Fort Yargo (SP) 8/30/21 - 9/3/21 (#7)

This time we visited Fort Yargo SP in Winder, GA (1/2 way between Atlanta & Athens). 

New Visitor Center

On Monday, we got to the CG a little later than we anticipated (5 hour drive). As usual we missed a couple of roads (GA road signs are notorious for being non-existent in the direction you are headed, or hidden behind something, or only a couple of feet from the turn). On the plus side GA roads are also notorious for having 5 different routes available to get to the intended road. After exiting I75 there were only 3 roads to take but little did we know that each of them turned in several different directions themselves. Thank goodness for paper maps because GPS kept disconnecting. Oh well, we made it before dark. Didn't get to do a CG walkabout on arrival day, which is our custom. No bother, it was cocktail & dinner time right after getting set up.

Site #7

There are 40 RV sites (5-12 on the water), 12 primitive sites, 6 Yurts (all on the water) & 16 cabins. We were in #7, a pull through (W/E only) on the water. Not too far of a walk to the bath house. Had a very friendly couple from LaGrange in site 6. A nice man from Ocala came in to tent camp for one night on site 8. He was on his way to Pigeon Forge. Site 9 had a young mother & her sweet 4 yo daughter (Rachel & Lilly) from Cumming, Ga. They were also tent camping.

Since it's so hot here in the South, we were a bit worried that it would be miserable in early Sept. To our surprise it was almost perfect weather. We did lose Tuesday to rain all day (from hurricane Ida leftover bands). However, we awoke to 65 degrees on Wednesday morning!!!! The highest high was 85 one day.

After breakfast we decided to explore a few other CGs on Lake Lanier, only about 30 miles away & each CG was only about 5 - 10 miles apart. 

Shoal Creek (former COE) was dismal, tight bumpy roads, cracked asphalt. It was more suited to very small RVs & pop-ups or tent camping. River Forks (County) was a small clean CG w/about 45 sites. Old Federal(83 sites), Duckett Mill (111 sites) & Bolding Mill (94 sites) were all COE & we would stay at any of them, but Old Federal was our favorite. Almost a resort like feel. Clean with lots of grass & almost all sites right on the water. It seemed there was also swimming allowed at we saw a lady sunbathing by her camper & had a huge plastic duck floatie & several other floating devices nearby.

On Thursday we decided to hang at the campground. After breakfast, we took Nelly for a walk around the CG. It was quite hilly. Decided to go ahead & hike the walking trail before lunch. Greg's knees were bothering him so he decided to turn around after a mile or so. I kept going & took the road back. Altogether about 3 miles.

Greg resting before walking back to site

Here are a few pics from the rest of my hike:

Brand new creek bridge

Gazebo in the woods

One of several benches along the route

Very calm deer. Took this & kept walking.

Greg had lunch waiting when I got back. Kind of negates the calories I burned ....

Nachos!

On Thursday, on our way to dinner, we stopped by the blockhouse on the park grounds. It was built in 1793 & very well preserved. 

One of my many cousins (Pam) lives just down the road in Monroe & met us for dinner at a restaurant in Winder Bistro off Broad. Very good, would definitely recommend if in the area. Thursday nights are 'Date Nights' & they have a special menu at a good price.

Overall, we had a very nice trip. I'll leave with a few pics of the waterfowl we viewed from our site & of course, the obligitory pic of Nelly.

Fort McAllister (SP) 6/8/21 - 6/12/21 (#6)

Another one under our belts. Fort McAllister is in Richmond Hill, just a few miles south of Savannah & about 2.5 house (via I95) from our house in Jax. It is steeped in history from the Civil War Era. The park itself sits on the Ogeechee River but the campground itself was not. 

Overall a nice campground, around 64 sites, many of them for tents. We were on a premium pull thru site (#15) by the marsh with Full Hookups which makes it nice for a quick showers before bed & not having to trek to the bath house. And boy did we need to rinse off before bed because it was quite warm, even hot (mid 90s) 2:00 - 4:00 in the afternoons. I'll admit if we weren't out & about, I went in the camper (AC) during those times. I couldn't imagine being in a tent this time of year.

Not a great view but kept the sun at bay after 4:00p

We arrived during the heat of the day on Tuesday & were pouring sweat by the time we got set up (only about 30 or 40 minutes this time). The breeze kicked up a bit the next day when we went walking the campground. And, it was even breezier the last couple of days. Mornings were very nice & after 4:00 the breeze made it quite tolerable to sit outside.

The mosquitoes weren't too bad but down here in the south, this is the season for yellow flies (aka deer flies) & summer is always the season for no-seeums. We kept a fan going at all times & used a Thermacell which seemed to keep everything at bay. The campsites were mostly cleared of vegetation so that helped. The trails were too hard to walk because of the bugs unless you drowned yourself in bug spray which we don't like to do.

We even ventured out on the bikes but even that was miserable because the roads were not shaded & did I mention .... it was Hot!

