Land Of The Waterfalls

I know I've been away a while, but that doesn't mean I haven't done any camping. I haven't done much though, just 1 trip, but it was a good 1. Back in the fall of '09 on Noah, my oldest boy's, fall break we went to Brevard, NC. better known as "The Land of The Waterfalls". This was actually are 3rd trip to The Pisgah National Forest, and 2nd to "The Land of The Waterfalls". The 1st time to "The Land of The Waterfalls" we stayed in a cabin 1 night. We drove up, saw a couple of small waterfalls from the road, and drove back the next morning. During the night my eye swelled shut and we had to come home to see the Dr. In ’08 we camped the north side of Pisgah which I’ll blog about later. This time we found a place online that looked really good. Our 100 Acre Woods, www.our100acrewoods.com and called the folks to get directions, and make sure it's the type of place we like. We are kind of picky, small, not to crowded, clean, and secluded with sites that are not right on top of each other. As usual we showed a little later than we planned on. When we arrived the campgrounds looked great. The only down side was that you had to park and hike in to all the sites, but it was not all that far, maybe 100 yds. Which for me is perfectly fine, but Jess is not real big on hiking with gear due to her knees and back. I pulled up to the office, which is also the people’s home, and there was no one there. No campers, no staff, nobody. We walked down to where the sites were and they were a little small, but other wise great. The only problem was that we had no idea whether we should set up camp and wait for the people to get home, or just wait at the office. After much deliberation, and realizing that Jess was not all that happy with the situation we headed back into town to check it out and either find somewhere else or give them time to get home. I must say that the town folks of Brevard are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. We stopped at a welcome center, for a lack of a better term, which was already closed. That is when we met a very helpful lady who just happened to be taking a smoke break as we pulled out of the parking lot. She told us about a campground on the other side of town just inside The Pisgah National Forest. Davidson River Campgrounds which, as it turns out is probably the nicest campgrounds around. It is just a few miles out of town on Hwy 276, if I remember right. When we arrived at the gate house the hosts were very friendly and helpful. Making sure that we had plenty of fire wood and fire starter, and that we knew where the bath houses were and that sort of thing. They let us drive in before we paid and check the place out. It is a very big campground with a wide variety of site setups. RV and tents, some together in small groups, some more secluded. They had several sites right on the creek. We chose a site way off in the back in a circle that had no one else around. The creek was right across the road and the bath house was just two sites down, but through a small thicket which provided a buffer from the noise and traffic. Not that there was much of either. Davidson River is a great campground that I recommend staying at if you are in the area. And even though we didn't stay I would also recommend our 100 Acre Woods, just make sure to make a reservation and show up on time or they may not be there, and you should pack light. They do seem to prefer you make a reservation and did want us to pay a deposit over the phone, which in hid site I'm very glad we didn't I know I've been away a while, but that doesn't mean I haven't done any camping. I haven't done much though, just 1 trip, but it was a good 1. Back in the fall of '09 on Noah, my oldest boy's, fall break we went to Brevard, NC. better known as "The Land of The Waterfalls". This was actually are 3^rd trip to The Pisgah National Forest, and 2^nd to "The Land of The Waterfalls". The 1^st time to "The Land of The Waterfalls" we stayed in a cabin 1 night.  We drove up, saw a couple of small waterfalls from the road, and drove back the next morning.  During the night my eye swelled shut and we had to come home to see the Dr.  In ’08 we camped the north side of Pisgah which I’ll blog about later.  This time we found a place online that looked really good. Our 100 Acre Woods, www.our100acrewoods.com and called the folks to get directions, and make sure it's the type of place we like. We are kind of picky, small, not to crowded, clean, and secluded with sites that are not right on top of each other. As usual we showed a little later than we planned on. When we arrived the campgrounds looked great. The only down side was that you had to park and hike in to all the sites, but it was not all that far, maybe 100 yds. Which for me is perfectly fine, but Jess is not real big on hiking with gear due to her knees and back. I pulled up to the office, which is also the people’s home, and there was no one there. No campers, no staff, nobody. We walked down to where the sites were and they were a little small, but other wise great. The only problem was that we had no idea whether we should set up camp and wait for the people to get home, or just wait at the office. After much deliberation, and realizing that Jess was not all that happy with the situation we headed back into town to check it out and either find somewhere else or give them time to get home. I must say that the town folks of Brevard are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. We stopped at a welcome center, for a lack of a better term, which was already closed.  That is when we met a very helpful lady who just happened to be taking a smoke break as we pulled out of the parking lot.  She told us about a campground on the other side of town just inside The Pisgah National Forest.  Davidson River Campgrounds which, as it turns out is probably the nicest campgrounds around. It is just a few miles out of town on Hwy 276, if I remember right. When we arrived at the gate house the hosts were very friendly and helpful. Making sure that we had plenty of fire wood and fire starter, and that we knew where the bath houses were and that sort of thing. They let us drive in before we paid and check the place out. It is a very big campground with a wide variety of site setups. RV and tents, some together in small groups, some more secluded. They had several sites right on the creek. We chose a site way off in the back in a circle that had no one else around. The creek was right across the road and the bath house was just two sites down, but through a small thicket which provided a buffer from the noise and traffic. Not that there was much of either. Davidson River is a great campground that I recommend staying at if you are in the area. And even though we didn't stay I would also recommend our 100 Acre Woods, just make sure to make a reservation and show up on time or they may not be there, and you should pack light. They do seem to prefer you make a reservation and did want us to pay a deposit over the phone, which in hind site I'm very glad we didn't.

