{"id":850,"date":"2017-07-28T13:07:03","date_gmt":"2017-07-28T17:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/art-rageous.net\/Soul-Journer\/?p=850"},"modified":"2017-07-30T22:21:00","modified_gmt":"2017-07-31T02:21:00","slug":"camping-trip-july-26-27-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/art-rageous.net\/Soul-Journer\/?p=850","title":{"rendered":"Camping Trip – July 26-27, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

With summer winding down, we’re scrambling to finish various projects AND to get in more camping trips! With a little window of opportunity on Wednesday and Thursday, we decided to do another quick trip, this time to Sherando Lake Recreation Area<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Even though it’s called Sherando “Lake,” this recreation area and campground in the Blue Ridge Mountains actually has two<\/em> lakes. \u00a0The larger, lower lake has a beach area for swimming, and the upper lake is for fishing. \u00a0There are hiking trails around both.<\/p>\n

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Since we were too close to the date to be able to reserve a site online, we decided to try the “first come, first served” option. \u00a0We drove over (without the trailer) on Wednesday morning, and the young park ranger who greeted us at the gate told us that a site in “B” loop (River Bend) had just opened up. \u00a0We paid for one night, and when he suggested that we put something on the site as a visual notice to mark that it was reserved, we asked if our camp chairs would be enough. \u00a0When he said yes, we drove into the campground to claim site “B1.”<\/p>\n

In the previous post, I mentioned that our car (a Kia Sorento) did great as a tow vehicle. \u00a0This trek–though only 25 miles–offered the new<\/em> challenge of crossing Afton Mountain, westbound on I-64. \u00a0While it’s not especially steep (about a 1200 ft climb over 5 miles), and we know we have more than enough towing power with the Kia given the weight of our trailer, it seemed like the car struggled a bit trying to find the right gear. \u00a0We were in “sport mode,” as before, but according to some feedback on a Kia forum, I probably should have also used the “manual” gear options. \u00a0I’ll try that next time…<\/p>\n

In case you’re not familiar with “The Mountain,” this video show eastbound and then westbound travel over Afton Mountain on I-64. It’s definitely a pretty drive. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n