coming in and still had time to relax a couple hours in the afternoon. 

A fairly heavy rain started about 6:30. Sure don’t envy those that are in tents tonight. 

Day 19  Saturday  May 18, 2024

Based on the water in our buckets I think we got at least 2.5” of rain last night. We had several people with reservations that did not show up in addition to the 17 we know of that canceled their reservations. Sure glad we weren’t in a tent. Our tent camping days are a long way behind us. 

We have 16 reservations for tonight but with more rain in the forecast some may not show up.

We had some unpredicted good weather until about 4PM just as we started our last round through the campground it began to rain and we couldn’t get the windshield wipers to work on the golf cart and the doors would not closed so we called it a day and retired to the motorhome. 

Lena noted later that this has been the quietest weekend so far we can remember. Usually there are a lot more people and especially kids on the weekends but the weather is just not cooperating I guess. 

Day 20  Sunday   May 19, 2024

Mush better weather forecast for today. The tent campers that are leaving today were spreading their tents, etc out on the street this morning trying to get them a little drier before packing them up to leave. 

We made our morning rounds and returned to the motorhome for a big Sunday morning breakfast. Lens cleaned up the kitchen and I went back out about 10:30 to clean the sites that needed it after the weekend campers departed. We only have 16 reservations for tonight plus the few that are already here. I haven’t ever seen the B Loop ( it has water and electric hookups) this empty on a Sunday in May. 

Sure is nice to see the sun shining.  As we were going back out to ride through the campground about 1:30 we saw 3 deer just past our campsite. It is quiet in the campground so they felt safe to come out I guess. 

One of the campers flagged us down to tell us his water hydrant was running full blast and would not cut off. I was able to stop it but needed a tool to secure the head on the hydrant. The rangers came by at that point and they had tools with them. 

The water hydrants the state uses in the state parks are piece of very expensive JUNK. The maintenance crew, the rangers and us spend a lot of time dealing with these pieces of junk. And from what we have been told the park is not allowed to go to Lowe’s and purchase a good hydrant for about $80.  The park must buy one of these $1,000 pieces of junk off the state contract. What a waste of man hours and tax dollars. 

We cleaned a few firepits and finished our pass through the campground and relaxed and enjoyed the nice weather with NO rain. 

Day 21  Monday  May 20, 2024

Another beautiful day in the making, with nice temperatures, sunshine and no rain in the forecast as we began our normal routine for the day with 27 reservations. 

Three maintenance workers mowed the campground grass this morning and then a Forest Service employee came with 4 prisoners to do the weed eating in the campground and it sure needed it. 

We have had a lot of complaints this month from campers about the grass not being mowed and the weeds/grass around the sites. We have never in the past 8 years heard any complaints like this but this year we have heard lots of complaints and they are warranted complaints because for whatever reason, we don’t know, the maintenance crew has not been keeping the campground mowed and not done any weed eating. 

Before

After

We had not seen any campers with RVs from foreign countries since COVID until yesterday. A couple from the Netherlands in a class B style van was here last night. Normally the RVs from foreign countries ship their RVs into Novia Scotia Canada. 

Speaking of Novia Scotia, we had a couple come in late this afternoon without a reservation that was from Novia Scotia Canada. I got them booked into site 90, which has the best view in the campground of the mountains between here and the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

View from site 90

There is a lot of Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies here in the campground this year. We have seen several groups of them in different locations in the campground. 

Stone Mountain State Park April 30 - May 8, 2024

Day 1 Tuesday April 30, 2024

It is time to go to Stone Mountain State Park NC to work as Volunteer Campground Hosts for the month of May. This will be our 9th year as Hosts. We started in March 2015 but did not work in 2020 due to the park closing just before we were to leave to work the month of April during to early stages of COVID. 

We switched to May a few years ago as it works better for other  things we like to do and the weather is not as cool as April. March is cold in the mountains. As of this year we had first choice as to what month we work since as of this year we have been volunteering longer than any other hosts. 

We also worked October last year in addition to May since we hadn’t been to the mountains in the Fall in years. We will NOT be working again in October. The stink bugs are abundant in the park in the Fall and they loved our motorhome. They got into every nook and cranny they could find and we took them home with us. We are fairly sure we have captured/killed between 3 & 4 thousand of them. They have about a 6-7 month life span. So we rarely find one now, except an occasional dead one. We are really tired of them. They don’t do any damage just real annoying to deal with. 

We departed about 7:30AM and stopped in Wallace to fuel up the motorhome and ourselves. Only a couple of minor slowdowns on 421 between Lillington and Greensboro before we stopped at the Farmers Market in Greensboro. This is a good stop as we can park the motorhome in the big parking lot and walk around and see if any fresh farm vegetables are available. We got a tomato, some cucumbers and some really nice strawberries. 

