Hardridge Creek (COE) 11/13/23 - 11/15/23 (#21)

Trip #21 (last one for 2023) was at Hardridge Creek once again. It's obviously become our go to since it is so close to home.

Our favorite site (#69) wasn't available so we settled on #28. 

As you can see it was private on the 'living' side but neighbors were a bit too close behind us.

We had originally planned on staying three nights but cut it down to only two since heavy rain was predicted the last night into the next morning.

We didn't even put up the fence for Coco since we were only there 2 nights. And, even thought it had rained earlier in the week, there was a burn ban, so no campfire ($500 fine). The first night we had a small fire in the grill since that was allowed.

We were going to go to Kolomoki as our last 2023 trip but rescheduled for 2024 due to being too busy for the holidays.

So, that's it for 2023. Next trips start in March of next year.

FD Roosevelt (SP) 10/12/23 - 10/16/23 (#20) Part 3

We left Fall Creek Falls on Thursday morning headed to FD Roosevelt park in Pine Mountain, GA. 

We have stayed at this park a couple of other times. This time we had site 110 which is a FHU site at the beginning of the CG on the middle upper portion. I was worried that it would be too open for Coco but it wound up being a good site with good neighbors who were not too close. 

We were able to set up the fence in the 'living area'. I liked it but Greg, not so much.

We went to a small festival in Warm Springs & Coco did really well. Got lots of attention which she seems to thrive on. I also took her on a couple hikes & once again she did great. I'm glad she likes the woods.

Here are a few random pics.

We have two more short trips planned for November & December which I'll document as they happen.

Notes: 

Drive through/around Chattanooga was horrible. 

Took I75 back to GA & there was a wide trailer being towed that was taking up 2 lanes.

Fall Creek Falls (SP) 10/10/23 - 10/12/23 (#20) Part 2

 We left Newnan on Tuesday, headed to Fall Creek Falls in Spencer, TN.

We were starving as we came through Rome, GA & had plans to grab a burger at Wendy's but there wasn't any parking so we headed on up the road. We came across this restaurant - Sam's Burger Deli which wound up being the highlight of this leg of our journey. It's owned by a Purple Heart recipient & had a lot of Veteran customers. As we parked, we saw signs that this was also a Harvest Host stop (we aren't members).

We got to the campground and I thought I had reserved a FHU site (#B77) but it was the only one NOT FHU in that loop. It was narrow & neighbors were too close to our liking. It also had a bad slope front to back & we couldn't lower the hitch enough to make it level. We had to set up the fence at the back end of the camper. The picnic table was at the back end, quite a bit away from the pad & fire pit was at least 25 yards away.

Steps extended as far as possible.

We were supposed to stay for 3 nights but I googled the next stop & our site was available for a day early so we decided to leave. Went to the park office & they agreed to refund our last night's stay. Since we were leaving the next day we decided to ride the scenic loop to see waterfalls.

1/4 mile down, extremely steep. Those are people at the bottom.

Hike down to the Falls.

There was a Mennonite community just down from the CG. We stopped at the Brockdell Produce stand, Oak Ridge Market & Country Fabrics (quilt store). We bought some hand pies, eggs & a couple yards of fabric. When coming out of the Market we saw a bunch of horse & buggies & it was obvious that the school day had just ended.

When we got back, we packed up so we could get an early start the next day.

I had high hopes for this CG but because of our bad site & close proximity to neighbors it was just not the CG for us.

Part 3 coming up.

Notes: 

Locals park their campers & come & go to work, school, etc. & come back to spend the night. 

Severe storm damage (April 2023) in the park itself. Logs felled by the road which the local Mennonite sawmill was picking up.

Chattahoochee Bend (SP) 10/7/23 - 10/10/23 (#20) Part 1

We took Coco on her first camping trip. Our first stop was at Chattahoochee Bend SP in Newnan, GA (about 4 hours from the Farm). It's a small CG on/near the Chatahoochee River.

We stayed on site 111 which was very private, at the end of the first loop. 

We arrived on a Saturday which is unusual for us (mostly weekday campers) so the campground was full of families camping & lots of kids playing. We took Coco for a walk around the CG once we got set up & all the kids wanted to pet her. She did great & loved all the attention.

It was the first time using a pet fence which worked very well keeping Coco on site without having to tether her.

The weather was quite cold when we woke up Sunday morning. Turns out in our haste to leave the farm, I had forgotten to close the vent above the bed. It's a wonder it didn't blow off on the way.

We went for another walk in the CG on Sunday morning & the kids we had met the day before all called out to say "Hey Coco!!".

Coco liked to keep warm by either laying in the sun or snuggling in the 'cooler' of my camp chair.

We went on a hike to the river the next day while dinner cooked (Boston Butt) in a small 2 qt. crockpot I got from my friend. It worked very well for cooking a the butt & then warming up soup the next day.

p.s. Coco did great on the hike!

We went into Newnan one day to buy diesel & take Coco to her first dog friendly restaurant Meat N Greet. Newnan is best known as the home of Alan Jackson (country music star) & there was a cool murel just down from the restaurant.

