Tanglewood Park CG (NC)

Aug 12-13, 2012
(I’m guilty of extreme blog fatigue but I wanted to highlight this cg near Winston Salem NC.)

Clemmons, NC
Tanglewood Park CG site 2

This is a great place to pull in for one night as we did.  The rate is a little high for us to stay much longer but I fell in love with the place.  It’s an easy on/off from I40 at exit 182 and has everything needed to relax.  Tanglewood Park is a part of Forsyth County Parks and Rec Department.  They offer an aquatic center, stables, tennis, golf, soccer, pond fishing, a Manor House bed and breakfast, arboretum, rose garden and a FHU campground.  There’s a paved multi-use trail that winds around the woods for two miles which was great for my morning walk.  Here’s what was in the neighbor’s backyard right next to the rv park.

 

The sites are paved but many of them are not level.  I’m glad we called the office the day before to get a great site.  Not a problem during the week.

 

Most of those amenities like the pool, stables, etc. cost a little extra but the arboretum and rose garden were included in the cg fee.  I spent a little time relaxing in the arboretum in the afternoon.  The rose garden was in direct hot sunshine which is great for the flowers but not for this rosebud. 

 

 

 

Since this is a county park instead of a commercial park, there was plenty of space between the sites.  There were also some very large old oak trees throughout the park.  The rv park had been closed down for several years and was remodeled about three years ago.  I could still see some of the old overgrown sites in the woods on my morning walk.  The multi-use trail through the park is wonderful.

 

Many people walk or run and some ride their bicycles.  There are also mountain bike trails through the woods for the more adventuresome.  On my morning walk, I stopped counting the deer when I got over 20.  There was even one of them in the corral with the horses just grazing with them like he belonged there.

 

This was our last stop before arriving in Roanoke Rapids to visit with family, but I don’t think that it will be our only stay here.  It’s definitely worth a return.

Thanks for dropping by and enjoy each day of your life’s journey by finding beauty in the ordinary.

Getting Wet

Jordan Lake State Park
Poplar Point CG site #E95
Apex, NC

The week end was not that busy here.  I think next week end will be the last hoorah with Labor Day.  On Sunday, we all went on a pontoon boat ride.  We had to get Smudge cooled off before getting in the boat.  She is amazingly trusting.  She never paddled while in our arms.  We did let her swim a few inches between us.

 

Gin’s folks have enjoyed their boat but it is about time for them to let it go.  It can be a lot to take care of when you have so much other things going on in life.

It was an absolutely beautiful day to be on the water.

On Monday, Gin and I got out on the water with the waverunners.  We rode up to the dam and found a nice sandy beach to land and get out to float a while.  We rode some more and floated some more.  It was a great morning.

Her nephew Nick and his friend Chris joined us in the afternoon.  We took the boat and waverunners to the sandy beach near the swimming area and let them ride around a bit.  They enjoyed the speed on the lake.  Since it was Monday, there was almost no one else on the lake at all.  The water was like glass.  After an early supper of ribs and fixin’s, we all went on a boat ride to the dam.  Nick and Chris left before they locked the gate at 9:00.  It was another nice day in Sylville, but we are tired.

I did set up a hummingbird feeder on our first day here.  There are two females that perch in the pine tree and then feed from the feeder.  I did see one more deer today.  I went to the nearby convenience store to fill the gas cans and a deer was in the middle of the road just a few sites from our campsite.  She sauntered into the woods.  I just happened to have a camera and took a shot out the open window.  They hide on the week ends.

Lake Jordan

Jordan Lake State Park
Poplar Point CG site #E95
Apex, NC

We made it to the lake on Thursday.  After we dropped by the boat launch parking lot, I saw a doe and her two fawns.  Gin’s folks finally are taking a vacation and have brought their MH and pontoon boat with them.  We are very lucky to have neighboring waterfront sites since you can’t reserve in loop E this year.

 

I think it’s going to be a quiet week end since school has started.  The next week end is Labor Day and that will certainly be busy.  We brought our bicycles and waverunners.  We’ll get all the boats in the water this morning.

