Florence Marina (SP) & Providence Canyon (SP) 6/13/22 - 6/16/22 (#13)

We knew it was going to be warm (HOT) & it didn't disappoint. There was no one is our spot on Sunday night so we left a bit early on Monday & arrived at Florence Marina around noon to check in early. 

Our site (#24) was on the end of one of the lanes & was partially shaded. Only problem was that the non shaded area was where the connections were. Greg got us level & unhooked & started plugging things in. Had to stop several times to sit on the picnic table to cool off. Got everything hooked up & ate lunch before venturing outside later in the day. It was HOT until well past 7:00p a bit of a breeze was our only reprieve.

#24 - Looking northwest, no neighbors

Southeast

The park is only about 8 miles from Providence Canyon (also called the little Grand Canyon). We got up & had breakfast early on Tuesday morning so we could hike a bit of the canyon before the heat of the day set in. The breaker on the power pole flipped a couple of times the night before so we didn't feel comfortable leaving Nelly so, she went on our little adventure with us. 

It wasn't crowded & we decided to head down to the canyon floor. There are 9 separate canyons that are moderate to difficult hikes. It was about a 15 degree decline down about 1/2 mile from the visitor center. Once at the bottom you have to cross a creek bed to go to the easier hikes of the canyons 1-5, or go right for the more rugged trek to 6-9.

During dry times you can walk along the edge of the bed where the soil is a bit compact but you eventually have to cross over several times. It obviously wasn't deep but still wound up with a bit of mud stuck to our shoes.

Nelly didn't know what we had gotten her into, her feet were orange as was her belly before we went back up, wish I had a picture.

Here are a couple of pics from the floor of canyon 5.

Nelly was hot & we stopped to give her water several times on the way back up. We went very slow & she was persevering until about 30 feet from the top. She stopped & refused to move so I carried her the rest of the way. We sat for a while at the center & met a very tall, nice young man from Waycross. He hiked the 2.5 mile rim in about 40 minutes. With Nelly, that would have taken us at least 1.5 hours, if not more.

We stopped at a larger picnic area on the way out of the park that had several viewing areas of the various canyons. Here are a few pics:

Although this & THE Grand Canyon were formed by water, this is all minerals exposed instead of rock. The canyon itself was formed by bad farming practices in the 1800s. They clear cut too much timber which caused erosion when it rained. Little by little the canyon was formed & continues to grow.

Went back to the CG around noon & stopped at the office to let them know of the weak breaker (couldn't run anything (hot water, microwave, etc.) while AC was running). They replaced it within the hour! Greg went back to the office to buy a t-shirt & came home w/some Dippin Dots Ice Cream. 

Decided to take a nap after that. We heard thunder around 4:00 & got up to close the awning & realized the clouds were really cooling things off. It even sprinkled about 30 drops. It was enough that you could shower & then sit outside w/o having to take another shower before bed. Decided to go ahead & give Nelly a bath too.

Papoose to help her dry off

Wound up being a very pleasant afternoon/evening. Even got another good pic of Greg.

We got up early the next day & walked the CG & got a few things packed up before the heat set in again. It was definitely HOT that afternoon - heat index said it felt like 113, I believed it this time. Took yet another nap & had a relaxing night. Thunder threatened rain again but none came during the night.

I'm hot Mom!

Got up early the next day & headed back to the farm where it was HOT there too. 

Can't handle the heat so we are done camping until late September...

Notes: 1) The extension added to our barn where we can park the campe, makes a world of difference when packing & especially unpacking. 2) Everyone, from the check in staff, to the maintenance crew, to the camp hosts were really nice! 3) Oak snake wanted to go camping w/us. Was by the camper as I was finishing last minute preps to leave. Greg gave him a flying lesson over the fence.

Frank Jackson (SP) & Gunter Hill (COE) 5/18/22 - 5/23/22 (#12) - Part 2

We left Frank Jackson around noon & stopped in Luverne, AL for lunch/dinner from the The Chicken Shack (highly recommend) & arrived at Gunter Hill around 2:00p. Gunter Hill is located just outside of Mongomery, AL It sits along the Antioch Branch of the Cotoma Creek which is fed by the Alabama River. 

