Meaher State Park - Mobile, Alabama (November 2022)

We mentioned to several people that we planned to camp in Meaher State Park near Mobile, Alabama. The response was always similar to, “That’s a nice little park.” What stood out to us was that people who knew the park consistently included the word “little” when describing it. 

How little was “little” when we arrived? Meaher may be the smallest state park we have camped in up to now, but it was surprisingly nice. It was more of a campground than a state park, but had some great trails through the bayou and marsh. 

The sign was near the boat launch, not at the park's entrance 

We selected this park because it was close to our son's home. We were able to visit him, his wife and our grandson during Thanksgiving week. 

Grandson practicing baseball in his backyard

Sunset' reflection on Rosie

It appeared to us that several families were camping together in the park during Thanksgiving week. Our questions about how to cook a turkey in a camper was answered when we saw one person lowering a turkey into a fryer. Fried turkey sounded good to me. 

We were surprised by the number of RVs that left the park on Thanksgiving morning. I guess those people didn’t want to risk being stuck in traffic while heading to their next stop. Sites didn’t stay empty long. By evening, empty sites were filled with new campers and families. 

There were only a few sites in this park that didn’t have a view of the Bay. Our site wasn’t on the water, but we enjoyed watching the incredible sunsets across the Bay and watching the traffic on the I-10 bridges near the Alabama Battleship park. 

I-10 in the background

We walked over to the boat launch our first day in the park. Two men were launching their boat and told us they were scouting the area because duck hunting season started Friday after Thanksgiving. We started hearing the hunters around 6:15 Friday morning. We were glad we knew about duck season, but I doubt our dog understood and was anxious about the sounds from the rifles. 

The boat launch area in this park

As expected, hunting was not allowed in the park, but some hunters and fishermen were in the water near it. Thankfully, most hunters stopped by noon but not before an incident. We were walking on a boardwalk over the marsh area when we heard a hunter take a shot. A few seconds later, we heard bird pellets rain down around us and then Becky said "Ouch" as she clutched her chest. She was hit by a stray bird pellet, but it did not break the skin and only left a red mark on her. 

We immediately called the park's office and reported the incident. Almost immediately, we saw two park rangers running towards us. A few minutes later, the Game Warden arrived and talked with us before he walked out on the boardwalk to watch the hunters. About an hour later, we talked to an Alabama State Park Law Enforcement officer. We were not aware that state parks had their own police force. That officer was in a state park about 50 miles away when he was called in.

The bottom line was that everyone from the park rangers and game warden to the state park law officer was professional in their dealings with us and all agreed that the hunter outside the park was careless and additional officers would patrol the area keeping an eye on the hunters. One careless person will not keep us from returning to this park.

We were having a minor problem with our trailer hitch. The ball was loose. I called several RV centers near this park and most didn't want to see us or they quoted hundreds of dollars to tighten the ball. I ended up calling Foley RV, the dealer we purchased Rosie from in Gulfport, Mississippi. John, the service manager said to drop by and he would take care of us at no charge. That reinforced again that we made a good decision to buy from them. 

Foley RV in Gulfport, Miss. 

Our son and grandson came to the park one day. According to Becky's Apple Watch, she and our six year-old grandson rode more than five miles around the park on their bikes.

On a bike ride with our grandson

Taking a break while on a bike ride

We agree that this is a nice little park and we look forward to returning there in the future. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• Our site was a back in
• Our site had shade
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with asphalt and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• The camp literature said there was a dump station in this park. We could not find it
• The trash dumpster was in the middle of the campground. It was easy to walk there with your trash
• There was a bathhouse in the campground 
• The park provided WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 3 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Antenna-TV, Circle, Comet, Court-TV, Dabl, ION, LAFF, ME-TV, Retro, Stadium and TBD
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

Gulf State Park - Gulf Shores, Alabama (November 2022)

Some places make you happy by just being there. Several Florida state parks we frequent fall into that category and so does this Alabama state park. Having said that, we were again confused about paying for our reservation when we arrived because we added on a military discount as we checked in and ended up owing more than the amount quoted on our reservation paperwork. I guess I’m glad that we only asked for one discount or we could have ended up owing more for our fees. 

Sign over the road at Gulf State Park

It was a snap backing into our site, which was paved with asphalt. That was welcomed after having trouble at our previous campground backing into a site with too much loose sand.

