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

When we think about memorable trips pulling Rosie, our Airstream trailer, the first thing that comes to mind is the beautiful scenery we have experienced along the way. RV'ers know that half of the enjoyment of camping is enjoying the views heading to the campground. Since our destinations are usually state or federal parks, we also enjoy the memorable sights there. 

Sign at entrance to the campground

This qualified as a memorable trip, but not for its scenic beauty. We were heading to a state park along the Gulf coast during the Fall. There were several storms in the Atlantic and we were concerned about one or more of them strengthening into a hurricane and forcing us to flee from the coast. We were streaming an all-news radio station out of New York hoping to hear the tropical weather forecast. Instead, we heard that the English royal family was being summoned to Queen Elizabeth's side because of her failing health then the station aired a commercial. During the ad, the Associated Press app on our iPhones broke the news that the Queen had died. Immediately after the commercial, the radio station ran a bulletin about the Queen's death then shortly thereafter aired a biography and tribute to the Queen. 

I’m sure some listeners were surprised at how fast that station started airing information about the Queen’s life. I wasn’t. I started thinking about when I served in the military at one of the key American Forces Network radio stations. AFN started creating obituaries and tributes of world leaders once they took office. 

My assignment while at AFN was to create and record a tribute to the then leader of Greece. In addition, I had to update and “freshen” his bio every year. I was relieved when my tour of duty was up and someone else took over that responsibility because I was certain I didn’t know how to pronounce many of the names and places in the script I recorded and I knew my scripts would be re-recorded by the new person responsible for that leader.

We listened to a growing number of stories about the Queen and royal family as we headed to the campground. 

As expected, there were several other RVs parked at the Gulf State Park campground registration office when we arrived. Someone told us to request either a military or senior discount as we checked in. The person at the counter said we qualified for a discount then totaled the bill. We were surprised that the discounted total was more than the one we were given when we made our reservations. We were told that the rates went up since we made our reservation. Needless to say, I was disappointed that reservations secured by a deposit failed to bind the State of Alabama to the agreed on charges. We decided that wasn’t going to spoil our camping adventure there, but the expensive new rates plus the added on resort fees and numerous taxes charged came up several times in our conversations. 

Walking in front of Rosie

Our experiences in this park were enhanced by riding our bikes on the many trails there. It was easy to ride 10 miles a day looking for alligators and new views. We saw at least three gators, a family of deer crossing a bike trail, multiple snakes  and a bunch of rabbits while on our rides.

The boardwalk to the shore

Maybe it will rain today

Selfie while out riding bikes

 

There was a fishing pier at the park. We enjoyed watching the people fishing from the pier. The people fishing there were not amused that sharks were trying to eat their catches. 

The overlook along Alligator Marsh 

The water tower as seen from a bike path

The temperatures were warm while there and we had to turn on the second air conditioner several times. As expected, it was nice and cozy inside Rosie. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops and 600 sites in this campground
• Our site was a back in
• Most sites could be classified as "full sun" as trees were few and far apart. We were glad our Airstream trailer had two air conditioners 
• 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 Airstream trailer. 
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• The trash dumpsters were at the entrance of the campground. We have mentioned before how strange it was to have only one trash collection point for this huge campground 
• There were multiple  bathhouses in the campground. The one nearest Rosie was clean, maintained and air conditioned
• The park provided WiFi service over our campsite. We measured our download speed at 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 

The beach in this park

People enjoying the beach

Blue Ridge Toccoa River KOA - Blue Ridge, Georgia (July 2022)

For the most part, getting directions from one campground to another is easy. We compare the results from our GPS, Google and Apple Maps and pick the route that appeals to us more than the others. The problem was that our navigational systems all agreed on two alternative routes. Their preferred route took us to Atlanta, a terrible city to drag Rosie, our Airstream trailer, through. The second route went through the north Georgia mountains on two-lane roads with an abundance of sharp switchbacks. We were not comfortable with any of these routes. 

Our fears about the mountain route were confirmed when we called the Top of Georgia Airstream Park near Helen, Georgia. The person there strongly urged us to avoid the road north of Helen while pulling our trailer then she made a few suggestions on how to go to our next campground. That was when we called our neighbor. 

Who is our neighbor? He is a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who served as a navigator. He quickly got out his maps and came up with the flattest route that avoided Atlanta and small mountain roads. I was able to load his route into our RV GPS and we knew we didn’t have to worry about how to get to our next campground. 

