Shakedown Cruise

I opened my 2018 camping season at Badin Lake in the Uwharrie National Forest. The purpose of the trip was to try everything out close to home in case something was not working or I'd failed  to pack a necessity. The weekend was  colder than I had expected. This combined with just coming off a germ  added to the challenge particularly as the campground had no hookups.

The trip was profitable in that I learned a number of things. First, Arrowhead Campground, a mile up the road and still in the National Forest, does have hookups. Badin Campground does not. I will stay there next time. Especially if it is cold.

I learned that my refrigerator does work and so far, despite considerable distance on rough dirt roads, the frig door panel has not fallen off.

I learned that I was missing some items from last year and that, while a taste rough looking and catering preferentially to fisherfolk and off-roaders, Eldorado Outpost is nearby and well stocked. Their grill isn't bad, either.

I learned that my new signal booster really does work on both my phone and hot spot.

I learned some new roads through a section of Randolph County I had never seen (no one has requested home library service yet from this area). The Uwharrie Mountains are some of the oldest in the world, so they are no longer  tall and dramatic, but equally beautiful in a softer, gentler way. Randolph County is large enough to be geographically diverse, most of it rolling, wooded and pleasantly green but with surprising variation. The drive between Bombay and Coggins Mine is like a long valley of open agricultural land with soft rolling hills on the periphery. Ben's friend, Sydney, grew up in Eldorado and  introduced me to this back road when we paddled Badin Lake the weekend before. I learned I still have lots to explore in Randolph and surrounding counties.

I learned that my new curtains and pillows are a big improvement. I was tickled to find fabric in the colors of my upholstery for $5 a yard, especially since I needed 8 yards  to make new curtains (the old ones were coming apart and weren't even close in color to anything else in the trailer). Jessie made fun of them at first and said the trailer went from looking like a cheesy gramma's trailer to looking like a gramma's living room. I guess the stripes are a little formal. But they are dark when closed at night and the pillows add a lot of comfort when reading at the dinette.

 And even though I was camped at Badin Lake, when Sydney and Ben arrived Saturday afternoon, it was Falls Lake, locally known as Hidden Lake, that we paddled. The town of Badin was started in 1913 by a French firm manufacturing aluminum to house their workers. At the outbreak of World War I, Alcoa bought the mill. A string of lakes on the Yadkin and Pee Dee rivers form behind dams built to power the now defunct aluminum mill. The lakes are High Rock, Badin, Falls and Tillery. The first three are impoundments of the Yadkin River. Halfway down Tillery, the Uwharrie River dumps into the lake to form the Pee Dee. Falls lake is the smallest and is used mostly by fishermen so it's a great place to paddle. There are no homes on the lake as it is bounded largely by Uwharrie National Forest and Morrow Mountain State Park. Because it is so undisturbed, it is replete with wildlife. We saw a mother eagle and her two juveniles, osprey, herons, turtles and more. Rhododendron were in bloom along with Star of David and wildflowers we did not recognize. And there was a lovely waterfall feeding the lake from cliffs along the national forest side.

But the biggest treat of all was being included with some of Sydney's friends. We met up on the lake with three of her high school chums. I wasn't sure how they'd feel about having along an old fart and a "furriner". Oh, and a "parent" to boot--her boyfriend's mom. And I'd passed enough confederate flags driving in to feel a little out of my element anyway, but her buddies were a delight and I was generously included. This is an area of amazing natural beauty. And these kids who'd grown up with it (and could easily have taken it for granted) were wonderfully aware enough to appreciate just how special a place it is. All of them have education and work skills that could take them elsewhere, but their love of this place was deep and evident. I especially enjoyed talking with the young man, a returning veteran, who is studying forestry education and gave us both common and Latin names for the plants we asked about. I'm definitely bringing the paddle club back in June.

So I'm ready to camp. As I write this, I'm planning my retirement, set for July 31. I've got a couple of long trips planned for the fall and some shorter ones in June before it gets too hot. Let the season begin!

The last trip of 2017

Devil's Fork State Park is in the northwest corner of South Carolina at the edge of a massive national forest and along the shores of beautiful Lake Jocassee. Mary had talked so much about how lovely it was, we agreed to meet there the last weekend in October. Traffic was heavy. Somehow we missed in trip planning that Devil's Fork is a favorite campground for Clemson fans and we'd  picked a homegame weekend. But we had reservations so we each had a place. My spot was a trick to back in to but friendly neighbors coached me up the hill.

Lake Jocossee is fed by multiple small waterfalls. 

The pad for the camper itself was flat but this is the only time I've taken the precaution to chock the front of the truck wheels which angled sharply downhill. That said, I was happily backed up next to the bathhouse, trailer level and secure by nightfall--only to discover (the refrigerator repair saga continues) that the repair shop, after  a fourth trip to Kernersville for more frig repair, had filled my propane tanks but not reconnected them. I reached my son the welder and sent a pix by flashlight and he coached me into reconnecting them. I'm not particularly strong and it was a two handed job with the flashlight in my teeth, but I eventually achieved hot soup for supper. This, despite the front door panel falling off the frig again. Sigh.

The weather was cold and wet. Lake Jocossee is fed by a number of small waterfalls. Visitors can take pontoon boat tours or rent kayaks to see them. I do very much want to come back and explore the lake, but snuggling up to a good book and mug of hot tea was the order of the day on Saturday. I'm not a big fiction fan but loved getting lost in Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer. Midday, Mary and her pup Jack rousted me out to search for lunch. Despite the rain and cold we had a lovely drive through the mountains and several small towns before finding a cozy local cafe with very good food.

Sunday it faired off some, but Saturday's rain was the leading edge of a cold front. When the rain finally quit, we took a 1.5 mile nature loop before I decided  to head home, hoping to make it back before dark. I'd planned to stay an extra day but the cold weather and rain made the thought of heading home inviting. And I'd convinced the repair folks in Kernersville that it was their turn to come to my place to finally fix the falling door panel after four trips to them to get the frig they installed working right.

Did I mention that the woods were beautiful? That the mushrooms were spectacular? The subtle colors of the fall leaves? That the woods were full of waterfalls? And that Mary and Jack are affable company?

I will be back, boat in tow. On a warm summer weekend. No football, no rain and lots of time to explore.


Oh, and the repair guy came from Kernersville to fix the falling frig door panel. After I insisted, to his surprise, that he use something more than just double stick tape, it seems to be staying in place. I hope this is the last you will ever hear about it... So do they.