We left Forest Lake RV Park a bit more disenchanted with the whole Thousand Trails membership. Since our membership is good for another 7 months, we'll take advantage of it whenever one of their parks happens to be convenient but they won't qualify as a destination from here on out. I'm sure there are plenty of folks who will fall for the hype, but it's just too comercialized and packed in for our taste. As it was only a 2 hour drive to our next destination, we decided a slight detour across the Blue Ridge Parkway was in order. The Parkway runs 469 miles from Waynesboro, Virginia all the way down to Ravensford, North Carolina. We joined the parkway outside of Blowing Rock, NC and got off at Linville, NC. Just a 15 mile stretch but well worth the views. We plan to follow the entire route in the future but no dates set just yet.
Roan Mountain State Park in Tennessee is our next destination. This was exactly what I had described as an ideal campground in the last post and a God send for us to say the least. The drive in was peaceful and the pink and white rhododendrons were blossoming all along the way right into the park. We selected campsite 64 from a google map a few months ago and were not disappointed at all. On this loop of the campground, there are about a dozen campsites surrounding a well maintained bath house and all of the sites enjoy the shade of the forest enveloping us. A beautiful crystal clear creek greets you as you head up to the campground followed by a playground full of swings and slides for the kids. The campsites have fairly level spots to back in with Electric and water hook-ups, A picnic table, fire ring, and BBQ Grill.
Our campsite was very nicely laid out with plenty of space for Toto and Bilbo to roam. We discovered a spring fed crick just behind the site and also found out the rhododendron flowers and leaf litter are strongly attracted to the boys legs and feet. We had to spend a few minutes un-tethering them whenever the boys went out to potty, and unfortunately they are quite toxic to dogs if ingested.
I'll leave it at that for now and go back outside to enjoy the peace and tranquility we so richly deserve. And a selection of pictures below to share...
I only wish we were staying here longer, we definately will the next time we pass this way. Thats all for today, Stop by in a few days for our next update. Take Care.
It seems like we've been trying to do the Blue Ridge Parkway 15 miles at a time for years. This might be our fourth drive on a section of it. It probably needs and deserves to be a destination in and of itself, but if we can find sites like this along It, how wonderful would that be?
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