We did have something else to worry about. As we were pulling out of our site at Pointes West Army FamCamp, our tire monitor alarm went off. One of Rosie’s tires was flat. We pulled off the side of the road in the campground trying to figure out our next move. 

That was when a retired U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant camping next to us walked over to help. He suggested that we use our air pump to fill the tire instead of trying to change it in the campground. Then we could keep an eye on the tire monitor as we headed to a tire shop. That sounded good to us. 

I noticed as I started to remove the tire monitor sensor from the problem tire that it was loose and leaking air. After I filled the tire with air, I made sure the sensor was tightly secured on the tire. 

We closely watched the tire monitor as we started our trip and were relieved that the tire behaved normally and didn’t lose any air. The Gunnery's advise was spot-on.

Our next campground was in Blue Ridge, Georgia. This is a destination campground for many vacationeer's, but we were here to visit my wife's brother. The COVID pandemic forced a two year gap in being able to see him and we were anxious to see her brother.

Entrance to the campground

The "office" at this campground

It was easy to see that this KOA campground was less than two years-old. All of our navigation devices knew where the campground was, but they were not aware that there was a new turn lane leading to the campground. We were glad we followed the campground signs and not our GPS units, which wanted us to travel up the road then make a U-turn to turn into the park. 

Rosie in our site

Sites did not seem as close together as in most other KOA campgrounds

We made our reservations in this campground only a few days before we arrived there and were fortunate to reserve any site there as the park was full of campers. We plan to reserve one of their premium sites along the river when we return to this campground in the future. 

The Toccoa River behind some sites in this campground

People enjoying kayaking on the river

We were able to ride our bikes around this campground. We were amazed at how few hills there were there compared to the previous campground we camped in. 

Eating lunch in Rosie with my wife's brother

We had a good visit with my wife's brother. We decided to visit the Big Foot Museum in Blue Ridge, Georgia that afternoon. They had ample fuzzy photos of Big Foot and video recordings of people talking about their encounters with Big Foot. We also noticed that these first-person recounts of Big Foot sightings lacked how much the people drank before first seeing Big Foot in the woods.

Outside the "Big Foot" museum

Big Foot shows up!

Ready to do battle with Big Foot, who is unaware I completed hand-to-hand combat training in the Army

I checked the pressure in Rosie's tires several times while parked in this campground. We were relieved to note that the tire was holding pressure and did not appear to have a problem. 

We enjoyed our visit to the Blue Ridge area and would return to this campground in the future when visiting my wife's brother.

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There was a single loop in the campground
• Our site was a back in
• Our site could be classified as "full sun" as there were just a few trees in this park
• Unlike most KOAs, there was adequate room between campsites
• The road in our camping loop was paved with asphalt. 
• Our site was paved with gravel.  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 several dumpsters for trash in this park. Campers could simply leave their trash bags next to the road and the workers would pick them up and dispose of them for you
• There was a new bathhouse in the RV campground. It was clean and well maintained
• The park had a swimming pool
• The park provided WiFi service. We measured the download speed at 6 MBS
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were not able to watch any over-the-air TV stations using Rosie's antenna. The campground provided cable-TV
• There were restaurants and shopping near the campground 
• This was a pet friendly park 

This was the first time we saw a six-door Ford F-450 truck used to tow a fifth-wheel

Points West Army Resort (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Appling, Georgia (July 2022)

Our original plan was to stay home during July and August, typically the hottest months of summer. That turned out to be a good idea as we survived a week of 100+ degree temperatures during June. Then the temperatures moderated a little and we started talking about how we needed another Rosie trip. (Rosie is the name of our Airstream trailer.) It didn’t take long to convince ourselves that a week or two in the woods was just the ticket for us. 

Of course, the problem with “spur-of-moment” camping is always getting reservations on short notice. Some of our camping friends like to brag about how they pick a compass direction, head out and always find great spots in incredible parks on-the-fly. While that sounds great for them, we are more comfortable with knowing we have a place to park at the end of the day. 

As our conversations about going out on a camping adventure progressed from “here’s an idea” to “let’s do it,” we went online and called to check for an opening at some choice campgrounds near us. We struck out at the state parks and Corps of Engineers parks we tried, but booked a site on the water at Fort Gordon's Pointes West Army Resort in Georgia. Once again, a military FamCamp provided us with an opportunity to have another Rosie adventure. 

Our RV GPS, Google Maps, Apple Maps and the navigation system in our truck all agreed that we needed to go on the Atlanta bypass for about 20 miles. We should have known better than to willingly drive around Atlanta. 