Walking our dog on a cold day in the South

We quickly set up Rosie so that we could enjoy riding our bicycles on the many trails in this park. As the weather turned colder, we were glad we had an opportunity to ride a few times on our bikes. 

Selfie while out riding our bikes

We noticed some campers in this campground looked different this time. They had what appeared to be storage sheds behind their RVs. We found out that the park started accepting longer term reservations for the winter on November 1st. It was easy to pick out the winter residents by their sheds, bird feeders and site decorations. 

It looked like an Airstream rally was taking place in the park. It was a coincidence that so many Airstream campers were there at the same time. Oddly two Streamline trailers, an Airstream competitor from the 1960s, were also in the park. 

A vintage StreamLine trailer in the campground

A classic Silver Streak in the same camping loop

It was too cold and windy to walk on the beach. Instead, we walked on the fishing pier. The surf was probably the highest we had seen in years. That combined with the cold wind was probably the reason we saw only a few people fishing during our visits to the pier. 

Entrance to the pier

On the pier

View from the start of the pier

The cold weather was probably the reason we didn’t see alligators in the park this time. There are two places we enjoy riding our bikes to that we typically see a gator or two. Since it was cold, the gators were probably hibernating in deep water. 

We could not find any wildlife this time

There were signs around the park inviting everyone to the activity center one Saturday for a free cup of soup. Our expectations were as low as the temperature as we headed over to the soup line. It turned out that the soup was good and welcomed on a cold day. 

Speaking of cold days, we noticed that a camper in a site near us was refilling his propane tanks on his new trailer. He asked how fast we burn through a tank in our trailer. We told him that we were using Rosie’s heat pump and hadn’t turned on the furnace yet. We saw the lightbulb moment as he said his trailer also had a heat pump and he could save a lot of money by turning it on. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• Our site was a back in
• Most sites could be classified as "full sun" as trees were few and far apart
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with asphalt and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• There was a dump station in this park. It was near the dumpsters and was unmarked 
• The trash dumpsters were at the entrance of the campground. We had to drive there with our trash
• There were multiple bathhouses in the campground 
• The park provided WiFi service. Our download speed was 40 mbs
• AT&T provided 3 bars of 4G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch ABC, FOX, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Antenna-TV, Circle, Comet, Court-TV, Dabl, ION, LAFF, ME-TV, Retro, Stadium and TBD
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

Christmas decorations at Gulf State Park

A favorite place to ride our bikes to look for alligators 

The water tower at Gulf State Park

Big Lagoon State Park - Pensacola, Florida (November 2022)

Our last Rosie adventure camping in the Pensacola area was memorable. (Rosie is the name of our Airstream trailer.) Our trip was cut short when that campground closed because of a hurricane in the Gulf. As Yogi Berra said, “It seemed like deja vu all over again” as we packed to go to a different park along the Gulf and we saw news stories about a new hurricane coming up the coast. We could not help but wonder if this was going to be another abbreviated trip. 

Before we left home, we called the Ranger Station at Big Lagoon State Park to talk about the possibility of that park closing. Yes, the Ranger would close the park if a hurricane was approaching it, but his information suggested the storm was going to miss Pensacola.  That was good enough for us and we continued to load Rosie and headed to Big Lagoon. 

Sign at the entrance to the park

Check in at Big Lagoon State Park was a breeze. We gave our name and our site number to the ranger on duty at the entrance station and he gave us our registration papers and vehicle pass. Things quickly went downhill from there. 

Our site (55) was mostly loose sand. We could see the deep ruts made by the previous camper as we started to back in. We finally parked and the iPhone app we use to level Rosie said we had to raise the right side five inches to even approach level. That wasn’t going to happen because the tires on our truck spun in the soft sand as we backed in. We knew that going up on the leveler blocks would be impossible.

As we were about to accept the obvious fact that our reserved site was a sand pit and we would spend our time there with a pronounced side-to-side lean, a camp host came over to help us. He called in a Ranger and after a short conference, we were moved to an open campground volunteer’s site. Instead of parking in what could have been a golf course sand trap, our new site was paved with grass and a few sandy areas. Things were looking up!

Rosie in the Volunteers Loop

Speaking about looking up, we learned that the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels team was scheduled to perform their “Homecoming” show during our stay. The Pensacola newspaper predicted that 150,000 people would attend that air show. That helped us decide to avoid the crowd and watch the show from the campground. 