I took Smudge for a walk at dusk last night and got a couple of pictures.  This doe was 50 yards away and I didn’t have the zoom lens on (of course).  I saw the rest of the herd, all 5, as she scampered off.  That’s a total of 8 deer today.

The camp sites are in a cove but you can still look out onto the main lake to get a nice view.  This was at dusk.  We took it easy the rest of the day.  It’s good to be here.

Croatan National Forest; Cedar Point NC

November 21-27, 2009
Croatan National Forest, NC
Cedar Point CG Site #15
$51 for 6 nights
271 miles round trip, 7.0 mpg

Saturday-Travel day.  We enjoyed watching a mating pair of Mallards on the pond at our house before we hit the road.  It was an easy drive with light traffic.  We had mostly overcast skies.  Dorothy and Chris are in the site across the street.  They are full-timers that we met here last year.  They plan to go to California after Christmas.  We rode our bicycles around the park and to the little boat launch.  Julie and Steve, the friendly camp hosts, chatted for a while.  She said the fish were biting on the White Oak River.  We played rummy at night.
Sunday-We went to the grocery store and Lowes to get a doodad for the CG water spigot so our hose will fit it.  Gin got a nice campfire going while I cut up veggies and put a roast in the oven.  We had Gin's brother Butch, his son Nick, and Nick's girlfriend Becca over for supper.  It was enjoyed by all.  It rained and we called it an early night.
Monday-It was a drizzly day.  Gin and Nick went to the shore to fish but it rained harder.  They came back and played video games.  We watched squirrels.  One of them stuffed a lot of leaves in his mouth and scampered up the tree to his nest.  I guess that was an extra blanket for the night.
Tuesday-Nick and Becca were both off work today so the four of us went to the shore.  They fished while I enjoyed walking the beach and watching the birds.  We saw fresh deer tracks in the sand leading straight to the waves and then back to the dunes.  I can't imagine what the deer looked like gazing out over the ocean.  Pretty awesome, no doubt.  Gin caught a fish and a rag.  Nick suggested shrimp at Golden Corral for supper since we didn't have any luck.  Gin's parents got set up in the CG while we all cleaned up.  The 6 of us went to Morehead City to eat.  We all played cards afterwards.
Wednesday-It was a rainy do nothing day.  Nick came over for a bit.  The lazy, stir crazy day was finished off by playing canasta with Gin's parents.
Thursday-Happy Thanksgiving!!  The sun came out and it was a beautiful day!  All the food was ready and laid out at Gin's parents at 12:30.  Nick, Becca, and Butch were there.  We invited Dorothy and Chris and Roger (camp co-host) to join us.  A good meal was had by all.  We enjoyed a bike ride around the park and to the water.  We gave our leftover firewood to Julie and Steve.  We packed up the outside stuff after Nick and Becca played Guitar Hero.  They're pretty good.  The squirrels were gathering fresh dry leaves for a cold night.
Friday-Travel day.  It's sunny, cool and quite windy.  That made for a long 3 hour drive.  I got a good nap before going to work night shift.  Sad to say that this was the last RV trip of the season.  We can't wait until next year.  It'll be so nice to visit Sylville on a more frequent basis.

Jordan Lake State Park; Apex NC

August 22 - September 3, 2009
Jordan Lake State Park; Apex NC
Poplar Point CG Site #E94
$276 for 12 nights
84 miles round trip, 7.6 mpg

