MISTY MOUNTAIN MORNING.
Day 85 – Still no internet or phone this morning. That means we’ll just write up the blog as we go & post it when we can get a signal. We’ll still be in the mountains tonight but at a different Park. Maybe they’ll have some kind of signal there. We were up by 7:25 a.m. & it was cloudy & foggy, 48 degrees. Our journey today should take us mostly north and east a little through the rest of WV & into the bottom of the western, mountainous section of Maryland. Most of the drive will be on Route 219 which was the road we took yesterday off I-64. It was curvy & hilly but it was very scenic. Also, most of the drive will still be within the Monongahela National Forest, a really, really large chunk of land! The girls were not thrilled to be traveling again. They do prefer to settle in for days at one campsite. We do, too.
156 miles, (4:45), 37230−37386
As we departed Riverside Campground at 9:45 a.m., we took a picture of the campground road with the mountain behind it. It was foggy and misty. No sun but beautiful nonetheless.
Riverside Campground, Watoga State Park, Hillsboro, WV
We took the State Park Road back to Route 219 & turned north. Almost immediately one of the cupboard drawers flew open when we turned on a sharp turn; then when we turned on the next sharp curve the other way, it slammed shut. The cats were already complaining loudly from the bedroom. Here we go again. Again though, the scenery ruled. The fog, the mist, the wetness, the clouds, and occasionally the sun; the mountains, the hills, the forests, the lakes, the streams, and the rivers, the farms & small towns, they all played a part. West Virginia is totally worth a longer visit – like a month – to drive all the country roads & the mountain roads. But maybe not in a RV pulling a Honda CRV. Maybe we come back sometime and do State Park hopping, using the Honda to travel the roads while camping in the RV, going a small distance between overnight stops. There are lots of State Parks in WV. A real scenic exploration in a “proper” vehicle…..
We were surprised to see signs for ski rentals ahead & ski resorts and lodges. Around one turn, sure enough, there was some snow on the mountain. And then a town that had rentals. You really never knew what you’d encounter. Most of the trip was in West Virginia. When you looked into the forested hills, you could just picture an old log cabin situated on the mountain. Made us want to own one here, not for full time because the winters would be so icy, and the summers (probably) so humid, but just to visit every year for the beauty. We saw plenty of old barns, log cabins, farms, and older towns that had probably seen better days when mining was in its heyday. Some old buildings had basement/first floor level foundations that were very, very old stone, then the old log cabin part of the building was on the next level up. And then, oddly enough, and not fitting in at all with the rest of the scenery, there would be a fancy, new mansion, of maybe 2 to 3 stories and 4,000 sq ft on acres of manicured lawn with a long, winding driveway. A sign of the times.
Nearer to Maryland, there were wind turbines. Coming around a curve, or climbing up a mountain, there, suddenly wind turbines come into view right in front of you. For quite awhile, Route 219 was a narrow, winding, two-lane road, climbing up & down the mountains. The brakes and transmission of the RV got quite a workout. It became less mountainous as we approached western Maryland. The mountains became green, rolling hills again and we passed through larger cities. There were farms with horses, sheep, and cows. We stopped for lunch & to give the kitties a break, in the parking lot of a Dollar Store – one of hundreds of Dollar Stores we’ve seen. At one point Route 219 even became a freeway, for about 5 minutes. That was exciting. We could relax a little (never thought we’d be glad to see a freeway!). But soon it was back to the two-lane road.
Click any picture below to see a slideshow.
We crossed into Maryland, sad to say good-bye to WV. Funny, we had no idea. The same thing happened when we visited (unplanned, as was West Virginia) southern Utah & discovered its beauty. It’s a wonderful country that we live in!
It wasn’t too far into MD when we reached our destination: Deep Creek Lake State Park, northeast of Oakland, MD. We arrived at 2:05 p.m. It was partly cloudy, but the sun was peaking out, and 58 degrees. The road to the State Park was extremely narrow and we crossed the Lake on a narrow bridge. We didn’t have details about the Parks here because we’d had no cellphone/internet connection since eastern Kentucky, but the Lake was beautiful, very tranquil, and it looked promising – if we could just GET there. And we had reached the point where we’d done enough driving & it was time to settle in and give the girls & ourselves a break for the night.
Oh, dear. The campground wasn’t open yet for the season! Sigh. We turned around, went south & west, away from the Lake, to the next closest State Park. Would they be open yet? There was no way to tell. No internet, no phone. Guess all this technology is good for something, eh?!
We arrived at Swallow Falls State Park at 2:30 p.m., after crossing a one-lane bridge, checked at the Ranger’s Station, and they had just opened today. There were some campsites available. YAAAA! Only one campground loop was open. There were no hook-ups at all except for 3 campsites within that loop & those sites were already taken. We drove around to look at, and hopefully pick, a campsite. The road into this loop was extremely narrow and most campsites were too short & narrow for us, or too muddy. One site, #7, was a pull-through campsite, allowing a longer vehicle to fit in, but the trees at the entrance overhung & there was the possibility we couldn’t get into it. We did NOT want to continue going to campgrounds trying to find a place for the night. (This is where previous planning comes into play.) Even though the trees did brush the top & passenger side of the RV, we got in just fine. The campsite was without hook-ups, but we can get by without electricity and run on battery for 2 days. Water could be gotten at spigots throughout the Park and there was a dump station. Rob went to pay for the campsite and I began unpacking, letting the poor girls out. They were so happy to be finished with the travelling for today.
The high today was 61 degrees. We have no idea how cold it will be tonight, but since we have no electricity, we can only hope the gas (propane) heat will suffice. Without internet and the phone still, we cannot get a weather forecast (or post this blog). Somehow we will survive. Really, what did we all do before there was an internet?
Swallow Falls State Park: 2470 Maple Glade Road, Oakland, MD; www.dnr.maryland.gov; reservations 888-432-2267 or www.parkreservations.maryland.gov; Park phone during the summer season (301) 387-6938 or Park phone the rest of the year (301) 334-9180. Best known for Maryland’s highest free-falling waterfall, Muddy Creek Falls is a towering 53 feet. Four breathtaking waterfalls can be seen from the 1 ¼ mile trail that meanders through the virgin hemlock and white pine forest. Some of the larger trees are over 330 years old. The Youghiogheny River gets its name from the American Indians, meaning “river that flows the wrong way”. The river flows north to Pittsburgh, PA. There are 65 campsites (3 with full hook-ups & 3 sites have water & electric). There is a dump station & water spigots throughout the Park. There are hiking trails to the four waterfalls. We found the campground roads to be very narrow & some of the turns you have to make to get around the one open campground loop was quite tight. We could not have fit in many of the campsites. When we visited it was early April; the campground had just opened & only one loop was available. The hook-up campsites were taken. We found a decent-sized campsite (there are only a few). It was a pull-through and we liked the site, but in order to even get into the site, we brushed aside trees on one side and the roof of the RV. Many campsites are close together and some were very muddy. The Park is pretty, far from major roads (therefore no road noise), and heavily wooded. We had site #7, no hook-ups, but generators can be used during the day. $28 for one night. We might stay there again, but it was a little difficult to get around & it would be worse if it was crowded.