Campsite Photos Everyone!

[a65hoosier]

Re: Campsite Photos Everyone!

Hello Fellow Campers!

It's been 2 months since my last trip. It was time for me to get out there....so I did this weekend. Temps Hi: low/mid 40's, Low: right around 32 both nights. Mostly cloudy skies---boooo-----I missed my chance at camping in the cold night air away from the city lights to watch the Leonid Meteor showers Saturday night. No go---oh well. My wife and Willa-Dobie came along for the cold weather fun. The kids stayed at home---their choice. lol

Since it was forecast cold, I took along a couple of new pieces of gear for their initial trip: a Cabelas Instinct Alaskan Guide 8P tent and a Mr Heater Portable Buddy heater. These were adds for getting out more in the winter/off season. My wife and I enjoy the quiet of camping during the off season. We almost have the parks to ourselves. No bugs, no artificial noise at night. The rest of our camp gear this trip we tried to keep as simple as possible...considering the weather (and everything....but the tent...should/could be packed/rolled/stuffed inside the tent or vestibule). We're trying to be as efficient as possible camping when the temps drop.

Our trip took us back to Brown County State Park (our previous camp trip destination) at the same site in the Taylor Ridge camping area. At this time, however, there are no restrooms or running water in this entire section. Of the couple hundred sites in this section, 8 were occupied---all but one (a small pop-up) by tent campers. We had no one around us....at all. 1st Note: I was aware of the lack of amenities in this section before we reserved. 2nd Note: the first camping area, Buffalo Ridge, has a heated, fully outfitted, shower/restroom building (20-30 RV's were parked huddled around the building in various sunny sites). This is a great state park, our largest in IN.....if you happen to be going thru southern IN/Bloomington area....you do need to stay at night or two here.

The Instinct Alaskan Guide 8P set up slowly...as this was my first time pitching it. But a tent is a tent and we had it up in under 30 minutes. I did not guy it out as forecast called for winds...light and variable. The tent is fantastic as it allows both of us room to stand up and spread out (a necessity sometimes during winter camping and the weather/wind). A large front vestibule can be utilized for "careful" cooking (for me that is strictly water boils...but it's a good size space). The 8 pole structure appears strong....promises 50 mph sustained wind and snow load. Conditions this trip didn't provide much of a test. lol. Hopefully, the next trip will have some snow fall.

The camping, hiking, enjoying the park, was great. Temps were decent enough for hiking/staying warm during the day....cool enough at night to appreciate the fire and a hot meal, and cold enough at night to love the Buddy heater (only during awake times...but wow it did a nice job of heating that big tent even with windows open!) and finally really cold to love our down quilts and blankets at night. Willa-Dobie did fine camping and hiking. I do believe she has become quite skilled at "camping....dog perspective". She at least appears to be having a ball. She also seemed to appreciate my old REI down blanket to bury into at night and the special camp treats.

Keep getting out there.

[MacGyver]

Re: Campsite Photos Everyone!

Looks sweet! Your pics remind me of where I'm always camping. I certainly do love my solitude. That park must be huge! Somehow I never pictured that much open space in a State Park, I guess because Maryland is so small to begin with. ONLY about a 12 hour drive from here - I'll be there tomorrow.

[a65hoosier]

Re: Campsite Photos Everyone!

Looks sweet! Your pics remind me of where I'm always camping. I certainly do love my solitude. That park must be huge! Somehow I never pictured that much open space in a State Park, I guess because Maryland is so small to begin with. ONLY about a 12 hour drive from here - I'll be there tomorrow.

You can certainly find solitude here...especially now since the leaf peepers have disappeared. The park is almost 16,000 acres. There are over 20 miles of roads and more than that many miles hiking/mtn biking/equestrian. It has a lodge/pool and rental cabins also. The 3 camping areas have over 400 sites. A few (like the one above we camped on) have no one around due to geography as the camping areas basically follow a ridge line with one main road (with sites on each side with the campsite backside dropping off the ridge) but a few spots along the ridge "poke out"...these accessible off the main road by a gravel side road. No one really around even on a "full" weekend for these spots. Most others...are the standard side by sides...some larger than others. Most sites are fairly decent size. We did see another great site we'll reserve next time we camp here...this site overlooks a steep wooded ravine with views of the other ridges. Really great views from a camp spot. Private---at the end of side road on the cul-de-sac. This site was one of the 8 occupied this weekend in our area....they had pitched 3 tents: an REI Basecamp 6P, some sort of Sierra Designs 4P, and a 3/4 P Marmot. Really neat looking camp. I wanted to take a pic, but wife said it would look like we were stalking them....so I didn't. But yea.....a potential site to tuck away for next time.