Overall, the trip was a great success & we think once Coco grows out of the puppy stage she'll be a great camping companion. A few more pics.

A small taste of fall.

Russian Wolfhound / Daisy. Didn't care for Coco.

Met lot of people & other dogs

Part 2 coming up.

Meet our newest addition .... Coco!

I was aching for a new companion. Still missing Nelly like crazy, a few months ago I found myself looking at photos on rescue sites regularly but none caught my eye until I saw this pic from an organization called S.A.F.E. 

It stands for Saving Animals from Euthanasia. It was created by a friend of a former co-worker. She started it years ago after meeting an elder dog that had nothing wrong w/her. Her owners surrendered her to the Humane Society just because she was old. They currently have four kennel locations just south of us. They don't put new puppies in the kennels but place them in foster homes.

Found out she was four months old & weighed a whopping 5 lbs. I showed her to Greg & he agreed we should meet her. I called the foster Mom & she told me there were several others interested & had already scheduled meet & greets, ahead of me but she would let me know if we had a chance. She called the next day to say a family w/two small children had agreed to take her..... Crushed.

Surprisingly I got a call a couple of days later to say the family didn't work out after all & would we still like to meet her? Of course we said yes. She brought her to our house the next day & we fell in love, puppy pee & all.

She was scheduled for spaying & we arranged to get her a few days after. We drove to St. Augustine to pick her up on 8/25/23 & the rest is history. Not housebroken AT ALL (I think I've lost my mind). Hated her halter, leash & didn't like to take walks. I worked on that all through September & she's much better now. Here's a pic the day after we picked her up.

We just returned from our first camping trip & she did great. Still working on the housebreaking but not nearly as many 'accidents'. Here she is posing on the picnic table at one of the campgrounds we visited.

I'll post on the trip in a few days. Expect to see a lot more pics of her in those posts.

Note: She loves people, children & other dogs her size. She cowers from larger dogs but as long as they're nice she's fine.

Lake Santeetlah, NC 8/20/23 - 8/23/23 (No camping)

Greg & I were invited, by our SC friends Bob & Debbie, to visit them at their lake house on Lake Santeetlah in Western NC. We decided to leave from GA instead of FL, so it would only be a 6.5 hour drive (vs 9 hours).

We headed to GA on Friday & got the grass mowed. I was tasked with snacks for Cocktail Hour(s) on the boat so I spent most of Saturday prepping items for that purpose.

We left on Sunday, around 8:00a. Traffic through Atlanta wasn't that bad for a Sunday so we arrived a little before 3:00p.

I had been there in August of last year, you can read about that visit here August 2022 Lake Santeetlah Visit.

View of house from the lake.

We went for a short boat ride before an early dinner of ribs, potato salad & devilled eggs. We went to bed fairly early because we had a very early morning of fishing on Monday. 

This lake is surrounded by the beautiful Nantahala NF & has many varieties of fish (most are deep water). 

Bob had charted a 1/2 day fishing trip for us from a young guy named Jarrod who runs a 1st class operation - Smokey Mountain Fishing Guide Service. He met us at the dock at 6:15a! It was obviously still dark & making our way down the many stairs was quite the challenge (turn the D**N lights on Bob!). 

It's a loooong way down.

It was a bit cool, which we relished since we had come from 98 -100 degree days. Daylight came & all was very quiet on the lake. Then we saw a bald eagle catch a fish - made our day! It quickly heated up & the fishing began. We caught seven fish total (a large mouth bass, 4 white stripped bass, a large crappy & a steelhead trout) & a few others that got away. We finished around noon & Jarrod filleted our fish which we had for dinner that night ... delicious! Here are a few pics from the morning.

After fishing (& getting up so early) we decided to just have boat snacks at the house & Bloody Marys & Beers for lunch. And then ..... naps for all, before dinner.

The next morning I went for a walk through the neighborhood & then we just lazed around. Debbie cooked a delicious crab casserole for breakfast & the guys went fishing (on their own) for a couple of hours while Debbie & I packed up our snacks for an afternoon boat ride.

We rode over to the marina & shopped a bit & then while just cruising around the lake I spotted a fawn crossing the inlet to an isolated wooded area of the NF. Bob cut the motor to the boat & we could see Mama deer waiting on shore for the baby. Bob said it had to have been 250+ yards from where they started.

Continued cruising & since the weather had warmed up, we stopped & took a dip & swam in the wonderfully clear, cool lake. Here are a couple pics from the afternoon.

Afterward we took showers & headed out to dinner at Tapoco Lodge. On the way, we stopped at the Maple Springs Overlook to admire the view. Ironically, one of the guys that works at the Lodge was at the observation deck showing some friends the view as well. His wife offered to take our group pic.

It was to great to just get away without any real agenda. We had a wonderful time & hope to be invited back again next year!

Note1: We survived the ride home through Atlanta & avoiding Macon.

Note2: Laugh of the trip ... screwedsomewood to it ... I've never heard of that kind of tree.