We spent 4 days just checking out the scenery which included more waterfalls than you could possibly see or even want to see in 1 vacation. They were beautiful however and worth the trip. There are waterfalls for everyone. Plenty right on the road where you just park and take pictures, some required only a short hike, and there were some for the more avid hikers.

You should also visit The Cradle of Forestry just a few miles out of town past Davidson River. Especially if you have children, mine loved it and it was probably the highlight of their trip. Even though everyone we talked to told us to go there, I didn't put much stock in it. Don't get me wrong, it's not the grandest thing in the world but they had a good little museum with stuffed animals and a scavenger hunt that the boys loved. There is a helicopter simulator ride of a forest fire that is kind of neat.
 

There are 2 hiking paths that take you threw an old forestry school, where they used to train forest rangers back in the 17 and 1800's. A homestead, bunkhouse, school house, and a church, I think, are still standing.

When we were there they had an 1800's period campground reenactment going on that showed the types of gear they used to use and how they cooked, and what they did to past the time. They were using old style canvas tents with straw bedding, old bed rolls and that sort of thing. There were about 15 or 20 people in all, men and women, who were actually camping there for the week.   They talked with us and answered questions from the boys and stuff like that.  We also spent an afternoon in downtown Brevard. It is a small town that has not just dried up. All the old store fronts are still occupied, and not with tourist crap either. There were a few tourist trap stores, but only 1 or 2. They have a great toy store down town with all kinds of cool stuff that the boys loved. We also went back to the welcome center to see what all was around.  The lady there was extra nice and helpful, providing us with maps to all the local waterfalls and attractions.  It was one of the better trips that we have had and I was very pleased with the campgrounds, the people, and the activities for the whole family. It was 1 of those vacations that was actually relaxing. I did not want to leave and come home. I highly recommend Brevard, NC and the Pisgah National Forest. I only had 1 regret with the trip. I think it was the last day there we found a forest road, I think it was 475B but it's been a while, that has FREE campsites all along the road that are great. Mind you there are no bathhouses or hook ups of any kind. You just find a spot, drive right up to it and set up. 1st come 1st serve, no checking in or registering of any kind. Just good old fashion camping. That's where we’ll be camping next time.

Never say Never (Camping at Lake Allatoona)

Once upon a time I said "I'll never go camping at Lake Allatoona again!". You may recall my 2nd post and how awful that trip was. Jess and I were deciding where to go camping the other week and she kept going on about Lake Allatoona. "I grew up on that lake. I have such great memories on that lake. Lake Allatoona is great" she said. And on and on, I think you get the picture. Sometimes you have to pick your battles. I gave in and off we went with 3 children. Yes 3! Noah's best friend Hayes tagged along and we headed out for great fun. Jess wanted to go to Macedonia but it was either lost or closed (or she was lost don't know which). So we settled for one of her "favorite places as a kid" Sweetwater Creek. The camp site looked OK at 1st review but turned out to be crawling in army ants which got on everything. We bought home a couple thousand of them and started an ant farm in the front yard. Other than that the site was good, right on the lake with no one around until about 10:00PM. We had just put the boys down and a group with a giant boat decided to back into the site next to use. Instead of the 15 other close by. The walk on the shore was pretty nice except for all the goose scat. The lake was so dirty the Jess only got in one time for about 5 mins. The boys had a great time in the water and playing at the site. It was nowhere near as bad as the last trip to Lake Allatoona. Jess was in such a rush to leave the nest morning that I didn't get a chance to use my inflatable boat. Maybe next time.

