We got a late start with our camping this year, and for our first trip of 2020 we kept it very local and reserved a “full hookup” site in the upper campground at Misty Mountain. By staying close to home we didn’t have to bring everything with us at one time, so we rolled on up the road and got to the campground right at 1:00 pm.
While backing up the trailer isn’t my strong suit, with Wayne’s guidance it only took a few tries to get it where we wanted it in our campsite. (Dare I say I’m getting a little better at this?) We chocked the wheels, disconnected the car and moved it out of the way, and then started the process of leveling the trailer.
We aren’t really camping newbies so I can’t use THAT as an excuse, but we soon realized that we’d need to put blocks under the wheel of the trailer on one side to make it level. Of course the only way to PUT blocks under the wheel was to move the trailer. And the only way to move the trailer (sigh…) was to hitch it up to the car again. Alrighty….
Instead of guiding the wheel up onto the yellow “Lego” blocks by arranging them into “steps” (since we didn’t have enough of them….), Wayne decided to use a sturdy piece of wood as a “ramp.” As a result, we wound up with this:
As sketchy as it looked, the trailer was perfectly level, and when we lowered the front and rear stabilizers, everything seemed secure. Wayne wedged a rock under the board as a precaution.
Once we got all of our cords and hoses hooked up, we were finally settled in site # 71, with reservations for two nights. It was fun to display our personalized Virginia Campers flag that we’d ordered from RnC Crafts.
We drove home to get food and other things we didn’t bring on the first trip, then spent most of the late afternoon and evening in the trailer as several bands of rain moved through. It was certainly nice to have both air conditioning and cable TV! 🙂
Fortunately, the next day brought milder temperatures and much lower humidity levels. Practicing “social distancing” at its finest, we enjoyed simply hanging out on the deck under the awning. It was one of the most laid-back and relaxing days we’ve had in a long time!
The biggest challenge of the afternoon was when I dropped one of my paintbrushes and it rolled across the deck and fell between the boards….
Given that the deck was closed on the sides, we had to “MacGyver” a method to retrieve it. By putting a small amount of duct tape on the end of the wand we use to raise and lower our awning, we were able to first move the brush so that it was parallel to the boards and centered between them. A new piece of duct tape allowed us to carefully, carefully lift it up and onto the deck.
Success!
For dinner, Wayne fixed giant tortillas stuffed with scrambled eggs, onion, garlic, and cheese….
…and just before it was dark we took a walk around the upper campground before returning to our sparkly, awning-covered deck.
We don’t make S’mores EVERY camping trip, but it seemed like a good idea for the first time out! (And they were delicious!)
While we certainly missed the things we usually do when we stay at Misty Mountain–swimming, playing pool in the community center, listening to karaoke or live music, talking with fellow campers, etc.–finally being able to go somewhere for a couple of days (even if it was just up the road) was a very positive experience!
We sincerely appreciated the new safety protocols implemented by the staff at Misty Mountain, and we also appreciated the fact that most (but not all…) of our fellow campers were following them.
Camping CAN be a relatively low-risk activity during these strange times, so we’ll continue to be careful and cautious this summer when we venture out. 🙂
Until next time,
Sharon & Wayne