Stone Mountain State Park, NC - campground heaven

Roger here....  Mostly pictures this time.  All of them were taken from our campsite (Site #40) in Stone Mountain State Park, near the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.  What a find, and we reserved five nights!  All the water/electric sites are fully paved asphalt with a huge patio area with a compacted surface of fine  gravel/sand.  Each site has a raised fire ring  set on a brick platform and a huge picnic table.  No crowding problem here - the sites are separated by expansive grassy lawns.  We have amazing views out all our windows.

Our sunny site (great satellite coverage) backs up to a creek-side woods where we are able to sit and enjoy the dappled sunlight.  We can hear the rocky flow of water from our patio.  In the evening, deer venture right up to the edge of the campsites looking for handouts.  Our neighbors tossed out popcorn one night, and we watched as a pair of deer came right up to their patio.  

The view out the front is of a very green cone-shaped mountain.  We have enjoyed watching the sun rise behind it every morning. 


 Only one drawback - nonexistent Verizon coverage in this mountain valley.  (Dianne here:  Our cell phones are nothing but paperweights here!! 


 There is a nearby country store that has wi-fi that is a short drive away, but unless you have satellite for your internet, you might be out of luck here in the mountains.)

The pyro-queen returns!  Our recent campsites have not been all that conducive to campfires, but this one is perfect.  On the second night, Dianne sent me packing to the ranger station to buy firewood (which we enjoyed three different nights).  She had a great time playing with the fire using the giant yellow fire tongs that she truly loves.  Every once in a while I threaten to get rid of them, just to enjoy her reaction :-)  She knows I'm kidding.

Dianne here:  If I'd thought of it, I definitely would have brought my "Fire Pliers" to the gadget show-and-tell at the recent rally we attended.  I read about these in Nick Russell's blog a year or so ago, and just had to have them.  If you're interested in ordering a pair for yourself, you can order them on-line at their web site:  http://www.firepliers.com

We had a nice surprise the first day we were here.  We were walking the dogs around the campground, and as we passed by a lovely new Mobile Suites fifth wheel, we heard a voice call out  "Roger?"  We looked to see new friends we had just made at the rally in South Carolina a week before!  Steve and Evin live near this area, and they are still exploring the full-time lifestyle.  We saw them several times while here: at their camp site, on a trail, and then last night they joined us for a campfire at our site.  This world just gets smaller and smaller!!  Roger's school friends should check out this photo of Steve;  doesn't he look like Brian C.?

This is a very popular North Carolina state park, and for good reason.  I suspect it is very busy in the summer.  During our stay (mid-week in April) it was not crowded.  We will definitely try to return to this lovely place.

  We've published two blogs today; read on if you'd like to take a virtual hike with us to the summit of Stone Mountain....