We heard the jets more than we saw them, but were impressed with their performance. 

The sign that kept us from walking to the "point" to see the Blue Angels

Big Lagoon State Park was heavily damaged by Hurricane Sally two years before this visit. We were not surprised by the damage because we camped there several times after the storm. We were amazed that most of the park was still closed from the storm damage. This park had some great trails and places to ride bikes, but those had been closed for more than two years and that limited the activities you could do there. 

The boardwalk remains impassible

Do we want to go back to this campground? Yes, but we will probably wait until they start reopening the areas damaged by Hurricane Sally before making our next reservations there. 

Along the shore in Big Lagoon State Park

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground. We were placed into a campground volunteer's site and were amazed at how many other campers in the park asked us how long we were going to serve as volunteers in the campground 
• Our site was a back in
• Our site had shade
• Most sites had some space on both sides. Our site was huge because it was a volunteer's site. We know that we will have to serve as campground hosts if we ever want that site again
• Our original site could qualify as a golf course sand trap. It had an abundance of soft sand and our truck’s tires were spinning and digging ruts as we tried to park there. Our second site was paved with grass and gravel with a few patches of soft sand. We needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site did not have a sewer connection 
• There was a dump station in this park. It was a long way from our site
• The trash dumpsters were at the entrance of the campground and in the middle of the second camping loop. It was easy to walk there with your trash
• There were several bathhouses in the campground 
• The park did not provide WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 3 bars of 4G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Bounce, Charge, Circle, Court-TV, Dabl, Get, ION, ME-TV, Stadium and TBD
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

Boats returning after watching the Blue Angels show

Path to the shore at Johnson Beach

Johnson Beach

DeSoto State Park - Fort Payne, Alabama (October 2022)

We camped in Alabama's DeSoto State Park multiple times before this trip. Our visits included both tents and later Rosie, our Airstream trailer. It is difficult to say which trip was more memorable to us, but the two that stand out in my mind were during our tent camping days. 

Sign at entrance to the park

The first contender for “most memorable visit” was when our children were small and they loved climbing on the rocks around this campground. We can still see in our mind's eye our children playing in this park. 

The second contender was when our son and his family, including our then three month old granddaughter joined us for the weekend. It would be hard to top that visit.

There were three camping loops in this park. None appeared familiar to us. A park ranger told us that the camping loops were updated a while back to add 50 amp power and sewer connections to all sites. Maybe that was the reason the campground didn’t look the same to us. 

Our site in the park

Another point that escaped our memories was the roads leading to the park. It would be hard to classify them as roads designed for RV traffic. In fact, the road suggested by Apple and Google Maps was frightening. Our RV GPS took us a longer way, but on roads better suited for RV traffic. 

Once checked in, it was easy to find our site. Backing in wasn’t the easiest we had seen because we had to back Rosie uphill and there were ditches on both sides of the road. That meant we had be be spot-on when we parked.

Our site was surprisingly level side-to-side. That didn’t hold for front-to-back. We noticed that many of the campers in our loop appeared to be coming in for a landing on an aircraft carrier as the front was much higher than the rear. We were able to level Rosie front-to-back, but it looked like it was trying to fly when saw her while walking around our loop. 

It didn't look level, but it was

There are several interesting things to see here, but you have to leave the park to see them. At the top of our list is the Little River Canyon National Preserve. According to Google Maps, this was less than five minutes from the campground, It took us longer to get there, but the Canyon should not be missed when camping in DeSoto State Park. 

Selfie in the canyon 

Across the canyon 

The leaves were changing colors

The second is DeSoto Falls. It rained one night while we were camping there and that increased the amount of water going over the falls the next day. 

