USA - North Carolina to Virginia

---

Suzanne here...

Our Tennessee detour had brought us near the border of North Carolina, making it a logical place to stay for a couple of nights on our way back up to Virginia. We knew nothing about North Carolina to be honest, but some hasty research suggested that the mountainous Blue Ridge Parkway area was worth a stop. We found a likely looking campsite in Linville and decided to head there.

On the way we stopped at the town of Asheville for lunch, at Tastee Diner (we do love a good old-fashioned American diner) where we had some excellent burgers. We finally pulled into the campsite at about 5pm, chose our pitch, got the tent up, and enjoyed showers. I mean, we really enjoyed them. They were our first showers for three days. We'd chosen the private Linville Campground, RV Park and Cabins. Normally we go for the state campgrounds. But the great showers and laundry facilities convinced us we'd picked the right one for us. Plus it was a very reasonable $25 per night.

Dinner that night was chicken fajitas (again - my favourite camping meal), and I even had some cider which made me happy. It was a bit nippy though. Not exactly freezing, but a suprise after the sweltering temperatures to date. We'd managed to download some more of our albums from Amazon that morning in the Smokies Visitor Centre, so we had some different music to listen to.

The following day, after a cooked breakfast, we drove to Linville Falls. We ended up spending the day there, doing two of the three walks. The first walk was easy and gave us some great views of the very pretty waterfall. The second was a little more challenging and took us down into the gorge. A bit of a scramble over the rocks brought us out at a lovely spot right at the foot of the falls, where we settled for a light picnic lunch. It's a really nice place, and well worth a visit.

We were not going to pass up the chance to get some laundry done, so that took up the early part of the evening. Plus it gave us a chance to get our various devices charged. Then we settled down to cheese burgers, a couple of drinks and some music. A typical camping evening. In the early hours of the morning we awoke to the sound of rain. It absolutely bucketed it down for six solid hours. Not a huge issue given we were in bed. But it was pretty relentless and by the morning our poor tent was a little damp. Lucky we had the laundry facilities so we could dry the quilts before moving on. We also took advantage of one last lovely hot shower.

It seemed to take a long time to get to our next destination. First we had to stop at a nearby Walmart to download a chunk of map we'd somehow missed. Then we stopped for lunch. Unexpectedly we found ourselves crossing a small corner of Tennessee. Happy to be back, this is where we chose to stop, at Poblanos Mexican restaurant in Mountain City. It was delicious, and cheap, a last gift from the state that keeps giving. Then we stopped at Dunkin Donuts, mainly to use their wi-fi to research the next stop. Finally it was another Walmart for supplies for the next two days.

We didn't arrive at North Fork Campground until after 5pm. There was no problem in finding a pitch. No facilities to speak of (vault toilets, no showers) but all we needed for two days and a bargain at $10 per night. Our pitch was large and secluded. We settled down to the usual, cooking dinner, listening to music. The tablet battery has lasted quite well, charging it in the car keeping it ticking over.

The following day we decided to do a hike the camp hosts had told us about. First following the Apple Orchard Falls trail, then a spur to join the Cornillious Creek trail, making a six mile loop walk. We had lunch by the falls themselves. We saw lots of bright orange (and adorable) red spotted newts, and even a small snake. It was a lovely walk, but tough terrain. We were both flagging slightly by the time we got back to the car. Back at camp we had dinner, and an early night.

So, onward to our last camping stop. We knew it was Labor Day weekend so campsites would be busy. But we hoped that arriving on the Thursday would give us an advantage. Initially we planned to stop at Shendoah National Park. But we were put off by the $25 fee just to enter, nevermind camp. We decided to press on to a campsite nearer Dulles, where we'd be dropping the car off.

River Run campsite did have a space for us, but we were told that other than that it was fully booked. It was huge, with the pitches crammed together. We'd read reviews that mentioned noise and rowdy behavior. We just knew that come Friday it would turn into a zoo. So we hastily left, driving back to a campsite we'd passed earlier. It looked really nice, but was fully booked.

Getting a little concerned we moved on to a KOA, which we usually avoid as they are expensive. They had one spot left so we took it. I nearly fell through the floor when she told us it would be $99 for two nights. Seeing my shock she knocked 10% off. It was still the most expensive spot by a large margin. Which would have been fine. Except when we got to the tent field it was a tiny square of grass with half a dozen pitches crammed on it. I was really upset that it was so expensive yet so rubbish. But David talked me into making the best of it. At least it was smaller than River Run, with more of a family atmosphere . We knew that first night, before the weekenders arrived, would be fine, and it was. We even had a barbecue and cooked some jacket potatoes.

In fact, the next night was fine too in the end. It would have been pretty crowded if anyone else had turned up, but luckily for us they didn't. I think the rain may have put people off. Yes, of course it rained on our last day of camping! But actually it wasnt too bad. We popped into Luray for lunch at Baby Moons Diner. Back at camp the rain kept us indoors for a while. But it didn't last and we could still sit outside for most of the evening. We cooked one last camping meal, had a bottle of wine, and enjoyed some music before bed.

The following day was all about packing up and getting shot of all our camping stuff. We left things like cooking utensils, and the tent, at the campsite with a note saying they were free to anyone who could use them. We also popped into Luray and dropped some stuff off at a thrift store. Then it was time to drive our (much emptier) car back to Dulles.

We've loved this stage of the trip. Everything is so easy in America. We've seen some amazing scenery, met some lovely people, and had (too much) delicious food. Camping for three weeks might not be for everyone, but to be honest we could have kept going.

---

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Camping Virginia
Nice spot. Enjoy the nature.

[SuzanneandDavid]

Camping...
...really is the best way to travel and relax! Linville Falls had the facilities but North Creek was secluded, quiet and best of all...cheap! ;-)