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| Below
are places we saw along the way with links to separate pages, if applicable. |
| Mile-post |
Attraction |
| 169 |
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| On
the way north while traveling with mom, we stopped here just
to check out the campground. I met Roger Smith, a camp host
here and fellow Open Roads forum poster. He was so nice I really
wanted to visit more, but it was just way too early in the day
for a stop at that point. But I made it a point to stay on the
way back south in October. |
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Even
though all sites are close to the road, this pull-through
(T18) would have been perfect if it wasn't right next
to the bathhouse with its bright light shining in my bedroom
window. |
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I
was told by one of the other RVers here (Wayne), that one
of the best things this campground has going for it are the
camp hosts, Roger and Linda. They live only 55 miles away
and have been camping here since the 70's and camp hosting
for 3 years now. Roger is the epitomy of a camp host who will
go out of his way to help out a fellow camper. Wayne told
me about how Roger went out at 2:00 in the morning to look
for a hiker who hadn't returned. And he's famous for saying
"This ain't no WalMart parking lot" and kindly asking
people to slow down through the campground and keep it quiet
at night so other campers aren't disturbed.
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Really
getting into the Halloween spirit, they added a "G"
to their camphost sign... |
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and
on the other side of their camper, had a graveyard of
headstones with people's names from surrounding areas,
like Fancy Gap, Linn Cove, Rocky Knob, Julian Price, and
Dan Meadow. What a treat these guys are - I really enjoyed
meeting them! |
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Something
that was amusing but a bit "scary" was the chestnuts
dropping like Kamikazis divebombing the ground. I felt
like I should wear a helmet when going outside. The coverings
of those suckers are really big, like tennis balls with
stickers, and they make a loud thump when they hit the
RV or the ground. |
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The
campground has 4 loops: Loop T is designated for RVs only
(28 sites). A&B have the smallest sites and are mostly
for tents. Loop C can fit some RVs, but they don't allow generator
use there at all.
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| 121 |
 |
Roanoke
Mountain Campground |
(540)
767-2492 |
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On
the way north in mid July, I spent two nights here in site #77
in Loop B (30 sites) for RVs. I was able to get Verizon cell
phone and air card internet access here, but no Direct TV satellite
reception. Most sites are heavily wooded, but there are a few
by the dump station that are out in the open. |
It
was way too hot then to want to be out in the open, though.
Temps in the 90's and having to use the generator for A/C
coolness during the day made two nights here plenty enough.
Other than that, though, I enjoyed this campground and the
firefly show each night. A very nice campground host, Dexter
Sells, has been coming here for 7 years and says it's one
of the least used on the parkway - maybe because you have
to take a spur road for a mile off the parkway to get there.
But it's a good road and convenient to Roanoke and Virginia's
Explore Park, which we visited from here. There are also
several hiking trails, some along the Roanoke River, that
looked inviting, but it was too hot for that, too.
When
heading south in October, this ended up being a good stopping
point for me again and the weather was certainly nicer. I
opted for a pull-through site that time since I was only staying
one night and didn't want to unhitch, but those are so close
to the road I couldn't extend my living room slide without
it encroaching on the road. No big deal this time, but couldn't
have done that when mom was with me since the slide needs
to be extended for the hide-a-bed. Not too many sites level
enough for an RV my size, either. Still, I was grateful for
the quick and convenient short stop on the Parkway both times.
|
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| 115 |
 |
Virginia’s
Explore Park (separate page) |
|
1100-acre
outdoor living history museum and recreation park offering
visitors opportunities for leisure, learning and fun. Costumed
interpreters teach visitors about life in western Virginia
from the pre-contact Native American.
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| 85 |
|
Peaks
of Otter Campground |
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Here's
me coming down the road between two pull throughs - I never
did see any site numbers, so can't give you that info. |
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On
the way north, I was trying to decide whether to stay here
or go up the road a bit more to Otter Creek. But even though
it's higher in elevation than Otter Creek and therefore cooler,
it was still too hot for me. And since neither my cell phone
nor air card worked here, I pressed on to see what it was
like at Otter Creek. On the return trip south, after getting
my Smooth Talker signal booster, I stopped again to see if
I could get Verizon service here, but while I was able to
connect in many places along the parkway with it that I couldn't
on the way north (like right up the road at the visitor's
center) I still had no luck here so didn't stay. It was nice
to meet Dianne's husband, Lawrence, though, after I had met
Dianne at Otter Creek Campground below.
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| 61 |
|
Otter
Creek Campground |
(434)
299-5941 |
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This
is site #48 in Loop A, the only one designated for RVs
with no tents allowed in this loop. The camper here told
me he checked out a lot of sites before deciding this
was the most level and largest pull through. |
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Loop
B and C are designated for tenters, but Dianne showed me a
couple of sites in B that could accommodate a motorhome my
size. However, permission must be obtained from ranger first,
and no generator use is allowed in tent loops. Although the
campground looked pretty nice with some sites along Otter
Creek, with temps in the high 90s, I decided to skip this
as an overnight stop, too. The clincher was no cell phone
or internet access here either.
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I
was determined to make a brief stop, though, if only to
finally get to meet Dianne, another Open Roads poster
who was working here. It's always such a joy to meet another
camper in person that you've only known online through
their posts on the forum. |
| There
was not enough room to park the RV in the restaurant adjacent
to the campground, so she kindly let me park in the unused
host site and then drove us over to the restaurant. Further
proof that RVers are some of the nicest folks ever! |
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Click
arrow for next Parkway page
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