We left Mt. Airy on West I 74 and then connected to I 77 North and drove through Virginia.
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| The road ahead |
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| Out the side window |
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| Two tunnels |
We crossed the border into West Virginia. Our first stop was the Welcome Center and the woman on duty made us feel less then welcome. When we asked about camping near the Bluestone National Scenic River and what kind of roads we could expect getting there. Her only answer was, "Well you know West Virginia is pretty hilly." I then asked if she could make some suggestions and she pointed to the wall and said, "Information about camping is over there." She then turned away to chat with someone behind her who worked there. (Side note: during our "2014-2015 Adventure" we stopped at quite a few Welcome Centers and this was the only one that did not make us feel welcome.)
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| It is now raining. |
May did not start well, besides everything that happened, it was cold and rainy most of the first day. We had found a campground near a lake nearby so after a quick breakfast we headed there. Lesson learned just because a campground is on a lake does not mean you will not have to climb a very high hill to get there.
Once we got there, even though Tom had told the woman he spoke to how long our 5th wheel was, we found the sites just long enough for it but without enough room to unhook the truck. So back down we came.
We then decided to try for another park and ended up another fairly high hill and a dead end. Luckily a very nice gentleman came out of his house and told us we were not the first ones to make the mistake and how the others had went around the building across from him that connected back to the road. It was muddy, narrow, steep on the right, and had a nice drop off on the left. I walked ahead and directed but to this day I believe our Guardian Angels held the 5th wheel up because at the angle it was I do not know what kept it from tipping over and taking the truck and Tom down the steep incline.
When we arrived at the place we thought was the campgrounds, it was just where you registered, I went in and after talking with the woman about the size of their sites I went back out to the truck looked at Tom and said lets get back on the Interstate and keep going north. Basically, the campgrounds was up another hill and there was maybe one campsite we would fit into. It was at this point we decided visiting the Bluestone National Scenic River was not happening on this trip.
So we got back on I 77 and ended up stopping at a Service Center. At their travel information booth a very nice gentleman found a campgrounds for us North of Charleston in Romance, WV. He even called and made reservations for us. We did have to drive up another hill but it was well worth it as it was a beautiful campgrounds.
Driving through Charleston, WV
The name of the campground was the Rippling Waters Church of God Campground and it was a Passport America park with very few restrictions as far as when you can use this discount. We only stayed 4 nights and the cost was $20.00 for full hookups. This would be a definite place we would stay at again. It is a quiet, peaceful, and clean park. There is a lake for fishing and a swimming pool plus other amenities and activities. Tom did go fishing but other then that we just relaxed and enjoyed out stay.
One of the days we drove over to a nearby town to buy some groceries and we saw this horse just standing on the porch of this house. After we had went by I said to Tom I should have taken a picture and he said you can catch it on the way back. I just laughed. On the way back there it was still standing there. It didn't look like anyone lived there but by the look of the window I think this horse does this quite a bit.
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Our stay here was very enjoyable. The only downside was our AT&T service was very spotty or maybe at times that is an upside. What had started out as our worst day of our entire trip ended on a good note in a peaceful valley. Like Tom said when we clicked glasses that first evening at this campgrounds we survived.
"Every day hold the possibility for a miracle."
~Elizabeth David
West Virginia
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