We tried to time it so we would be on Atlanta's Interstate highways during low traffic periods only to discover there are no “low traffic” times there. What should have been a four hour trip suddenly turned into six. We were thankful we arrived at the Pointes West before their office closed at 5 p.m. so that our credentials to camp in military FamCamps could be verified.

Sign at entrance of Pointes West Army Resort FamCamp

The guard house at the entrance to the campground

Most of the sites in this campground were on the lake and had great views. You may use your own canoes, kayaks and boats on the lake or you can rent them from the office. It rained most afternoons while we were in this park meaning we skipped renting boats. 

Rosie's site on the water

We didn’t skip riding our bikes. This was a great park for bike rides. We were able to go on five mile bike rides most mornings and afternoons between the rain showers. 

The roads were great for riding bikes

Our bike rides took us past two notable amenities in the campground. The first was a great playground for children. That was good because we noticed a bumper crop of kids in the park. 

Playground for children

The second feature we rode past everyday could be described as a playground for adults. I doubt I would have called it a playground while I was in the service. The park had a Confidence Course, but I wasn’t tempted to impress anyone with my “confidence” there.

Playground for adults

Second confidence course in this campground

We also saw deer, rabbits, a fox, woodpeckers (possibly pileated) and several armadillos while on our bikes. Then there were the geese. They were everywhere! It was cute for a day or two then we noticed goose droppings were along the paths those birds took. It seems that geese are more enjoyable from a distance. 

A fox watches us pass by on our bikes

The deer frequently visited our camping loop

Rosie in our campsite

We noticed an army of ants invaded Rosie while camping in this park. We quickly switched to our anti-ant offensive and worked hard to un-invite them. 

Our expectations were high coming into this park based on its online reviews. We were not disappointed. We look forward to returning to Pointes West. This was a huge facility and deserved the label “resort” by military campground standards. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• Our site was a back in
• Our site could be classified as "full sun" as there were many trees in this park, but not around our site
• Most sites were closer together than what you find at a COE campground, but not as tight as most KOAs
• The road in our camping loop was paved with asphalt. The roads in the other loops were gravel
• Our site was paved with dirt and gravel.  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 trash cans in front of every site. Campground hosts emptied those trash cans several times while we camped there
• There were bathhouses in the RV campground loops. Tent loops had portable “potties.”
• The park did not provide WiFi service except at the lodge
• AT&T provided 1 bar of 4G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch a FOX affiliate from Greenville, South Carolina using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Bounce, Charge, Circle, Cozi, Escape and Grit
• There were restaurants and shopping about 15 minutes from the campground 
• This was a pet friendly park 

Selfie taken in the campground

Sunset from our camping loop

The "beach" area on the lake

Uchee Creek Campground (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Fort Benning, Columbus, Georgia (June 2022)

Fort Benning has two primary FamCamps. One is in Destin, Florida and we stayed there last month in Rosie, our Airstream trailer. The other is across the river from the Army post. Technically, Fort Benning is on the Georgia side of the river and its FamCamp is on the Alabama side.  It is about a ten minute drive to go from the FamCamp to the Fort's gate if you want to go there. 

The major camping apps all say this campground has WiFi and the people in the office said that a vendor had about 30 more days to complete the WiFi installation. That conflicted with what we saw as we drove to our assigned site as we saw no evidence that anyone was installing a WiFi network. Several campers in the park told us that the office people have been saying the campground should have the WiFi system operational in a few weeks for the past two years. That was bad news because we had an unworkable one bar from AT&T on our iPhones. 

While there were many shaded sites in the campground, unfortunately the site we were assigned was full sun on a very hot day. We were glad that it had 50 amp power and that allowed us to use both of Rosie’s air conditioners. 

Rosie in the hot sun

 

The campground itself was well maintained and nice. It had a swimming pool and a great playground for the kids. It also had a marina where you could rent kayaks and fishing boats. 

We never knew what the real time was while there. The campground was on the line marking the eastern and central time zones. If our phones were talking to cell towers on the Georgia side of the river, they displayed Eastern time. If our phones were connected to cell towers in Alabama, they were on Central time. We could set our phones side-by-side and they displayed different times. 

Fort Benning is a major training base for the Army’s basic training, advanced infantry training and for jump training. Jump training is parachute school for what the Army calls Airborne. This campground was close to the airport and the landing zone used for parachute landings. We actually enjoyed watching the planes pass overhead and circling the drop field. 

