Freddy and I stayed for two weeks at a private campground in North Carolina. The best thing it had going for it was a trail that Freddy could ramble along off the leash. Most of the two mile trail was through the woods but part was a rocky road with elevation at each end.
It doesn’t look too bad from this direction. From the other end you can get a sense of the slope.
The upper part is steep and I fell on my butt twice coming down. The little rocks would just shoot out from under my boots. Freddy had a good laugh, what with his four paw drive and all. He would bound back up the trail, circle me with laughing yips, and then romp back down again.
I enjoyed this trail loop three times a day…
We headed across the border into Virginia. Into one of the best campgrounds I have ever visited.
Goose Point is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The parkway is a dozen miles away. Within an hour or so are the cities of Roanoke and Richmond in Virginia and the cigarette cities in North Carolina.
The lake offers 4 campgrounds consisting of 3 COE spots and one state park, Fairystone.
Goose Point is the best of the bunch and site number 6 is the best one.
Guess where I stayed?
I don’t normally make reservations in the off-season because I am cheap, but this was the week after Easter, and some schools were on spring break.
About a dozen of the sites here are right on the lake and I managed to snag one for Monday through Wednesday. The price is $25 which includes water and power. Sites 35 – 44 are dry sites for $20. The kicker is that there is NO RESERVATION FEE!
So just go ahead and make a reservation, otherwise you are only guaranteed one night in an empty site.
Freddy and I took a walk early Tuesday morning.
We found a path that led to a fishing pier and an amphitheater.
Fishing, hiking, and friendly wi-fi.
Walking back to our site we passed the boat ramp and dock.
Freddy checked out a boat.
I need to get another canoe. Places like this are meant to be paddled.
Next to our campsite was the pavillion. You can barely see my trailer on the left. Below the pavillion is the beach.
Turning 180 degrees gives you this view.
Oh Yeah! Freddy approved of our spot.
OK, back to the campground itself. There are 63 sites broken up into 3 seperate loops.
Sites 1 – 34 are in the lower loop closest to the lake. Of those, 5 – 9 are on the south shore.
On the east side of the point, sites 13, 15, 16, and 17 have lake views but are on a bank above the water.
In the non-hookup loop we liked sites 37 and 39.
In the upper loop, we preferred sites 45 and 47.
We didn’t want to leave this wonderful campground. But we had to as our site was reserved for the next week by some other lucky campers.
Go here if you have a chance. Bring a boat or canoe and some fishing poles. There is a grocery store and gas station just 6 miles away for supplies.
We headed east, passing through the town of Martinsville, VA. It is home to the last of the original NASCAR tracks as well as the shortest one. The race was happening in a few days and banners were everywhere, even inside the local walmart.
Here is a pic of the walmart parking lot.
Notice anything about this scene, aside from the fact that it has nothing to do with the previous sentence? Maybe just below and to the right of the light? Maybe if you were from California. Here is a crop.
Hmmm…
We ended up on Kerr Lake back on the North Carolina border.
There are a dozen campgrounds in both states along the shore. My research led me to Hibernia and I was underwhelmed. Nothing special.
No privacy and mainly set up for the fishing crowd. I wiggled my little trailer through some trees and set up close to the water in site 84.
Freddy didn’t care. As long as he has a stick he is a happy camper.
The tent area was much nicer. We spent some time watching the sunset from site 116.
Freddy with his sticks and me with my stones.
But it’s all about the sticks, and the occasional stone.
Sometimes he would drop them. Other times, not so much.
He found bigger sticks more fun, more of a challenge.
Later I noticed he was staring at something.
I asked what he was looking at.
He said he was tired of chasing sticks and wanted to go back to his wilder roots. I asked what that entailed.
He replied “Holes. I want to dig holes. All wild beasts dig holes.”
I told him to go ahead. And he did.
He looked up at me and said that he felt truly wild now.
I said Freddy if you want to be wild, you’ve got a lot to learn. You are just a dirty puppy.
He yipped his displeasure at my comment and brought up the fact that he hasn’t written a blog post lately from his point of view.
“I said you could on your first birthday”.
“That is in just 9 sleeps”.
“Fine. As long as it’s not just dozens of pictures of you”.
He winked at me and wandered off and chewed on a pinecone.
Regards,
Greg
(And me, Freddy!)
