Days 2, 3, and 4

Just got to a campground with WIFI so I could post what I'd written on my laptop. It is late and the WIFI here is not letting me upload pictures, so I will try to post what I have and add pics later.

Saturday, August 30, 2014

After leaving the Sweetwater KOA, we drove to White Top, VA, a drive that Google Maps said would take us a little over 3 hours, which took us about 5. This is becoming a theme. Apparently, when traveling with a family and an RV, road trips have a way of extending themselves like a waistline in an old pair of jeans. So we drove most of the day and arrived in the town of Damascus, VA, a few hours before dusk, later than we had intended, but at least it wasn’t dark. We had to drive 15 miles or so past this little town (very cute, catering to hikers from the Appalachian Trail, which runs through the area, and bikers on the Virginia Creeper Trail) up the mountain to reach our campground. We had called ahead and confirmed our reservation. Since they hadn’t asked for a deposit or anything other than my name, I was a little nervous about showing up and their telling me oops, sorry, they had no room for us, but everything seemed to be fine. We became a little concerned, however, when we saw the sign for Highway 58 east, before we began the last 15 mile leg of our journey, which advised trucks longer than 35 feet to take the interstate instead.  With our truck and trailer together, we were well over 35 feet but we hadn’t been able to find another campground in the area that wasn’t booked over the holiday weekend, so we soldiered on. We wound up the mountain, around switchback after switchback, looking over the shoulder of the road into the beautiful yet treacherous ravine below. It wasn’t for the feint of heart, but our fearless driver continued to lead us up to whatever was waiting for us at the end, we didn’t know.

After a few dodgy turns when only the signs for Creeper Trail Campground confirmed we were on the right path, we rounded the turn to see a steep gravel driveway into the parking lot of the campground store.  Glenn had to put the truck into 4WD, and this should have been a clue of what was to come.  We checked in and she waved us up another steep gravel drive onto the ridge overlooking the store and the surrounding Christmas tree farm, which was already populated with campers and tents, but mostly tents (also a clue).  She told us to pick any spot that was open. Ha! Easier said than done. The campers who were already there had claimed various level areas, not all of which corresponded to an actual electrical hookup. Some had extension cords running to their sites, and since there were no concrete pads or anything differentiating one site from another, it was impossible to tell at first glance what was available. We had to make the loop twice, incredulously wondering 1) how we were going to make it down and back up the ridge with camper swaying behind us, and 2) if we were going to make it, where in the heck could we set up that gave us access to power and water. It took a lot of negotiating with the trail and the other campers before we found a spot for my mom’s Airstream and our fifth wheel, which are by far the largest campers up here.  Go figure!  I would like to add that I read no reviews that even remotely indicated there would be trouble getting a camper in here. Which just goes to show you can never trust reviews, and should always do more research, like say, calling the campground to ask about potential pitfalls before arriving with your entourage in tow a few hours before dusk on a holiday weekend.  I should have known when they didn’t ask for a deposit that no one was clamoring to get in here when all the other campgrounds were booked that it would be either too sketchy or too remote for us, but without any other options, I went ahead as planned.  Since, as I write this, we are still here and have not tried to leave yet (we depart tomorrow), it remains to be seen if we can leave here without incident, as we know that going down the mountain is harder when towing a vehicle than it is going up. In addition, there is a dump station on top with us, but no sewer hookup, so we will see how we shall finagle our camper into that slot so we can dump before we try to drive back down the mountain with black and grey water sloshing around in our tanks. To make matters more complicated, it is supposed to rain tonight, so the only thing that might make a steep gravel drive more difficult is a little water thrown on for good measure.  Good thing we have a spirit of adventure.

Promptly upon arrival, we met our friendly neighbor, Bill, who gave us the lowdown on the Creeper Trail and the campground where we stayed. All in all, this area is quite beautiful, nestled in a holler among the peaks around us. The drive, though treacherous, can’t be beat for scenery, and had we arrived earlier before the holiday crowd, we could have snagged some primo views with our choice of campsite. Still, it’s very quiet (except for the boy scout troops and the raucous group of families down the way, but all in good fun) and relaxing here. It’s much more rustic and primitive than we anticipated, but I would recommend it to people in small RVs or tents.  Absolutely no cell phone service in the area, which is to be expected, and WIFI that pretty much only works in the camp store, but we didn’t come up here to surf Facebook, so we don’t mind.  It is hard to update the blog with no Internet, but I can at least write my entries on my laptop to be uploaded later.  The girls have made a few friends and really gotten a taste of “real” camping, even though we still have a hot shower and air conditioning (not that we need it since it is so cool in the mountains, but nice to have nonetheless).  It’s places and experiences like this that make me love RV camping, as imperfect as they are.  You just can’t make this stuff up.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

This morning we wanted to get up early and get a head start on our planned trip down the Virginia Creeper Trail, but as always, the best laid plans… The Creeper Trail is an old railroad bed that has been transformed into a really long park only accessible to hikers, bikers, and horses, and it extends from Abingdon, VA, up the mountain to the trailhead in White Top, VA, around the corner from our campground. Most people stay in Damascus and take the shuttle up to the top where they coast back down for 17 miles. Since we started up at the top, AND we had two vehicles with us, we decided to drive one vehicle down to the bottom and leave it so we could save $15 a person and drive ourselves back up. After much debate, we also decided to rent two tagalongs, which are the single-wheeled extensions for the kids to ride on behind the adult bikes, which we obtained from the campground store.  We had discussed starting about 9 am, but after cooking breakfast, cleaning up, renting the tagalongs, and running our shuttle, we didn’t arrive at the trailhead until about noon. Oh well.