Airplane used in Army "jump" training flying over Rosie

We had planned to return to this campground in three weeks. We decided to cancel our reservations and possibly return when the weather was cooler. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• Our site was a back in
• Our site was "full sun" 
• Our site 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 Airstream trailer. 
• 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 was a bathhouse in the campground 
• The park did not provide WiFi service 
• AT&T provided one bar of 4G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch ABC and CBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Bounce, Circle, Grit, ION, LAFF, ME-TV and THiS
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

High Falls State Park - Jackson, Georgia (May 2022)

We received a text message from High Falls State Park in Georgia while we were on the road headed there. They wanted us to give them a call and check in prior to arriving. 

Since we were about 90 minutes away from the park, my thought was to simply check in after we arrived. I was outvoted. We called the park's office, checked in and was given the gate code. 

The need to check in early made sense when we arrived. A sign directed us to a narrow road that took us up a hill and deep into the woods. After a few anxious moments, we saw the gate that required the passcode we were given earlier via phone. The park office I imagined at the entrance to the campground was missing. It turned out that we really needed to check in via phone prior to arrival. 

Once inside the gate, we wandered around the camping loops looking for our site. We quickly discovered that the park lacked what we considered to be normal campground signs directing visitors to their sites and that problem was compounded because we didn’t have a campground map.

Really? This was the sign at the entrance to our camping loop!

After circling what we thought was the entire campground, we saw two park employees and asked them how to find our site. They told us to turn on a single lane side road that appeared to go nowhere except up a steep hill then gave us the dreaded “you can’t miss it” phrase. I had visions of having to back Rosie, our Airstream trailer, down that narrow road but was surprised when we actually found another loop and our site. 

Rosie in our site

We quickly realized that this was probably a “weekenders” park where nearby people from the area tend to gather for a few days. That was a plausible reason for not distributing campground maps and the lack of signs detailing the various loops. If the same crowd is there most weekends, the park doesn’t need maps and signs because everyone knows the layout. 

There was an office in this park. We didn’t find it until we went exploring the next morning. The park appeared to be on several parcels of land on both sides of a highway with businesses and private homes sprinkled between them. It would have been easier to find the office and camping store if we were simply passing through the park and not camping there. I doubt that we would have found the office while pulling Rosie and following the few signs guiding us to and around the campground. 

We also found another campground in this state park down the road and across a bridge. It had great views of the lake, but sites were for campers less than 25 feet long. It became a game watching RVers turn into the wrong campground then having to ask someone where their site was only to discover it was down the highway and on the other side of the road. 

This is a great campground if your goal is to be cut off from the world. AT&T's cell signal would drift in occasionally to the point that we could receive a text message. We couldn’t find a single TV signal using Rosie's antenna. It was a good thing we brought a DVR loaded with some movies we wanted to watch. 

We were pleasantly surprised by the sounds of birds in this park. We loved hearing the many birds that were around this campground. 

One of the many birds in this park

We had visitors while camping in this state park. I frequently participate in the Airstream Club's RV Service Net on the 40 meter Amateur Radio band. One of the net control operators and his wife who is the club's newsletter editor dropped by for a visit. 

The lingering question about the park has to be about the falls. When a park is named High Falls, you expect to find high falls there. Perhaps the falls could be more accurately described as cascades and they are high cascades for the region. We enjoyed hiking to the falls and enjoyed their beauty. 

The falls

The dam

There were multiple things to do and see in this park, but the drawback was its isolation. While some people may want to be in a place where their cell phones don’t work and their TV sets cannot find a signal, we prefer being in a place where our family and close friends can reach us. We were glad we explored this park, but I doubt we will return. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were two campgrounds in this park on opposite sides of the road about half a mile apart
• There were multiple loops in the both campgrounds
• Our site was a back in
• Our site 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
• Our site had 20 and 30 amp electrical service. The AllStays app lists this as a 50 amp park. Only a few sites had 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 at the park's exit. It was a long way from our site and you had to exit and re-enter the park after using it with your sewage tote
• The trash cans were along the side of the bathhouses 
• There was a bathhouse in our camping loop
• There was a washing machine and dryer in our loop's bathhouse.  The cost was $2 per load to wash and another $2 to use the dryer 
• The park did not provide WiFi service in the campground. WiFi was provided during business hours at the campground office, which wasn’t close to the camping loops
• AT&T occasionally provided half a bar of 4G over our campsite, which allowed us to receive an occasional text message. Phone service and data connections on our iPhones didn’t happen 
• We were unable to see any TV stations using Rosie’s TV antenna 
• Shopping and restaurants were available a few miles up the highway 
• This was a pet friendly park 

More water features in this park

Selfie next to Rosie

Eagle Hammock RV Park (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Kings Bay Navy Submarine Base, Kings Bay, Georgia (May 2022)

Who flipped the weather switch over to summer? It was a comfortable spring day when we left Mayport and traveled the 50 short miles to Kings Bay Submarine Base in Georgia. When we arrived, the temperature and humidity screamed summer. How could the weather change so fast? People in the South are fond of saying, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a few moments and it will change.” Four days later, the temperature dipped back to the early spring range. 

