Cotton Hill (COE) - 12/28/20 - 12/31/20 (#2)

2nd trip under our belt(s). This time it was to Cotton Hill CG in Fort Gaines, GA (on AL/GA border) - about 2 hours from the farm. Our first time at a COE (Corp of Engineer) park. Almost all are on some type of water (river, lake, etc) & very affordable.

We spent Christmas Eve w/the In-Laws (including our BIL from ATL). Then had Christmas w/my family at my niece's house. Drove to the farm on Christmas night (freezing cold for the next 2 days). We prepared the camper the next couple of days & headed to camp on Monday the 28th. Weather improved to very tolerable, warm temps. 

Campsite #15 (FHU) which was listed as an extreme angle on the driveway, down to flat level pad. They weren't kidding when they listed as extreme. Got in w/just a little scrape on the back passenger side stabilizer bar. Other campers came in the next day & couldn't maneuver their rigs to get in the 2 vacant spots next to ours & had to move to alternate sites.

Took our time setting up w/o any issues. The site was on the water (Walter F. George Lake) huge & very private. 

Driveway was much steeper than it looks here.

A friend that I 'met' on a FB RV Campsite review page was also there a few sites away. After we got set up we went over to say hello & actually 'meet' before they left the next day.

We brought firewood as well as fat lighter & fire starters this time. Absolutely no issue with starting our fire each evening around 4:00p.

Just one angle of our 'back yard'

The next day we took a walk around whole CG. I think there are 90+ sites. Fished a little & basically just relaxed. Which btw, Greg is having a hard time doing. He's so used to going full speed ahead that it will take some time for him to get in camping speed, but he'll get there.

We walked the nature trail (about 1.5 miles) the next morning. 

Just hanging out in the woods.

Then went for a drive around Fort Gaines. Drove through George T. Bagby SP where we saw a family of deer. 

Turned down one road to see the Dam & found ourselves in AL. Dam was closed so we decided to drive over to  Kolomoki Mounds State Park (will stay there in the future). Then headed over to Bluffton, GA. Interesting history of the town. Went to White Oak Pastures General Store to get lunch (grassfed burger).

On the way home we saw a sign for a Pioneer Village. Never found the village but saw this barn quilt on the end of a house. I hope to paint a few of these for our farm buildings.

Got back to camp just in time to start the last fire of the trip & got this pic of Nelly contemplating whether or not she likes camping.

Met a few of the other campers when Greg saw they were having trouble starting their fires. He gave them each some fat lighter & a couple of my homemade fire starters.

Overall, we loved this CG! So much quieter than Ocmulgee. Will definitely be back. Here are a few additional random pics (Note: all taken directly from our campsite):

Just a lady taking her cat for a stroll.

Close up of new header pic

Additional Notes: Three nights - good.Very quiet, beautiful sunsets, warm (always keep a pair of shorts & flip flops on hand), Janine (Rick) / FB; NY Couple (FT for 4 years) & Vicki & Kathryn (alternative lifestyle couple). Campers love dogs!

Our First Camping Trip - Little Ocmulgee (11/27/20 - 11/29/20)

We purchased our camper (Flagstaff 25BDS) in July 2020 and spent the next few months 'outfitting' it. New tires, shelf paper, sheets, towels, dishes, utensils, hanging racks, etc. It's approx. 26' with Murphy Bed, dinette, decent sized kitchen & decent size bathroom & couch when Murphy Bed up. Lots of storage in general, but no overhead in kitchen. Just going to take some getting used to. 

We decided on Little Ocmulgee SP for our first trip. It was sort of a halfway point from FL --> GA, where we want to store it.

Arrived on Friday, after Thanksgiving. Back-in site #6, FHU. It was a bit unlevel & was our first time setting up. But, we got it done. Went for a short walk around the campground w/Nelly.

After dark, we walked around looking at the Christmas display they had set up just a short walk away.

There were a few others doing the same.

There were many families & lots of kids. Since we were near the entrance there was lots of traffic ... vehicles, foot & bike. It quieted down later in the evening.

They had cable hookup so we watched a little TV & called it a night. Woke up the next morning to rain. Went to turn on TV to see weather & coulnd't find the remote ANYWHERE. Finally decided it had fallen down a crevice when we put Murphy Bed up. Put bed back down & still couldn't find it. Had to empty an outside storage compartment & remove a couple of panels to get it. Note to self, always know where the remote is before making bed.

It cleared up fairly early on Sat. so we went for a hike on the nature trail. Beautiful, wore a flannel shirt over my tee-shirt but had to take it off about 1/2 way during the 2 mile hike. Also walked down to take a look at the dam & passed by 8 or 10 cabins right on the lake. All looked well kept & nice & large.

Later in the afternoon, took Nelly out for a more thorough walk around campground, to scope out any future sites.

We had not brought any firewood with us but a nice gentleman we met while checking in offered what they had leftover since they were leaving that day. We hadn't brought any kindling or fat lighter either & the wood was wet so Greg chopped one of the logs into smaller pieces but was still having a hard time lighting it. He had some 2 in 1 oil (I think that's what it's called), that helped a little bit. Then he had the idea to get the bacon grease we had leftover from breakfast. Wiped out the container with a paper towel & viola ... fire! 

We didn't burn all the wood we had been given so we 'gave it forward' to one of the other campers.

We left on Sunday morning to yet more drizzle. Got everything packed up to head to the farm. Since we had full hookup we were able to dump before we left. Got to the farm, got it situated & left to go back home to FL.

Overall, it was a great first trip but realized 2 nights is probably not enough to fully enjoy.

Additional notes ... Maverick across the way, lots of traffic that didn't seem to belong to the campgound & Cheech & Chong somewhere in the park.