It is divided into 2 separate loops - Antioch & Catoma. Antioch (66 sites) is older & not well maintained. Catoma (75 sites) is the new side. Has good paved roads, level concrete pads & gravel  'living' area. All sites are spacious & FHU & this loop is probably one of the cleanest CGs we've visited! Both loops have sites along the Creek

We stayed in site 33 in the Cotoma Loop which was quite long, spacious & mostly private. And, it had a decent view of the water. 

There are 2 bath houses in this loop. The larger of the 2 had large rooms with bathroom toilet stalls on one side & showers on the other & were divided by a bank of sinks & there was a laundry facility in between the mens & womens rooms. It looked to be clean enough. The other smaller bath house (across from our our site) had individual rooms for toilets/sinks (2 each for men & women) & 4 individual rooms for showers only. However, the light & fan only worked in 1 of them. They were only marginally clean. The trash cans were emptied each day but in the 5 days we were there never saw anyone actually go in and clean the bath house. Speaking of trash cans, they were abundant which probably helped with the overall cleaniness of this Park.

It was very hot the week we were there but there was enough shade on our site throughout the day, along with a decent breeze, that made it very tolerable. Also, there were fireflies every night (beautiful & reminded us both of our childhoods) and we weren't bothered by any other bugs.

There are no trails in the park. I took Nelly for a short walk each morning & then walked the road back to the entrance & then through the Catoma loop which is an estimated 2.5 - 3 miles.

Instead of trying to navigate the bath house, we had enough privacy at the back of our camper to take a quick rinse at the outside shower of our camper - we always waited until right before bedtime to avoid being seen through the trees by neighbors.

Our AC froze on the first night because we had ran it too high & too long during the day. It unfroze & all was well but we didn't feel safe leaving Nelly during the day, just in case it happened again. We cooked each night instead of trying to go out to dinner.

The day before we left we drove into Prattville for diesel & replenished ice at a "Twice the Ice" which was only about 8 miles from the CG (by Maxwell AFB). 

Nelly enjoyed herself but I could tell she was getting tired of having her picture taken.

But, I can't help myself sometimes.

I even got a great pic of Greg, which is no small feat.

It rained a bit (just enough to get the rug wet) one day & heavy rain was forcasted for the evening before our departure. We loaded everything we could so we didn't have wet chairs, rugs, tables, etc to deal with the next morning. The weather people were actually right this time & it rained hard for a good 2 hours & light rain the rest of the night. It stopped by the time we were ready to leave the next morning so all we had to do was tighten up the inside, empty tanks & break down.

The route we decided on for the way home took us by Sweet Creek Farm Market in Pike Rd, AL.  They have made to order sandwiches, salads, bbq, etc. In addition to the prepared food they have all the typical farm market fare (veggies, fruit, honey, jams, jellies & cute farm style rick rack). We got sandwiches for lunch. I got the Cuban (made w/pulled pork, ham, provolone cheese, sweet pickles & mustard) & Greg got the turkey club (made with turkey, bacon, provolone cheese, red onion, sliced apple, lettuce & chutney). Both were unique & very tasty.There is also an area where you can stroll over & say high to a few animals (free ranging chickens, guineas, ducks & goats). Parking for large trucks & RVs is just past the main entrance which made it an easy in & out. I would highly recommend going there (it's 20 miles from the CG).

This was our longest trip thus far (7 nights) & we really enjoyed ourselves. Will add this one to our our list of 'would return'.

Until next time .....

Notes: Favorite sites / Catoma Loop 4-6, 10, 13, 25-28, 33, 41 / Antioch Loop 97, 101-103, 114, 117-118

Frank Jackson (SP) 5/16/22 - 5/18/22 & Gunter Hill (COE) (#12) - Part 1

We left on Monday to visit Frank Jackson SP in Opp, AL, on our way to Gunter Hill (COE) in Montgomery.

We stayed 2 nights on site #13 on the lake. We originally had site #2 booked but when we got to the site & Greg checked the electicity, we had none. It looked like the breaker had fried as it was sitting on top of the box. A local utility guy came by & confirmed that it wouldn't work. Went back to the gate & since we were only staying 2 nights & it was during the week, they had several sites available & we chose #13. It wasn't as private as #2 but there wasn't anyone on either side of us.