And have fun coming up tomorrow. Where will you be? Assuming you are camping? If so...post up some pics!

[MacGyver]

Re: Campsite Photos Everyone!

Maybe the sarcasm font didn't work? LOL I wish I could get away like that. That park must have been planned very well to offer isolated sites like that within 16,000 acres. Green Ridge here in Maryland is 44,000 acres but you still have to know the park to find the most secluded sites.

[a65hoosier]

Re: Campsite Photos Everyone!

Maybe the sarcasm font didn't work? LOL I wish I could get away like that. That park must have been planned very well to offer isolated sites like that within 16,000 acres. Green Ridge here in Maryland is 44,000 acres but you still have to know the park to find the most secluded sites.

There aren't really that many...in all of the IN state parks and one must know where to look (actually see it...not google earth or anything because site lines are what they are...on the ground). The site we drove by that had the 3 tents was actually fairly isolated from other campers. With a nice overlook that I could see myself parked under the Noah Tarp looking out and seeing no one....enjoying a sunset and beverage. Of course, this time of year, everything looks open because the circus has left town. My wife and I are really enjoying the off season camping. We really don't suffer since we have the right gear/apparel to be comfortable and we get a fairly empty outdoors to explore. I'm trying a before Christmas trip...but unless a snow storm is expected...I doubt I'll pull it off with the spouse....just too much other activities going on.

[caheaton]

Re: Campsite Photos Everyone!

This is from last fall (September 2018) on a weekend trip to Tar Hollow State Park (Ohio). I'm glad we had the cabin, as it rained 4" over the weekend! (But at least the rain let up Saturday night just long enough for us to cook dinner over a fire). This photo is my wife preparing breakfast...


They call these "camper cabins", yet they have electric (with fridge & microwave), picnic table inside (nice varnished wood), bunk beds with mattress, covered porch, outdoor grill (and another picnic table) and a fire ring. Wood chairs on porch also come with cabin. Not a bad deal for $60 per night and a safe option if the weather looks iffy. Oh, almost forgot...they also offer heat... :mdr:

[caheaton]

Re: Campsite Photos Everyone!

And this one is from last October (2018). I made a quick overnight trip to the John Glenn Astronomy Park for some star gazing / imaging and stayed overnight at the Old Man's Cave Campground in Hocking Hills State Park (campground is about 5 minutes from the Astronomy Park). It demonstrates the minimalist approach I take towards solo camping...my entire camp kitchen fits inside the blue ammo box .

Dinner was nothing fancy that night...just some mac & cheese with a banana (also had some crackers and cookies available for a late night snack :mdr: ). Interesting tidbit....the mess kit sitting between the stove & the ammo box is one I've owned since I was in cub scouts...it's almost 50 years old!

[caheaton]

Re: Campsite Photos Everyone!

I hope this isn't straying too far off topic, but just thought I'd share a couple of the photos I captured from the Glenn Astronomy Park (see above post). One shows the region from the California Nebula to the Pleiades Star Cluster (red cloud to the one with stars embedded in bluish haze (nebula...cloud of gas and dust). The other shows the region around a star called Mu Cepheus...a striking red giant star with a deep orange hue. Surrounding stars have a bit of a reddish tint due to the intervening gas and dust in that corner of the Milky Way. The pinkish area adjacent to Mu is a cloud of ionized hydrogen gas.


Sadly, one has to travel to an area with dark skies to capture such photos...too much light pollution at my home address. The Hocking Hills region has the darkest skies to be found in the entire state (though they're better still a bit further east in remote portions of West Virginia and Pennsylvania...)

[James.]

