{"id":664,"date":"2017-04-09T21:42:48","date_gmt":"2017-04-10T01:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/art-rageous.net\/Soul-Journer\/?p=664"},"modified":"2017-04-09T21:53:01","modified_gmt":"2017-04-10T01:53:01","slug":"impromptu-camping-trip-april-8-9-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/art-rageous.net\/Soul-Journer\/?p=664","title":{"rendered":"Impromptu Camping Trip – April 8-9, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saturday, April 8th was gorgeous–really the quintessential Springtime-in-Virginia type of day. \u00a0We had a slow, lazy start to the morning, and then thought about working in the trailer. \u00a0 We also thought about “driveway camping” that night since the weather was so nice, but then Wayne said we should actually\u00a0go<\/em> somewhere with the trailer. \u00a0Hmmmm…. I knew that a couple of relatively close campgrounds\u00a0were already full (I’d checked earlier in the week, just in case), but then he\u00a0suggested Misty Mountain<\/a>, which is literally right up the road from us. \u00a0It was 12:30 in the afternoon, and I wasn’t too optimistic since it’s a very popular campground.\u00a0 \u00a0When I called, however, they said they had a few open sites, so I quickly made a reservation for that evening, and said we’d be there within an hour. \u00a0Things didn’t quite work out that way!<\/p>\n

Once we took the tarp off, we could see that the trailer\u00a0was really dirty, plus I noticed that the tires looked low. \u00a0Wayne tried to inflate the first one with a manual pump, but it actually let air out<\/em> of the tire. Not good…. \u00a0Ultimately, he had to go buy\u00a0an electric pump, and while he was gone, I cleaned off the outside of the trailer as best I could to make it a bit more presentable. \u00a0The next challenge involved\u00a0getting a car close enough TO the trailer to be able to connect the pump to the cigarette lighter in the car and still reach the passenger side tire. \u00a0 Anyhow, a couple<\/em> of hours later, we were hitched up and pulling out of the driveway.\u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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Our site was #49, and since there was a little pop-up trailer in #50 (and no vehicle at the site when we got there), we were able to pull through instead of backing in. \u00a0This is always a good thing!<\/p>\n

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By not planning ahead for this trip–and knowing we were close to home–we brought very little “stuff.” \u00a0The advantage to this is that we were set up–and relaxing–in no time. \ud83d\ude42 \u00a0With few leaves on the trees, we could see\u00a0the Blue Ridge Mountains from our site.<\/p>\n

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The trailer looked so pretty inside with the late afternoon sun shining in. \u00a0Yes, we’ve still got a lot more we want\/need to do with the trailer, but we’re so glad that we can use it! After a lot of hard work, it’s become a comfortable little home on wheels.<\/p>\n

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The disadvantage<\/em> of bringing\u00a0“very little ‘stuff’,” however, meant that we didn’t have our camp stove or cooler with us, and we didn’t have anything for dinner. \u00a0No worries–Wayne went out foraging (to a place a couple of miles away), \u00a0and came back with fried chicken, macaroni salad, potato wedges, and some drinks, which we ate while sitting at the picnic table.<\/p>\n

Misty Mountain has lot of scheduled activities (and LOTS of things for kids), so we decided to go down the hill to the community building at 7:00 pm to check out the live music. \u00a0We were in the upper camping area, and there are two lower camping areas (past the little pond). \u00a0 There were two other fiberglass “eggs” in the lower campground Saturday night–a Casita and a 13-ft. Scamp.<\/p>\n

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Before going in to listen to the music, we\u00a0decided to make a quick trip to the house to get our cell phone chargers (which we’d forgotten), and some yogurt for breakfast (that we put in an insulated backpack). \u00a0After\u00a0giving the kitties a little more food, we drove back to the campground community building.<\/p>\n

Yay! \u00a0Live music! \u00a0Pool tables!<\/p>\n

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We played four games of pool while listening to\u00a0a couple of sets of music by the groups, and\u00a0drove back up the hill to our campsite a little after 9:00 pm. \u00a0We’d left our Scamp’s “porch” light on, and an almost-full moon was rising above it.<\/p>\n

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The crystal clear skies brought falling temperatures, so Wayne started\u00a0a fire and got out his guitar. \u00a0When I took this picture, I didn’t expect the flash to go off; I thought I would get his silhouette. \u00a0 As a result, the picture is too bright, and the video clip is too dark. Reality was somewhere in the middle. \u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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