It was directly across from the bath house but we didn't use it since the whole CG is FHU. We have found that to be the case in many of the AL state parks. As you can see, it was well shaded with Magnolia & Oak trees & there was a fairly steep incline down to the water. 

I made it down the slope for a sunset pic.

This is a nice small park (32 sites) & is oviously where the locals go to camp. There were several sites that had campers parked & no one staying. We presume they booked the max of 2 weeks & only came back on the weekends. We had a camper in site 14 & no one in 12 so it was nice & quiet.

On Tuesday we got up early, I took Nelly for a walk around the CG & then Greg & I decided to take a walk. There are a few trails to walk & a walkway over to an island with a couple of additional trails. Since it was a little buggy, we chose the outside trail around the island. We went early enough that it was very tolerable. Here are a few pictures:

Tuesday night, we went to dinner with one of Greg's old work associates at a local restaurant in Opp, The Wheel House. The service was great, the food only so so. Regardless, it was good to see Mark & Greg got caught up on all the industry goings on.

We got up the next morning & since it was only a couple of hours to Gunter Hill we treated ourselves to breakfast at another local restaurant, The Country Kitchen.We were the foreigners but the food was good & it was fun to sit & listen to all the customers talk to each other. The waitresses knew everyone there (but us). And, most everyone in the restaurant knew each other.

Went back to the park & broke camp to head on to Gunter Hill. Part 2 coming soon ....

Notes: Favorite sites were 5,12,15,17,19,20,22

R Shaefer Heard (COE) 4/24/22 - 4/27/22 (#11)

2nd trip for 2022 was to R Shaefer Heard Park in West Point, Ga (on the very large West Point Lake on the AL/GA border about 3 hours from the farm). It's another COE (Corps of Engineer) Park & as usual, did NOT disappoint. This was the first time we got to use the National Park Lifetime pass we bought last year. COEs are already a bargain at an avg. $30 a night but using the pass gets you 50% off, so $15 a night is even better.

Weather was good, mid 50s at night & around 80 during the day. It did threaten rain on Tuesday but all we really got was a few sprinkles which ended around 5:00p.

We checked in on Sunday around 3:00p. We had site #44 right on the lake with a great view, concrete pads & level. The CG is divided into 6 different loops. A - tent camping; B - East facing, wooded & very private; C - West facing, wooded, private & great views; D - Mountain feeling, very steep & somewhat narrow; E - Less shade, resort feel, family friendly with beach front swimming; & F older sites, weird setups. Almost all sites are on the water, see notes for favorite sites. Our site was great except for about 2 hours in the late afternoon, the sun is still a bit low in the sky & was quite brutal. I don't think it would be a problem in July or August.

Walked the CG which was a little over 3 miles total but didn't hike the lake trails this time. Drove over the dam & walked through the visitor center which was pretty neat. I think it would fun to take kids there. Plenty of interactive learning about the building of the dam & a taxidermy room w/lots of 'stuffed' animals & wildlife on display w/information about each one's contribution to the environment.

We also visited 3 other COEs on the lake. Amity - 96 sites, older, narrow roads but park is maintained. Holiday Campground  - 112 sites, also older & didn't seem as well kept. Whitetail Ridge - 58 sites, favorite of the 3, but still older. R Shaefer Heard is definitely the diamond on the lake.

Drove into West Point looking for diesel & finally found some at a Kroger in Lannett, AL about 6 mi. from the CG.

As usual, there was plenty of activity on the lake.

As well as beautiful sunsets.

Greg took these on the first night & managed to hurt his foot climbing back up the bank. He survived, just wasn't able to go on our walks.

And of course Nelly liked it as well.

We really enjoyed our stay & will most likely be back in the future... After we cross a few more off our list.

Notes: Favorite sites / 22-25, 28, 33 (PT), 36-38, 43-45, 48, 59-61, 64, 78 & 81 / site 39 is a very private nice PT but no view of the lake. Met a nice guy w/wife & 3 kids (& a 4th on the way!) from Calhoun, Ga, on their 1st trip.