Cooper Creek

My first overnight trip to the Chattahochee National Forest comes with mixed reviews. The family + my brother went the weekend before the 4th of July. The place was packed. We were beginning to think we would not find a site. Finally, we found what may have been the best site of all away from everyone up the mtn just outside the Cooper Creek campgrounds. The only down side was that it was not on the creek. But it did come with it's own bear. We saw him the 1st night about 30 mins after supper. He was just walking up the road. When he saw us he just looked a while and then ran off thru the woods. Jess and Aaron claimed we had lots of visitors during the night, maybe even the bear. Aaron, the boys and I had a good time on the hiking trails which were decent. Fairly easy hiking, nothing to hard, even for beginners. We all had a lot of fun in the creek. Aaron almost fell asleep on a rock in the middle. It was a nice relief from the heat. Jess fell in the creek, but saved her camera. I checked on her after I made sure the camera was OK. The new tent, broke poles and all, worked out really good. (I got the new set of poles in the other day, but have not used them yet.) We found a beautiful waterfall that you could wade right up to. It had a great place for kids to play at the bottom. Overall the creek and the mtns were great, but I was not all that impressed with the campgounds. Basically great location, but inside the campgrounds seemed a little trashy. I may have a different opion if it was not so crowded.

Good news, bad news, good news

I just got my replacement tent for Titan. It is a Wenzel Titan, but not quite the same as the old one. I was very excited. Jess and the boys gave it to me for Father's Day. It has the same floor plan the biggest difference is the porch has no floor and it has more doors. I still have not named it yet. I'm taking suggestions but sometimes it takes time to let the tent take on a personality. Let me know what you think I should name it. The first time I set it up 3 poles broke. I was heart broken. All my excited was crushed, I almost cried. (not really) The up shot is that when we called Campmor, the store I got it from, the customer service was great. We told them the problem and they shipped a new set of poles no questions asked. I highly recommend Campmor. Just got them today, I'll let y'all know how they do.

The Good, The Bad, and the Woefully Unprepared

The first rule in camping is to be prepared. Remember that and I'll get to it later. My brother and I went to the new campgrounds at DeSoto State Park over in Alabama the other weekend. The Park is beautiful, The campsites were excellent, and the hiking trails were great. There is some much to see that you need a good week there, but we only had one night. Waterfalls, mountain streams, historical ruins, flowers, wildlife, the place has it all. Ir is definitely worth the trip. If you go tent camping you most get the primitive sites. They are well spaced out, you can drive right up to them, and the other sites are very nice but set up for RV's. All the ones with hook ups are very nice, but have gravel pads, and close together. We started the first day off by trying to bike down to the ruins, but quickly realized that I was going to kill myself. It was my first shot at Mtn biking and way to advanced of a trail for me. We decided to keep the bikes on the family trail. It turned out to be a very good starter trail with just enough challenge to keep it interesting. We them hiked to the ruins of an old quarry which was neat. Yeah I said neat! After a quick rest and lunch we hiked to some waterfalls which were great, not real big, but beautiful. Back at the campsite we attempted to start a fire with some really green wood we got from the country store with little success. After gathering up some good pine though it was roaring in no time. Ate some hot dogs and climbed into Tweetie for some shot eye. Remember the first rule? It was 70 degrees out and the low called for high 50's and 60's. I had 2 fleece bags and was sleeping like a log until about 3am. I didn't prepare to be cold. I've been camping in 17 degree weather before, and have never been so cold. I thought I was going to freeze. The problem was that I didn't have Jess's body heat to keep me warm. After a very cold night we got a early start to get my blood flowing. We decided to hike to 2 other waterfalls, which were just as good if not better than the first 2. The trail we took got very narrow and snaking after the 1st falls. I was beginning to think that we had hiked clean out of the park. All in all it was a great trip and I plan on going back to hike other trails, which were all wonderful, and see the rest of the waterfalls and historical sites very soon. DeSoto is my new favorite pace in North AL and GA.