From the Farmers market it was an easy 80 more miles and we arrived at 1:33PM and setup in the Host campsite. After we unhook our tow car Lena gets out and helps guide me into the site and we communicate via our cellphones. But for some reason we couldn’t get a cell signal. The cell service is not great in the campground but normally we get a good enough signal to serve the purpose. So I got out our walkie talkies and they would not work either which has nothing to do with the cell service. Not sure what is wrong with them, even new batteries didn’t help. But they are several years old so I guess it is time for a new set. We will have to have a working set for our schedule Caravan trip in August. So we did it the old fashion way with Lena giving me hand signals as I watched the backup camera and my mirrors. In 2023 I had requested the Park Maintenance crew remove some large wood timbers that had been put down years ago along the edge of the site driveway that made it difficult to back into the site with a large motorhome like our. With the timers removed the driveway is almost straight rather than having a slight curve in it so that helped also. 

Rain was predicted for today but we only got a few sprinkles, just enough to spot up the dust on the Jeep. 

Our home away from home

Day 2 Wednesday May 1, 2024

Our weekend is Tuesday and Wednesday so we took advantage of it and went out for breakfast to Saddle Mountain Cafe in Ennice NC, which is a few miles from Galax VA. We found this Cafe a few years ago when we were staying in the area. It is a local country Cafe where the locals go for meals. They serve good food and generous portions, almost too much. I got one biscuit with gravy (the kind that Chester on Gunsmoke calls speckly gravy), one scrambled egg and tenderloin. They were two fairly large pieces of tenderloin so I gave some to Lena to go with her eggs, grits and her 4 slices of bacon. 

It was kind of fun to listen to 4 of the local men joking with each other in the table across from us. Then a fifth local man came in and sat near them. They spoke to him and he said he had forgotten to put his hearing aid in so he wanted them to speak up. One of the men said he wears his all the time and it has 6 channels on it and he can tune one of them in if he gets tired of listening to someone. The same man had mentioned earlier that he was 89 years old and still likes to get out and ride his bicycle about 10 miles or so. He didn’t look to us like he was 89. 

We finished our breakfast and waddled out and drove to Galax to do a little shopping at a Mennonite store between Galax and Hillsville only to find out when we arrived that the business had closed down which kind of surprised us. They seemed to have a thriving business every time we went there. We were disappointed. 

So we stopped at Walmart to get a couple of items before going to one of our favorite coffee shops Briarpatch Marketplace and Cafe. The lady at the register misunderstood me when I said we wanted whole milk because they used Oat milk. I didn’t catch the error until I got to our table and thought about going back to get her to change it to whole milk but decided not to thinking we might learn something. Well we did, we don’t like Oak milk in our Latte. 

We returned to the campground about 1:30PM had a little lunch and then I washed the bugs off the motorhome windshield and sprayed some of the dust off the Jeep before putting a car cover over it. It will set here a week before we use it again and will be covered in what I call “squiggles” falling from the trees around us. Then we put up a solar screen on the windshield of the motorhome. We can see through it from inside the motorhome but people outside can’t see in unless it is nighttime and we have bright lights on inside. 

Day 3  Thursday  May 2, 2024

Today was our first day on the “job” for this year of hosting. We got out about 7:30AM, checking sites and cleaning some. After about an hour we came back to the motorhome and had breakfast before going back out to finish cleaning the remaining sites that needed it. 

Then we had a few hours of relaxing, lunch and then made another pass around the campground about 3:00 and again about 5:30 before calling it a day. 

While we were making the 3PM rounds one of the campers stopped us to ask about being a host. He said he camped here in the late 80’s. He told us how it looked back then compared to now. There was only the A Loop until about 2005 when the campground was enlarged to include the B & C loops which added about 50 sites. He had noticed our sign in front of our site which indicated we were from Wallace. He was from Wilmington and plays in a band sometimes at the Mad Boar Restaurant in Wallace. 

And it was a beautiful day just about as perfect a day as could be. We don’t have many in the campground tonight but have 41 reservations for tomorrow. So it will be about 2/3 full. 

Day 4  Friday  May 3, 2024

Another day of beautiful weather, although we did get a few dozens drops of rain mid afternoon. 

We did our routine in the campground but didn’t have many sites to rake or firepits to clean today since we did the vacant sites yesterday. Picked up a little trash and talked to some of the campers but had several hours to read and relax. Usually Sunday is our busiest day because most of the weekend campers leave on Sunday so we have more sites to get ready for the new arrivals. But the forecast as of now shows Sunday as a rainout. 

Day 5  Saturday  May 4, 2024

Rain is predicted today which is rather common here on the weekends it seems. We got all the reservation signs put out and a few other small task done by 9AM, had breakfast and decided to go back out about 11:30 to check some sites that had been vacated and within 10 minutes it started pouring down rain we so returned to the motorhome and watched it rain until about 4PM when it cleared up long enough for us to ride through the campground and check for any issues and then stop by the Contact Station to chat with Jackie and a new part time employee that is training in the Contract Station. 

