Onwards To Watson Mill Bridge State Park

Hey everyone! Can you believe that this is my second post this month? After being a slacker for nearly half the year, I think I'm finally getting back into the swing of posting again. I had forgotten how much fun it is. It's always fun to reminisce about our camping trips, and I love to share our travels with all of our friends. Let's see.....where did I leave off from last time? Oh yeah, that's right. We had spent two hot, muggy, and rainy days at Magnolia Springs State Park, and we were heading further north in search of cooler temperatures. It's roughly 125 miles from one park to the next, so it wasn't going to be an extremely long drive. We went just a little bit out of our way so that Gary could stop at Aunt Tique and Uncle's Junk's Antiques in Thomson, GA. It's on a short list of Gary's FAVORITE places to look for treasures, so stopping there is always an absolute must every time we're even close to the area. Dodge and I had a nice little rest while Gary spent more than an hour doing some shopping. As always, he found some interesting items that he just HAD to have. The skies were partly cloudy while we were there, but it looked even darker towards the north where we were heading. Not long after leaving Aunt Tique and Uncle Junk's, it started to drizzle, and the drizzle persisted until it got even worse as we got within 20 miles of our destination. The skies turned black and the wind got REALLY strong. It was scary. It actually looked like a tornado could appear at any second. The rain was coming down sideways, and visibility was minimal. We made it safely to Watson Mill Bridge State Park, checked in at the office, and headed towards the campground. The rain had pretty much stopped when we arrived at the park, but the wind was still blowing strongly. The temperature had dropped dramatically. Hot and muggy had suddenly changed to pretty darn cold, especially with the wind blowing the way it was. We were happy about that. After about eight months of Florida heat, the coolness was EXACTLY what we wanted. Campsite 16 was ours for our four night stay, and it was VERY nice. The campground only has 21 campsites, so it's small compared with most of the ones we go to. The park itself is 1,018 acres, and it contains the very picturesque covered bridge that is 229 feet long, and spans the South Fork River.  It's the longest original covered bridge in all of Georgia. The morning after our arrival, the temperature was 35 degrees. It strangely climbed just one degree each morning during our stay, and the highs during the day were right around 60 degrees. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! It was sunny and bright during the remainder of our time at the park. Another favorite place that Gary likes to shop at, is Neat Pieces Antiques in Carlton, GA. It is only about a mile from the entrance to the park. He spent many hours there on two different days during our visit. And yes, poor old Dodge filled up quickly with Gary's many purchases. TV channels were very limited, but I found something to watch while Gary was out antiquing. I also napped a lot and enjoyed watching our neighbors. We usually don't have campfires because Gary is such a hot natured guy, but I enjoy the sights and smells of everyone else's campfires.  Gary also went antique shopping in the towns of Athens, Bishop, and Watkinsville during our stay, and of course he went to a Walmart or two, because he NEVER misses going to Walmart! He explored the park some also, and enjoyed seeing the fall foliage colors. That's another thing we miss by living in Florida. We hated to leave Watson Mill Bridge State Park, but there were more adventures ahead of us. On arrival, we had entered the park through the back entrance, bypassing the covered bridge. But I got to see and travel through the bridge myself on our way out of the park. It's SUPER cool! I hope you've enjoyed this episode of my blog. Check in again soon!

Catching Up A Little At A Time

Okay, first and foremost, I must apologize for making promises that I just don't keep. In several of my newer blog posts, I've told you all that I will post again soon, and then it takes me months and months to get around to doing what I said I would do. So, from now on, I'm not making any promises. I'll simply do the best I can as time allows, and as events happen that are actually blog worthy. I thank you all for being so INCREDIBLY patient with me. Your interest in my blog has not faltered, even though I haven't been living up to my end of the deal. I SO appreciate your loyalty. With that said, today's post goes way back to our camping trips that began last fall. Our camping was limited to say the least, but we did get out to enjoy some of our favorite parks once again. After sweating my little aluminum butt off in the garage all summer, I needed a bath REALLY badly. It's amazing how dirty I get just sitting here, but I get downright grungy. Even though it was nearly the end of October before I had my bath, it was still ridiculously hot here in Florida. As Gary got Dodge and I packed up for our trip to Georgia, all of us were imagining how great the cooler weather up there would feel. On October 29th, we arrived at our first stop at Magnolia Springs State Park in Millen, Georgia. It was raining when we arrived, and rained most of the short time (two nights) that we were there. Gary didn't bring the air conditioner, and we needed it. It was just as hot as Florida, and extremely muggy. At least we had a small fan with us. That helped. We had only been to Magnolia Springs once before, and that was way back in 2013. The park is just over a 1000 acres, has 26 campsites, and 9 cottages. There's a small lake for fishing and boating. The area where the springs are is a nice place to go walking or to have a picnic. A very short break in the rain showers allowed Gary to get out and explore for a little while. The springs were clear and there were LOTS of alligators and turtles during our first visit, but Gary didn't see any critters at all this time. There was lots of algae in the water that wasn't present during our 2013 visit. He walked the boardwalk around the springs, a short trail, and all around the picnic area. When the rain started again, Gary went antique shopping in nearby Waynesboro, and found some cool stuff at a place called Boxwood's Market. TV channels were very limited, but I was able to find some entertaining stuff to watch while Gary was away from the campsite. The camp host at the park did a fantastic job of keeping everything neat and clean, and we had some friendly neighbors right next to us. All in all, we had a nice stay at Magnolia Springs, we just didn't get the cooler temperatures we were looking forward to. Maybe next time, and maybe we didn't have long to wait for that cooler weather. There was still some camping left to go, and we were just getting started. More on that at a later time. We hope you all are staying safe and healthy during this Coronavirus epidemic. PLEASE, be careful! Gary has been staying home for long periods of time, going out only for essential supplies when absolutely necessary. Dodge and I worry about him, but he's being careful on those limited occasions that he does go out. Even before the virus became an issue, Gary was working on many projects around here, and making GREAT progress. I know he will feel like being away from home longer next fall and winter if a good number of these projects are completed. I'll never object to more camping! Thanks again for checking in. Hugs and Love from the Three Camp-A-Teers, Gary, Toaster, & Dodge