Glenn hooked up the two tagalongs to our bikes, and we sat on the trailhead with dozens of bikers going past, who had just unloaded by the vanful from arriving shuttles. We tried to get situated, adjusting seats and shifting backpacks, tightening helmets, and gearing up for what was supposed to be a 3-4 hour ride, the longest ride any of us had ever taken on a bike.  However, NK couldn’t reach the pedals. Then Shelby and I tried to shove off, her on the tagalong behind me, but her tagalong wobbled, she panicked, and I couldn’t steer with her flailing behind me. We readjusted the joint, trying to tighten it up well, gave her a pep talk, and tried again. Still, to no avail. Last try, girding our loins for success, aaaaand we both fell over and crashed, the handlebar hitting Shelby in the forehead and the ground scraping my leg.  OK, time for Plan B.  

Glenn drove the tagalongs back to the camp store, brought our homemade bike trailer with bath mats from the RV lining the bottom for the girls to sit on, and fastened it to the back of his bike.  Then we were finally off. The trail was mostly smooth sailing, in addition to being possibly the most beautiful park I’ve ever seen. Mile for mile, I can’t think of a place that beats the sheer number of amazing vistas and natural beauty. The temperature was cool and fresh, as mountain air is supposed to be.  As we rode down the trail, we passed over dozens and dozens of bridges, from small wooden spans to larger train trestles, underneath which flowed a swift and rocky stream, cold and clear. With the sound of the rushing water alongside us, and the intermittent cries of “On your left!” from passing bikers (for safety), we coasted down all 17 miles, stopping periodically to allow the girls to swap seats in the trailer, or to grab a snack, or even to rest at one of the restaurants that caters to Creeper Trail bikers along the way.  My husband would certainly disagree with my use of the words “coasted down all 17 miles” as he would like to remind me that he had to pedal a great deal when the incline leveled off or when we rode up over a bridge. By the end of the trip, he was definitely feeling the strain, having pulled close to 100 lbs on a trailer behind him for several hours. The last mile or so was very level and required a lot more pedaling, which was almost a cruel joke after having come so far, only to have to work even harder to reach our destination, but reach it we did, in under four hours to boot.

We rewarded ourselves with a dinner out, one of the very few I can remember on all our RV excursions. We usually eat really well when we camp, and I cook most of the food in advance, but tonight, I just knew I was going to be too tired even to heat anything up. So I was grateful for that beer, hamburger, and French fries, from a local joint called Pork Bellies. We even grabbed some ice cream from the grocery store since the ice cream shop didn’t have any nut-free ice cream for Nora Kate, and capped off a really long, but fun day.

I have thought many times today if I would do this trail again. On one hand, it was a very long way, and we drive bikes we bought at the thrift store with a homemade trailer.  While I do exercise, I am not used to riding my bike for so many hours. I am going to be very sore for a few days.  In addition, the girls are too young to have driven the whole way by themselves and for whatever reason, tagalongs were not practical for us. If I can talk my husband into doing the trail again, it will be in a few years when one or both of them are old enough to ride the whole way by themselves.  Two kids on a bike trailer for 17 miles are too much for one person to tow, even mostly downhill, and I was certainly not strong enough or a skilled enough biker to tow one or both of them that far. However, when the kids are older, I would definitely like to come back and take more time, allowing for more leisurely stops and rest breaks. I kind of felt like we were on a mission to finish, because we knew G had to tow so much weight, and weren’t able to stop and appreciate the scenery more often. Other than that rushed feeling, though I really enjoyed this very unique adventure and was glad I got to experience it with my family and that the children are old enough to remember it for years to come. 

Monday, September 1

This morning we loaded up and were able to dump the tanks pretty easily. We also managed to exit the campground successfully. Yay! Heading down the mountain, however, Mom realized she'd run over a hook of some sort which was lodged in one of the RV tires. The tire wasn't flat, so we were (thankfully) able to continue our trek to Damascus without having to pull over on the non-existent shoulder.  We stopped in the grocery store parking lot where G changed the tire and were finally able to leave (at 2:00!) for what was supposed to be a 3 hour tour...a 3 hour tour.  It being Labor Day, the traffic was a bit rough, and then got rougher, so we detoured off I-81 through the town of Salem, VA, which was supposed to be faster but it appeared to be rush hour, so we were never sure if it was worth it.  We had to stop a few times, which is par for the course, and Google Maps kept adding minutes to the trip, which is never a good sign. Anyway, we didn't arrive at the Monticello KOA until 7:30 pm. We are not sure about trips like this where we have to move around so often and have such long driving days. We need more play time! Granted, the traffic was horrible, so it should not have taken so long, but I will know in the future to plan more flexibility. If we had not already reserved (and paid for) our night at the Monticello KOA, we would have stopped somewhere several hours ago and had more time to chill before bedtime. However, one of the reasons I planned this trip is so we could figure out what the best rhythm for our family would be on a long road trip like this. I am learning a lot, to say the least.