Greetings from Douglas Headwater Campground

 

 

Wow!  A lot has gone on since I last spoke to y’all.

 

After Brian and I left sad, neglected, Beartree campground we headed north up Hwy 81 towards Staunton VA to visit Brian’s cousin Julie Devine and her family. 

 

 

On the way there we stopped for the night at North Creek campground, just north of Roanoke, Virginia.  It was a small unhosted, Forest Service campground that sat along a nice babbling creek.  (FCFS $15 a night with Brian’s military discount) If you are wondering how we find all these camp spots along our adventure, we use an APP called Campendium.  It shows you where you are on a map, then searches out campgrounds. 


Log Cabin at North Creek


 

Anyway, that night when we turned off the lights, I decided to step outside and see if I could see the Milky Way.  As I first looked out into the pitch-black forest, I thought something was wrong with my vision.  I was seeing small flashes of light.  For a moment, I was running thru my brain, the possible maladies this could be.  Then it dawned on me.  Fireflies.  Oh, what a magical world with flying beetles that have big bottoms that flash!  So cute!  Much better than ladybugs.  Being here on the east coast has given us many evening opportunities to watch the fireflies dance at dusk to dark.

 

The next morning, we headed to Staunton, VA, to see Julie.

 

Staunton, what a lovely historic town.  It was founded in 1747, was first a British colony.  By 1760, Staunton was one of the major trading centers in the back country.  It played a crucial role in the mid 18th century expansion of the American Colonies, which in turn, contributed to the success of the American Revolution.  

Staunton now is home to many Victorian style buildings of various styles.  Brian’s, cousin, Julie, lives right across the street in downtown Staunton from Woodrow Wilsons childhood home in a Victorian home built in 1900.  

 

Note.  Woodrow Wilson never had a driver’s license, but his wife Edith, however, owned and drove her own electric car.

 



Edith Wilson in her Electric car


We had a couple of fabulous day trips with Julie, one to Charlottesville, to see the Rotunda at the University of Virginia that Thomas Jefferson designed.  Then on to Monticello to see Thomas Jeffersons home.  Oh, and a stop along the way to have lunch at Michie tavern.  Monticello was more modest of a presidential mansion than I expected.  But in retrospect, I realized that one, it was built between 1772 and 1809.  And two, Jefferson occupied the home as a bachelor.  I walked in expecting a grand staircase.  There was none, he didn’t believe in them, and had 2 small hidden staircases in the home.  The entry had Indian painted buffalo hides on the walls, along with tomahawks, spears, maps.  Boy stuff.  Then it dawned on me that he had funded Lewis and Clarks expedition and that these were his treasures from that adventure.  It was a beautiful Spring/Summer day when we visited.  And it was amazing to be walking the grounds that Thomas Jefferson stood on.  

Cousin Julie and Brian




 

Jeffersons souvenirs from Lewis and Clarks Expedition (Boy Stuff)

J
























Yep, I was there





















Note, painted bison hide entry decor. (bachelor)






 



















 Our second day with Julie (another beautiful day) was driving the 105-mile Skyline drive in Shenandoah National Park.  We drove south along the crest of the Blue Ridge mountains, entering at Thornton Gap at Luray, VA.  We toured the curving road, stopping at overlooks and the Big Meadows visitors center, for a T shirt, post card and photos.  Along the way a bear ran across the road in front of us!  We stopped for a picnic, noshing on cheese, salami, olives, crackers, and fruit.  Oh, and Hershey bars.  

It was fun visiting Julie, she was a great tour guide, and we hope we will get to see her again, sooner than later.

 






Views from the Skyline Drive





Now to go to work.  We headed down Hwy 81 towards Sevierville, TN, to Douglas Headwater Dam Campground.  Our start date was June 14th.

On our way up to our first Camp hosting gig in Virginia at Beartree, we checked out Tennessee and stayed at Douglas Headwater campground.  We liked the park on the lake and stayed 5 nights.  While staying there we met two of the camp hosts, Betty, and Lou.  They were friendly with big smiles when we told them we were going to Virginia to be Camp Hosts.  Shortly thereafter we met their bosses, the campground managers, Rick, and Connie Odle.  We sat in the office and were just visiting with them.  I guess we were having an informal interview but didn’t really realize it.  I left thinking, OK, maybe someday we might be Camp Hosts there??  Probably 3 weeks later they called and said, “Would you like to come down and camp host for us?”  It wasn’t hard to say, “Yes,” after the disaster at Beartree campground.

 

Brian and I each work 30 hours a week.  I work in the office and Camp store.  Making reservations, selling camping and fishing supplies, ice, wood. Renting out canoes and kayaks.  Selling beach towels, swimsuits, T-shirts ect.  In the 4 months we have been open this season we have sold $40,000.00 worth of merchandise.

Oh, and Soft-Serve ice cream!  Vanilla, Chocolate and Swirl. Cups and Cones.  Big seller!!  Brian mows lawn, cleans up campsites after campers leave, helps me clean 3 different bath houses at night, on the nights that it falls to me about 2 or 3 times a week.  And generally, is the campground ambassador going around visiting with everyone, helping whenever he can.  The other Camp Hosts that we work with are just great, we are all getting to know each other.  Brian and I try hard to be good team players, and we feel very Welcome.  They are teasing us now, so I think they like us.

 

Our Campspot

Reservation desk in store



Swimming hole

Good Morning

Working a Hot and Sultry day

 

We had big plans of traveling America; we still do but at a slower pace.  When we started out, gas prices were in the $3 a gallon range, inflation hadn’t raised its ugly head, and our stock portfolio hadn’t jumped off the deep end.

 

So, we Work Camp, we make $8.25 (Tennessee minimum wage) an hour each, plus get free rent and utilities.  It’s a part time job so not too taxing. We are hoping to go down to Florida for the winter.  And are working on applying for Work Camper jobs, thru the Florida State Park system.  Our days off consist of going grocery shopping.  Kroger is our favorite here.  And going to the library which has super-fast WiFi.  We always eat in, because there is not one decent restaurant that could serve Gluten Free food down here.  They like to dip everything in some sort of wheat flour batter and fry.

 

That’s about it for now.  We have a kids bass fishing tournament coming up this weekend.  Hundreds, if not thousands are expected to attend.  I hear, every kid wins a prize.  I imagine I will have sore wrists from making SWIRL ice cream cones by the bazillions!

FYI, the soft serve is GF!   And unfortunately it shows!

 

Happy Trails to you till we meet again.

 

R&B

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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