Eagle Hammock RV Park is located on the Navy Submarine Base at Kings Bay, Georgia. That meant we had to pull Rosie, our Airstream trailer, past base security at the gate. There was plenty of room to park Rosie, our Airstream trailer, at the Pass and ID office to get our credentials in their system before heading to the gate. 

A reminder that Kings Bay is a submarine base

Heading to the gate

Once our information was in their system, we were told we could proceed to the gate. After the usual scan of our IDs, the base policeman told me there were additional security checks before we were allowed to drive onto that military base. I hoped he wasn’t about to ask who led the National League in home runs in 1945. He didn’t. After completing the enhanced checks of our rig, we were waved through the gate. 

Since this campground was named Eagle Hammock, I half expected to see an eagle or two while there. I didn’t. But, it didn’t take long after we parked Rosie to see our first critter. We saw a baby four-foot gator walk between our neighbors' trailers towards the lake. One neighbor told us a 10 foot gator lurked in the lake. We knew we needed to be very careful when walking our dog around this campground because gators move surprisingly fast on the ground. 

Entrance to the campground

Campground office

Rosie in the campground

It was interesting that the size of the big gator grew during the time we stayed in this campground. It started as a 10-foot gator then grew to 13 and finally a 16-foot gator. Sure, there was a possibility that several large gators lived in the lake. On the other hand, people telling us about the gator were fishing and they probably used their “fishing eyeball estimates” about size. 

Gator in the lake

Sign warning about the alligators 

There were other critters in the campground as well. We spotted rabbits behind Rosie most afternoons and a turtle laying eggs on the side of Rosie. There was ample evidence that armadillos were digging holes throughout the campground and an abundance of birds around the lake. What we didn’t see were eagles. 

Turtle behind Rosie

Several online reviews of this campground mentioned great bike trails. It took a couple of days looking for them, but we found them. We could only ride bikes early in the mornings because it was too hot to be outside by mid morning. 

Along one of the bike paths

We had a maintenance issue during our stay in this campground. Our macerator toilet quit working. After trying to fix it for longer than I wanted, I walked over to the camp host's trailer and asked about mobile RV service units that had access to the military base. I called three. Two said they could not show up for three or four weeks. The third could be out in two or three days, but they charged a $500 service call fee to show up on base then an additional diagnostic fee and the actual hourly fee to work on the trailer. I feared that some mobile RV service businesses decided that they can charge what I considered to be unreasonable fees on military bases and I translated that into the opposite of saying “thanks for your service.”

The camp host, a Navy Master Chief, overheard my conversations with these people and said that he would take a look at our problem. It didn’t take him long to realize I misread the fuse chart and changed the wrong one. Our problem disappeared when he replaced the correct one. That was a learning experience for me and I was glad I didn’t have to deal with the company that charged veterans outrageous service fees.  

There were constant reminders that this was a very high security military base. We frequently saw patrols from base police officers and Marine security forces while riding our bikes on the designated bike paths. To emphasize base security, we heard an announcement over the base public address speaker system that the use of deadly force was authorized. That was a first. 

A reminder about where we were

We also noticed that about 10 of the sites were occupied by people serving on active duty at the base. The sites on both sides of Rosie were active duty families.

Our search for eagles ended in disappointment. We did find the six-foot gator, but not the 10, 13 or was it a 16-foot one. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• All of the roads in this campground were loose gravel
• Our site was a back in
• Our site was on the lake
• Most sites could be classified as "full sun" as trees were few and far apart
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• All of the roads in this campground were gravel and that made it hard to ride bikes within the campground 
• Our site was paved with concrete and was level 
• 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 an easy walk to the trash dumpster, which was at the entrance of the campground 
• There was a bathhouse in the campground. It was clean and maintained 
• The park provided WiFi service. We had 3.58 mbps download speed
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch ION and FOX using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Bounce, Court-TV, Decades, Get, Grit, H&I, LAFF and ME-TV, 
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park and it had a dog park

Fishing pier in the campground

Rosie in the campground