We had several visitors come very close to the campsite each day. You could tell they were very used to people because very little scared them. We didn't feed them but I think they would have come up to us if we had offered.

Mom

About 10' away

Calling for Mom?

Even had a visit from Mr. & Mrs. Cardinal each day.

We ate out twice on this trip both times late lunches --- Bubba's Bistro in Richmond Hill (decent) & Fish Tales, about a mile from the Fort (very good). Didn't venture into Savannah because we've been there many times.

Here's the obligitory pic of Nelly. I think she's getting tired of having her pic taken.

It was nice trip but we discovered, the hard way, that summer time camping isn't for us. If we ever go again in June we'll head north to much higher elevations. Our next trip isn't until early September just a little bit further north & west, just outside of Atlanta. Crossing fingers for the weather to be a bit cooler.

Extra notes: Popcorn for dinner. Naps. Visited Skidaway Island SP because we kept hearing such great things. Not impressed, sites were way to close together & very wooded (Ergo --- lots more bugs). Always try to stay on water. Texas biker family on one side & couple that hardly ever came out of their camper on the other side.

Evans County (PFA) 5/17/21 - 5/20/21 (#5)

Last week we camped at a different type of CG. It was a county maintained Public Fishing Area in SE GA very near Claxton (you know, where the roadside fruit cakes are made). Blogger won't let me post pics of the CG signs or the fruit cake sign for some reason (taken w/my phone instead of camera or tablet (IG has the pics).

It only had 12 RV sites with 5 of them being FHU (11, 14, 17, 20, 25). We were on site 9 which had the best view of any. The hosts were Janis & Howard & were very nice & friendly & took their jobs seriously as you could tell by the way the CG was maintained. The bath house was exceptionally clean which is a huge plus when you don't have FHU. 

It had 3 lakes to choose from for fishing with many many spots to stake out. There were also several nature trails. We walked the loop the 2nd day which we estimate was around 3.5 miles. 

There were several gators that inhabited the lakes with one of them being HUGE. We saw him on our nature walk when we walked down by one of the piers on the back side. Too bad I didn't have my camera or phone w/me because I have never gotten so close to such a large reptile in the wild. The distance from his snout to his eyes was at least a foot if not longer. Greg estimated him to be 8 - 10 foot long. There is a pic of a large gator but he wasn't the huge one. 

We will definitely stay here again in the future especially since it is only about 3.5 hours from either the farm or the FL house.

Here's the pics that I can post ....

Mistletoe (GA SP) 4/19/21 - 4/23/21 (#4)

We had to cancel the last camping trip (March) due to the unexpected death of my Dad. I know he would want us to continue on since he loved camping so much. So, last week we went to Mistletoe SP in Appling, GA.

The drive from the farm wasn't the easiest. We don't like driving the interstate unless we absolutely have to but we may want to put a few more miles on it in the future since there were so many switch backs & turns to get us there. What they say about a GA road map is very true. It probably only added 40 min. to the trip but the roads were definitely in the backwoods.

The park is beautiful, clean & very relaxing. We were on site 50 this time, again right on the lake (Clark's Hill Lake) & fairly level. The picnic table was by the camper but there was a step down to a separate level where the fire ring was. We moved the ring up closer to our sitting area & it was fine.

We walked the campground & Greg fished a bit the 1st day. We took a long hike one day (office/campground/beach trail (approx 5 miles)). Then Nelly & I did the campground loop trail (2 miles) the next day. The wind was exceptionally strong on Wed. during the day (30+ mph) & we opted to ride around & look at a few other campsites in the area.

Mostly, we just relaxed & enjoyed our surroundings.

Met a very nice couple from the Chattanooga area (Ed & Kathy). They kayaked most evenings as did lots of other people. There were also several people who had their boats tied up by their campsites & usually went for early morning & late day rides & I'm sure some fishing.

Had a goose couple visit several times the first couple of days.

Then on Thursday, we woke up to this ....

They were originally on land by the campsite but Nelly got a whiff of them & scared them into the water. We didn't see much of them after that. Otherwise Nelly relaxed most of the time too.

We brought some art along this time ... lol. We've had this thing for over 20 years. Recently found it & Greg decided to hang it from the outside kitchen.

Our TN neighbors left on Thur. & this young man moved into their spot. We didn't get a chance to talk with him but he was hammock camping & cooked his food over an open fire & made his coffee on a small propane stove. More power to him.

Overall it was a great trip & we found another campground that we will try the next time we are in the area (Winfield - COE).

Here are few shots from the trees & such.

Extra Notes: Always take at least a pack of crackers when out exploring other areas. No restaurants close to anything we visited. Googled restaurants & the closest (open) one was about 20 miles away. Publix was in the same area. Lots of trails we didn't get to try. Winfield close enough to visit Mistletoe just to hike. 30 mph winds in 60 degrees is cold! Breakfast / Mr McBeevee, egg cups, yogurt w/ granola & blueberries. Lunch / Sandwiches. Dinner / BBQ sandwiches, tots, Hot Dogs, Spaghetti casserole, pizza. Love the air fryer!