R. Shaefer Heard COE Campground, West Point, Georgia (May 2023)

We knew that our trip home from the Blue Ridge area would be difficult because we had to pull Rosie, our Airstream trailer, through Atlanta and there is no optimum time to to travel Atlanta's roads. Both Google and Apple Maps were optimistic and suggested that traffic flowed without problems through Atlanta. We knew how quickly that could change and become a nightmare forcing us to arrive home too late in the day. We decided we needed to stop for the night after passing through Atlanta and made reservations at R. Shaefer Heard Corps of Engineers (COE) Campground.

We thanked the volunteers for their service as we checked in. Three COE campgrounds were closed for this year because there were too few volunteers to operate them. We were glad that this park was open.

Sign at the entrance to the campground

Rosie's site in the campground

Most campsites in this park were large with generous spaces between campers. That wasn't true for our site. It was in a cul de sac and our neighbors were very close to Rosie, our Airstream trailer's name. We decided that we would stay in an another loop if we return to this campground.

It was ironic that a neighbor told us how much they liked out site and they frequently camped in it. Then they told us about another nearby campground that they loved and suggested we make reservations there next time. We were not sure they were being helpful or attempting to lessen the competition for our site in the future. 

We noticed another problem with our cul de sac while unhitching Rosie from our truck. There was a large patch of Poison Ivy behind our site. We had to be very careful to avoid that area and didn't come down with a Poison Ivy rash.

On the positive side, we had a waterfront site and we quickly summed up that this was a great park for riding our bikes and for using our inflatable kayak. We intended to use our kayak earlier on this trip, but the rain and temperatures kept us from doing so. The weather was perfect here so we excitedly inflated our tandem kayak and enjoyed exploring the lake. We probably spent an hour on the lake and ended up going to the other side of the lake during our first kayak ride.

Ready to put the kayak in the lake

On the lake in our tandem inflatable kayak

When we came ashore, we let out about half of the air in the kayak so that the hot sun would not cause it to expand and create any problems. 

Partly deflated kayak to protect the seams

We decided to go for another kayak trip the next morning. I quickly pumped air into the kayak and we carried it down to the shore. As soon as we got in the kayak, we noticed a problem. We were getting wet and the amount of water inside the kayak was increasing at an alarming rate. We were sinking! 

We quickly returned to shore and found the trouble as soon as we picked up the kayak to remove it from the water. The glued-on seams around the bottom of the kayak had separated meaning the bottom of the kayak was no longer attached to the side walls. The kayak was going on 10 years old and the glue used at the factory finally stopped working. 

The seams split beyond what could be repaired

This wasn't a case of a few gaps in the kayak's seams. The entire bottom of the kayak was unglued and several other seams on the top side of the kayak were also starting to come apart. We knew immediately that our kayak was unsalvageable and we had enjoyed our last ride in it. 

We were glad that if one of our "toys" had to irreparably break at this campground, it was our kayak and not our bikes as we continued to enjoy riding our bikes around this campground. 

Ready to ride our bikes in the campground

We never knew the correct time while camping at this park. Our site was on the Eastern Time side of the lake. The other side was in the Central Time zone. Our iPhones and Apple Watches were constantly confused and kept flipping back-and-forth between the two time zones. It became a running joke because our electronic devices never agreed with each other.

The restrooms were old but well maintained. Not all of the restrooms had shower facilities and some were long walks from campsites. 

We made reservations here to help us decompress after driving through Atlanta and to position ourselves to arrive home after this camping trip to be able to clean up Rosie early in the day. We enjoyed our visit to the park and accomplished our goals while camping there.

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 did not have a sewer connection 
• There was a dump station in this park
• There were several trash dumpsters located around the campground. It was a long walk to the closest dumpster near our site 
• There were multiple bathhouses in the campground 
• The park did not provide WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch only ABC using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channel seen was Retro
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

Along the lake

Rosie at daybreak

At the "dump" station

Leaving the campground

Blue Ridge Toccoa River KOA - Blue Ridge, Georgia (May 2023)

This was a relatively new campground when we stayed there about a year ago. If you attempted to get camping reservations in the past few years, you know how much we need more campgrounds and camping options. It still had the look and feel of a new campground as we pulled in this time. That is why we were surprised and delighted to see that the campground was making improvements. They were adding a meeting room and other features to the campground. 

Rosie in the campground

We were at this park for the same reason as when we visited last year. This campground was very close to my wife’s brother’s home and gave us an opportunity to visit him. That meant we didn’t spend too much time in the campground because we wanted to be with him. 

Becky and her brother in the campground

Fishing in the park

As typical for KOA campgrounds that we have camped in, the office staff was very friendly and the golf cart driver who escorted us to our site made us feel welcome. 

In the community of Blue Ridge

Of course, we had to get an award-winning cupcake

We think there was something in the sno-cone!

People living in the Blue Ridge area say they are in the mountains of Georgia. Perhaps a more accurate description is to acknowledge that Blue Ridge is in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. That means there are some great scenic views in this area. We also enjoyed visiting the touristy downtown Blue Ridge with Becky’s brother. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• Our site was a pull-through 
• Most sites could be classified as "full sun" as trees were few and far apart
• Most sites had a little space on both sides
• Our site was paved with gravel 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 
• This is a campground where trash is picked up curbside during the mornings. There were several trash dumpsters around the campground if you missed the curbside garbage pickup times
• There was a nice and well maintained bathhouse in the campground 
• The park provided adequate WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• The campground provided cable TV service since no over-the-air signals could be found
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

Shady Grove Campground - Cumming, Georgia (May 2023)

We had reservations in one of Duckett Mill COE (Corps of Engineers) campground's 108 campsites. Then we received an email from Recreation.gov saying that campground was closed for the season. 