Re: Campsite Photos Everyone!

This is from last fall (September 2018) on a weekend trip to Tar Hollow State Park (Ohio). I'm glad we had the cabin, as it rained 4" over the weekend! (But at least the rain let up Saturday night just long enough for us to cook dinner over a fire). This photo is my wife preparing breakfast...
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They call these "camper cabins", yet they have electric (with fridge & microwave), picnic table inside (nice varnished wood), bunk beds with mattress, covered porch, outdoor grill (and another picnic table) and a fire ring. Wood chairs on porch also come with cabin. Not a bad deal for $60 per night and a safe option if the weather looks iffy. Oh, almost forgot...they also offer heat... :mdr:

All great photos and $60 a night is a great price.

[caheaton]

Re: Campsite Photos Everyone!

Just returned from 11 nights at Fort Perkins in Gulf Islands National Seashore (Florida). Beautiful park, but oddly lacking in some areas (e.g, the fishing pier is lacking any sort of trash can, no signage at trail intersections, etc.). Campground itself was as expected, a bit too crowded and noisy for my tastes (though the noise level varied depending upon who was camped nearby...our final couple nights were very quiet!). Overall, the campground was certainly adequate and well maintained and rules concerning quiet hours were generally followed.

Fishing was interesting....my wife caught one fish until day 10, then she caught 21 fish! (changed the rigging...). Fish were a mix of Blue Runners & Spanish Mackerel. The fort was quite interesting to explore and and the natural areas were simply beautiful....miles of unspoiled barrier island.

[caheaton]

Re: Campsite Photos Everyone!

And our portable "camp" at the beach... :smile:

[James.]

Re: Campsite Photos Everyone!



Camp from last weekends trip to Lake Mary in northern Arizona. I would give the trip a 7/10 as I had constant cell service. But on the plus side there was almost no people there for the whole weekend.

[caheaton]

Re: Campsite Photos Everyone!

Hello, Just recently returned from a trip to Mt. Mitchell State Park in NC. On the way there I stopped about halfway for a quick over nighter at Norris Dam State Park in TN. Norris Dam was okay, but it's proximity to Knoxville combined with a weekend (Saturday) made for a noisy camp...one camper was on the other side of the campground, but had their music so loud you could hear every note and every syllable. (Thankfully they turned it down around 11pm, an hour after quiet hours). Next, the campers in the site adjacent to me decided that they would rise early (around 3:30AM) to sit around the campfire....not a problem (normally), except that they decided to chop some wood first!

Mount Mitchell was cool at night (typically around 50, though one night dipped into the upper 30's) with sunny skies and temps in the upper 60's. Very fortunate given that they usually get rain, snow or fog 8 of 10 days a year! Campground was quiet, with the campers around me in bed by around 10:00 or so. Never heard a noise from any other campsite unless I walked right in front of the path to their campsite and even then it wasn't loud. No bear activity either (though I came prepared). Sadly, my campsite lacked any shade as the dead trees have been cut down, so there was no where to hang my hammock. Next time I'll bring a hammock stand and the screen house. Bath house was very clean (no showers, only sinks), but no hot water...only ice water!

Mitchell was my first time camping in NC and also a record for me in terms of the highest altitude I've ever camped (about 6,400 feet or so). Definitely felt the altitude at first as I lugged my gear up the hill to the campsite from the parking area (5 round trips!), but it was much better packing up as I guess I became acclimated.

[James.]

Re: Campsite Photos Everyone!

That is one of the reasons I like dispersed camping....nobody around. Even still, I am aware of how loud my music is.

Still sounds like a great trip. Thanks for sharing the pics and story.

[caheaton]

Re: Campsite Photos Everyone!

Yes, I did have a good trip. Especially enjoyed hiking around Mt. Mitchell and the cool weather was a novelty for June .

Also, I edited my original post to include a bit of info I forgot to include but meant to, the most annoying part of Norris....the campers who decided it was a good time to chop firewood at 3:30 in the morning! (and they were chopping it not more than 30 feet or so from my tent :-( ). They were also the same campers who would walk their dog and let it do it's business in adjacent campsites, but never their own.....guess it takes all kinds.....