The lake above the waterfalls 

Selfie at the falls

Falls after it rained

 

   

The temperatures dropped into the mid 40s at night while we camped there. We were glad we brought some cold weather clothes and that Rosie's heaters worked. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground 
• Our site was a back in
• Our site had shade
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with dirt and gravel.  It took great effort to level Rosie front to back
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• There was a dump station in this park
• The trash dumpsters were at the entrance of the campground. It was easy to walk there with your trash
• There were several bathhouses in the campground 
• The park provided WiFi service. We measured our speed at 1.5 mbps down and 0.93 mbps up when it worked
• AT&T provided 1bar of 4G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were unable to pick any TV stations using Rosie’s antenna 
• The campground provided a TV cable connection. Our cable connection didn’t work 
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

Another entrance to the park

The CCC sign from the 1930s

Mushroom Rock 

Mushroom Rock is in the middle of the road

We had an observer as we hitched up to leave this park

Edgar Evins State Park - Silver Point, Tennessee (October 2022)

We were looking for some campgrounds to enjoy the leaves changing colors and the online reviews of Tennessee's Edgar Evins State Park were very positive. The location was good so we were convinced to give it a try. There were a few reviews that weren’t glowing, but those could easily be dismissed as cases of hard-to-please people. 

Sign at the entrance to this park

You cannot talk about this park without focusing on what makes it unique. Each site was on a substantial elevated wooden deck that went out over the steep slope of a hill. Some of those sites had water views. We were able to reserve a lakeside deck and were excited about camping in this park. 

Then we arrived. 

The decks appeared to be much smaller than we imagined as we hunted for our site. Also, some sites had sharp inclines guaranteed to bottom out your RV as you backed in. 

An empty deck site

We found our site and it had only a slight incline. The only effect from that slope would be that it would be harder to release our trailer’s weight equalizer bars when we unhitched. 

Our site was rated for RVs up to 31 feet in length. I think they used a fisherman’s measuring tape to determine that. There were multiple complications that made backing into our site a challenge. First, there was no shoulder on the side of the narrow access road beside our site, only a rocky cliff. That limited being able to maneuver as we backed into our site. Second, there were two substantial concrete columns on either side of our site. Those probably added structural integrity to the decks and helped protect the wooden sides to the sites, but they made backing in more tedious. Third, there was only a tiny space to place our tow vehicle next to Rosie, our Airstream trailer, on our deck.  What could have been an area to park our truck on outside our site’s wooden deck was too washed away and at too much of an angle down the hill to feel safe. 

Truck and Rosie in our site

Well, we were able to successfully park Rosie and squeeze our truck beside her on our platform. Things were looking up, but there were a few nervous conversations about our plans to safely pull Rosie out of this site when it was time to leave. 

Several of our camping neighbors asked us about our plans for the big Halloween celebration over the weekend. That was the first we heard about it, but it was easy to see that this was a big deal among those in the park. 

As predicted, the campground was full for the weekend. We were able to get to a store and buy some candy to give out to the children who were on a trick-or-treat mission. 

Rosie with her Halloween decorations 

Our neighbor's decorations

We felt that we lucked into being in this park at a great time to enjoy it. Many sites were decorated for Halloween and we enjoyed seeing the children in their costumes. 

The temperatures dropped below freezing our first two nights in this park. Rosie’s heat pumps and furnace kept us warm and cozy. 

This wasn’t a campground that we wanted to ride our bikes in. Most roads in this park had steep inclines and scary declines that would have made riding our bikes very difficult and not very safe. 

The hills in this park

The leaves were changing colors

The marina across the lake

Our verdict was that this was an interesting place to camp. It was also a white-knuckle experience backing into and leaving our site. We recommend people wanting to camp here call the park directly to learn the size of the decks and if it has a slope at its access that could bottom out your RV. 

The lake

Looking at Rosie from beneath the deck

By the way, we didn’t see any huge fifth-wheel units nor large motor homes in this park. There were a few sites that could accommodate larger rigs, but most sites appeared to be designed to fit campers less than 30 feet in size. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground.  All sites were a wooden deck that jutted out over a hill
• Our site was a back in
• Our site had shade
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with wood and was level
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site did not have a sewer connection
• There was a dump station in this park. It was up several steep hills and not easy to reach
• The trash dumpsters were at the entrance of the campground. You had to walk up some steep hills to get there
• There were several bathhouses in the campground. The one closest to Rosie was clean and warm
• We were confused about WiFi service in this campground. WiFi units were on poles around the park. In fact, one was next to Rosie. It didn’t work and I found only one while walking around the campground that actually worked. I was able to use a marginal WiFi signal from the marina across the lake while standing outside Rosie 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 4G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were unable to pick up any TV stations using Rosie’s antenna 
• Plan on a drive if you want to go to restaurants or shopping
• This was a pet friendly park 

Selfie at the visitors center

Saving our Yorkie from the monster