Out first thought was that the campground was about to be renovated, but that didn’t explain why they confirmed our reservations only to cancel them later. Then we started seeing people comment on several online forums that their reservations at other COE campgrounds in Georgia were also canceled. Our questions were answered when we saw a news story saying multiple COE campgrounds were closed because there were not enough volunteers to keep them open. How sad!

Only a handful of sites were available when we made our reservations at Duckett Mill. When it closed, we knew that more than 100 displaced campers would be hunting for sites in any open campgrounds in the area. We also knew we were fortunate when we succeeded in getting a site in Shady Grove Campground for Rosie, our Airstream trailer. 

We called some friends who live in the area and told them about our change in plans. Our friends said they loved Shady Grove, but some sites would be tight for a travel trailer. We were happy to hear back from them saying they drove out to the park and confirmed our assigned site was level. 

Stopped on the road to the park because a tree fell and pulled down power lines

We almost made it to the campground when we saw the road was blocked by a utilities truck and a truck from the park. A tree had fallen over blocking the road. It also brought down several power lines that served the campground. We waited about an hour for the crew to remove the tree and reconnect the power lines. 

One of the first things we noticed once the road was cleared was that Shady Grove has the look and feel of a COE park. We found out that this campground was built by the Engineers and leased to the county. 

Sign at the entrance to the campground

We understood what our friends said about some sites as we drove to our site. Some sites had steep access angles that would have been difficult for Rosie. Our site was a pull-through. By the way, we enjoyed meeting and catching up with our friends at a nearby restaurant. 

Shady Grove was an accurate name for that campground. There were tall shade trees throughout.

Our site

Rosie parked in our site

The campground could have been named Deer Grove. It seemed that we frequently saw three or four deer near Rosie while in the park. We saw deer in the mornings, afternoons and evenings. This park may hold the record for the most deer seen while camping. 

Deer were everywhere in this park

Deer were very close to Rosie's site

We were also amazed at the number of song birds in this park. We constantly heard birds as we walked around the campground. That was a welcome sound. 

Speaking of birds, we had a surprise while camping there. We locked our bikes to the picnic table then placed a tarp over them to help protect them from the weather. We didn’t ride our bikes in that park because it was too hilly. I was surprised when I removed the tarp while loading up to leave the campground to discover that a bird had flown up under the tarp and was building a nest on Becky’s bike. We carefully moved the nest to another location before we loaded the bikes on their carrier. 

A bird nest built in a day on Becky's bike

For a campground picked as a last minute replacement for a closed park, we were pleasantly surprised at how nice this campground turned out to be. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• Our site was a pull-through 
• Our site had shade
• Most sites had plenty of 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
• There was a dump station in this park 
• The trash dumpsters were at the entrance of the campground and near the boat launch 
• There were multiple bathhouses in the campground. The bathhouse nearest Rosie was clean and maintained
• The park did not provide WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• Rosie’s TV sets found more than 80 digital stations. 
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

One of the camping loop roads

The lake

Selfie in the campground

Becky and Suzy in the campground

Points West Army Resort (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Appling, Georgia (April 2023)

I knew the camping loop we wanted when I called to make reservations in this military FamCamp. There was only one site available for more than a week, so I quickly booked it. When I asked if the site had a view of the lake, the response was “I don’t know” followed by “it’s the only site available.”

Sign at the entrance to the campground

Sign just before the security building where military credentials were checked

Our expectations were low and we decided to drive straight to our site after we passed the ID check at the gate instead of driving to the office and checking in. We were both surprised and happy to see we had a good view of the lake. We quickly set up Rosie, our Airstream trailer, in our site then rushed to the office to complete the paperwork. 

The road to the multiple camping loops in this park

Our campsite on the lake

We think of this campground as a great place to ride our bikes. We were in the minority as we saw more people fishing than riding bikes. In fact, we only saw one other person riding a bike while there and he was on an e-bike and we are not sure that counts. Maybe the number of hills had something to do with the lack of others riding their bikes. 

Out on a bike ride

Getting ready for another bike ride

We brought our inflatable kayak to this park and looked forward to using it in the lake. Then the weather turned ugly. It rained, the temperature dropped into the very chilly range and it was very windy. We decided to forgo using our kayak. 

The pollen was a problem while there. We both discovered that we reacted to the high amounts of pollen in the park. 

We noticed that people in FamCamps frequently talk about the branch of military they served in and the places they served. What isn’t discussed is rank and specific jobs in the military. Something said by a camping neighbor caught my attention and I broke the standard protocol and asked him about his military occupation. I was right in that he had the same military job I had years earlier. This was a unique job and only a small group of people served in that area. It was interesting talking to him to learn how that job has changed over the past 50 years. 

A cookout with our camping neighbor

We were surprised to see that the campground was only about half full during our visit. Maybe it was the weather keeping people away because this was supposed to be a full park. We were glad that we were able to get our reservations and we enjoyed our time in this FamCamp. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground. A surprising number of sites in those loops have water views
• Our site was a back in
• Most sites in our loop could be classified as "full sun" as trees were few and far apart
• Some loops in this campground had shade
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with gravel 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 were trashcans at each site in our loop
• There was a bathhouse in the campground 
• The park did not provide WiFi service in the camping loops. WiFi was available at the office 
• AT&T provided 1bar of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch ABC using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channel seen was ME-TV
• There were restaurants and shopping about 10 miles from the campground 
• This was a pet friendly park 

Selfie in the campground

View of the cabins across the lake

View of the lake

It has been a few years since I was required to accomplish the "confidence course."

Leaving the campground