Heading South

---

New Orleans was the decided destination which was around 3 days drive away.

We set off driving with our destination another KOA campsite, Statesville East. Bowks was now chief navigator and I the driver as I was the only one old enough to drive the car! Bowks’s directions were brilliant and we arrived at the KOA campsite at 4.30pm.

Wow! What an entrance! There was a sign pointing into the campsite saying ‘Wicked Woods’, when we went into the office to make our reservation we were welcomed by a whole host of face painted Halloween style hill billys who looked at me and Bowks like we’d just landed from Mars, as we did at them. Turned out the Wicked Woods was an annual event they hold each year that lasts about 2 weeks consisting of every eve a bunch of locals getting together and creating a walk around the woods the campsite is based upon. They dressed in full Halloween fancy dress and hid in the woods scaring the hell out of paying customers. Such things as beheaded man on horse (real horse covered in fake blood riding about), man starting a chainsaw and hurling it towards people and loads of other Halloween based scare you to death tomfoolery. We decided to give the $17 entrance charge a miss, mind we got laughs for free listening to the others going round.

So having paid $45 for camp pitch, a considerable increase from $17 the night before we set up the tent. Soon the Wicked Woods festivities were in full swing and we saw further hill billys arrive, including a girl who looked no older than 12 smoking a cigarette quite happily with her family.

Later that eve whilst enjoying our campfire we joined by Russell an 18 year old yank who had been left by his other two friends who had gone to the local Walmart to get camping supplies (for 2.5 hours!) Russell enjoyed watching movies, playing computer games (a way he told us to relieve stress and bring families together) and was desperate to marry an English girl as they are “so much more proper than American girls”, and then move to the UK. Unfortunately we think Russell may have been a bit of a scapegoat while his two friends got it on! But at least our fire could keep him warm till we went to bed.

We slept OK though the wicked woods kept on going way past 11.30pm (a bit late when in need of a good kip!) When we told the lady in the morning we got the response “well it was our second night so I guess it was a little busy. Y’all have a good day now” Charming!

The following night wasn’t much better as although we had moved campsites we experienced our first night of rain (all night rain) and I awoke at 4am with wet feet! We knew we had a problem! Nothing too major though and with a few alterations to the tent the dripping stopped. By morning it had stopped all together, we put the tent away and set off tour next destination, Stone Mountain.

---

Photos

Our camp fire
Before the arrival of Russell

Comments

[Norma Trolinder]

Ole Towne Cotton Gin
Just checking in to see how you are doing. Like your blog. Norma T

[Doddy and Bowks]

Hi Norma
Thanks for checking out the blog. We are now in Las Vegas and will be updating it a lot more tomorrow. We had a great stay at your site and the breakfast was perfect and a great idea so thanks very much. Rachel and Paul