Saturday-Travel day. Gin drove the Suki with the kayaks on top while I pulled the waverunners with the MH. Some folks were still on our site so we stayed at the boat launch parking lot for a few minutes until Gin's folks got there. I took Smudge for a walk down the amphitheater path and we scared up 3 deer. I looked one of them in the eye for a while. He was a young male with budding antlers only the size of my middle finger. It sprinkled some while we all set up camp so we decided to launch the waverunners and pontoon boat tomorrow.
Sunday-Squirrels can run with a hot dog bun. I saw one holding it in his mouth while he jumped into a small tree. We got the boats in the water but had a little trouble with the pontoon launch. The water is so low that one of the trailer tires dropped off the end of the ramp just as the boat floated free. Gin's mom Judy got in her Suzuki while Gin and I got in the water and picked up that side of the trailer. You can lift a lot more in water. All's well that ends well. We saw hummingbirds at our feeder that is mounted on the windshield. One has a yellow top knot.
Monday-It's a work day for me and Gin's dad Odie. I met the work camper at the gate at 4:45am. He works in the Public Utilities Department of Raleigh. Odie drove to Rocky Mount. His work day was shorter than mine. Gin and her mom worked around the campsites. It was very dark at 4:45am. I saw a deer along the roadside as I left the CG but Gin and Judy saw a herd of deer while walking the dogs. They also saw them at the end of the cove behind the MH eating green stuff. They witnessed an attempted theft too. A squirrel tried to steal a pack of nabs. I came home to a nice meal and bed.
Tuesday-Another long work day for me. Gin went shopping with her folks and vacuumed the MH. She saw crows eating the wild grapes at our site. I look forward to sleeping late tomorrow.
Wednesday-Some friends of Gin's folks came to visit for the day and I think they enjoyed it. We walked the dogs around the whole loop but had to stop to stare at some beautiful deer. It looked like a mom, last year's offspring, and this year's fawn. We enjoy our wildlife sightings. :) We rode the waverunners quite a bit. It was a beautiful day with the lake almost all to ourselves.
Thursday-We took the waverunners to the swimmin' hole close to the boat launch. Gin and I were bobbin' as a bald eagle soared over head looking at us as he flew down the cove. It was awesome to hear his wings flap. Gin's folks joined us for bobbin'. I took Gin's mom for a calm ride on the waverunner. We all played canasta in the evening.
Friday-No new neighbors yet. Next weekend is Labor Day so I hope people wait. We all went to Lowes in Pittsboro and Walmart in Siler City. Gin got a nice new water filter for outside and put it on. I did a $4.00 paint job on the Suki. We did the blue tank duties for both MHs. We played canasta again.
Saturday-We all just piddled around the campsites. It had rained overnight so it started off very humid and cleared up nicely. We just needed a day of relaxation.
Sunday-We tried the waverunners since we knew the next couple of days would be cool and rainy. The lake was just too bumpy for us old gals so we came back to camp. We had a neat visitor as we stood amongst the trees at the shore...a black and white warbler. He sang a bit as he perched on the trunk and limbs. We set up the tent top and mat to welcome the cooler weather.
Monday-Deer, deer everywhere. It was a cool rainy day so we hung out at camp. A doe and her twin fawns were on the vacant campsite beside us. She was only 10 feet from the driver's door of the MH! I saw another family of four while Gin and Judy went to get groceries. They said they saw them as they drove away. It was pretty special.
Tuesday-Gorgeous day!! It was in the mid 70's with low humidity. We kayaked and Gin's folks took out the pontoon boat. They didn't catch a fish but Gin caught a crappie. It was windy with whitecaps on the lake so we stayed close. I walked Smudge and had another deer sighting. Three of them jogged across the road. The last one had finger long antlers. We finished the day playing canasta again.
Wednesday-Another gorgeous day! All we wanted to do was lay around outside and relax but it was pack up day. We took the waverunners to the boat ramp. Gin's aunt and uncle visited. After they left, we loaded up the pontoon. I hooked up the trailer and backed it down the ramp all by myself. :) We came back to camp to put the kayaks on top of the Suki and put away both tent tops. Gin put away her computer stuff so we are quite tired. We plan to relax some in the morning before packing the patio stuff. We've enjoyed the hummingbirds and deer families.
Thursday-Travel day. We relaxed outside with our coffee and packed the dish and patio at a leisurely pace. We walked Smudge around the loop one last time and cranked up to leave at 1:30 just as the next camper pulled up for #E94. Hope they enjoy their time there as much as we did.