Just after we got back to the motorhome it started raining again. We are expecting most of the 16 reservations for today will be a no show. 

Day 6  Sunday May 5, 2024

As expected we had 16 no shows yesterday probably due to the rainy weather. The weather was nice today so we cleaned several sites. We didn’t have many coming in today as we normally do on a Sunday. 

The Campground Cadillac 

We actually had the easiest workday for a Sunday we can remember since we have been volunteering here as hosts. Normally Sunday is our busiest day since most of the weekenders leave and then several new campers come in on Sunday but we didn’t have many to come in today and we had so many no shows yesterday our workload was much less. But that was good because we were invited to join the paid staff at the maintenance shop for an employees appreciation cookout consisting of hot dogs and hamburgers.  

Late in the day one of the Rangers asked me to assist her in changing out a breaker in the electrical panel at site 45. We got it replaced but it didn’t solve the problem so it was put on the list for the maintenance staff for Monday morning. 

Shortly after I returned to the motorhome and got a hot shower Lena spotted a couple of deer grazing under the trees across the road in front of our site. This is the location they normally frequent when it is quiet in the campground. We have seen them in this location for many years. Sometimes there a several but only two today. 

Day 7  Monday  May 6, 2024

We only have 10 reservations for today. We cleaned a few sites that were vacated this morning and then cleaned the four group sites. 

It started raining again about 2:30 but cleared in about 2 hours so we got the reservations reports for Tuesday and Wednesday and put them out since we will be off those days and no one is scheduled to work in the Contact Station. 

The park is short staffed which seems to be the norm. The Superintendent retired in March and that position has not been filled yet, there is one ranger position that has been vacant for some time. So there are 4 Park Rangers that have to cover the hours from 7AM to 9PM 7 days a week. 

The lady that worked weekends in the Visitor Center is not working due to medical reasons and the man that works during the week in the Visitor Center is on vacation. So the person that would be working in the Contact Station on Tuesday and Wednesday is working in the Visitor Center which leaves the Contact Station with no one working on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. 

Day 8  Tuesday May 7, 2027

We went to Elkin this morning. I needed a part to replace a door closure on one of the motorhome basement doors. They had to get it from another location so I will come back about 1PM to get it. Then we went to downtown Elkin to Dirty Joe’s Coffee Shop to get our Latte fix but it was closed for renovation with no sign of when they expect to be open again. We looked for a Dunkin Donuts but none in the area so we ended up at McDonald’s for breakfast. 

We needed a few items from the Shiloh General Store, an Amish Store in Hamptonville,  but when we got there they were closed today for a school/church function. 

Red Hot Pokers

So we returned to Elkin and went to Walmart for several items and a few groceries. We still had a hour to kill before my part was to arrive so we stopped at Wendy’s for lunch. Even a small fast food lunch now is over $20. Then we returned to the auto parts store for the part they had shipped in for me. 

We returned to the campground, I installed the part and set in the  Clam to read. Campers began to come in and there was no one to help them so I went over to the Contact Station to get them checked in, sold firewood and ice for about two hours. 

The grass in the campground is in dire need of mowing. Not sure why maintenance is not mowing it. We have never seen the grass this high. There were only two Rangers working today and one of them got one of the park lawn mowers and began mowing the grass in the campground, the other one got a weed eater and did some trimming. One of the campers came by walking his dog and told the Ranger that was trimming that the campground looked terrible. He told her he wasn’t blaming her but wondered why the maintenance crew was not mowing. 

Day 9  Wednesday May 8, 2024. 

We went to North Wilkesboro this morning to Talia Espresso Coffee Shop for our Latte fix and a blueberry scone. While we were there we decided to go onto West Jefferson. 

Old train depot in West Jefferson

We haven’t been there in years and we remembered a cheese shop named Ashe County Cheese there that might have a cheese that we have been looking for that we discovered while we were in Berlin Ohio last year. It is Guggisberg Baby Swiss. We went to the cheese factory where it was made and tried several types of cheese they make and the Baby Swiss was our favorite. 

We got lucky and found the Baby Swiss cheese that we were looking for at the Ashe County Cheese store. We picked up several different items then walked up and down the streets doing some window shopping and taking photos of several murals. We found a  donut/coffee shop that had huge donuts. We couldn’t resist so we got two to go. 

By this time we were ready to eat and we had seen a BBQ place on the way into town name Smokey Mountain BBQ so we stopped there on the way out of town and got some really good NC BBQ. As usual we couldn’t eat all that was on our plates so we took about half of it with us. 

We got back to the campground about 3PM and I went over to the Contact Station and worked until a little after 5PM checking in campers and selling firewood and ice.