BEAUTIFUL BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS

This is a view from Altapass Overlook off the Blue Ridge Parkway that I took a couple of days ago!

We are bracing for a full campground of 144 sites for this Memorial Day Weekend…everything is reserved FULL!! I am working today from 3 PM thru closing at 9:30 PM to get over 100 sites checked in! We had about 14 sites check in yesterday. Wednesday and Thursday were supposed to be our days off, but I worked in the office while the woman who has been here several years restocked the store shelves with supplies. Tomorrow night the park will have a live band playing 50, 60 and 70’s music and I will be working the office/store! Dennis is working maintenance the next couple of days, so he will be finishing work as I begin my shift!

There have been several bear sightings reported...but we have not seen any bear yet, but lots of turkey and deer!


We are thinking of all of you on this Memorial Holiday and hoping that you have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend!

DREAM HOME FOR DENNIS AND LINDA

Okay folks...we have found our "DREAM HOME"! We guided this unit into one of our largest RV sites a couple of nights ago and we believe we could live VERY comfortably in this unit and use this "Trike" to get around in the tight locations of interest! The "Trike" you see parked under the awning drives right up a ramp in the back of the coach where you see the short ladder.

  The space above the "Trike" garage is where the bed is located on the inside!  Guess we might need to continue working a few more summers to pay for this one!!!!!  It is amazing the types of RV's we see here and how they travel along the Blue Ridge!

LIFE ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE OF NORTH CAROLINA

All is going well here at Bear Den Campground in NC!  The days have been cool (in the 70's) and nights in the 50's with showers frequently in the evenings!  We have finished our first week and will be off tomorrow and the next day.  We may get a chance to explore a little bit.  This beautiful Rhododendron flower was one of many around the playground area.  We have seen several deer, turkey and a fox right here in our park...but have not had the camera at the right time!  There has been a bear reported up on the hill at some of the privately owned cabins a couple of days ago but we have not seen it yet!  A beautiful Woodpecker landed right on a tree at the edge of our site a couple of days ago...but once again the camera was not where I could grab it!  Stay tuned...we WILL capture some of this wild life on the camera sooner or later!!!!  Check out our campground at http://www.bear-den.com/    Thanks for checking it!

HUMMINGBIRD AND FLOWERS FROM VIRGINIA

This photo was taken at Mt. Airy, NC (Andy Griffiths hometown!).Hummingbird "preening" his tailfeathers!  This was taken while we were still in Virginia...right at the edge of our patio!

NEW LOCATION...NEW JOBS FOR DENNIS & LINDA!!!!!

Here we are along the Blue Ridge Parkway at Bear-Den Campground.  We landed jobs here on Tuesday, May 11..loaded up and drove over the mountain from Elizabethton, TN past Roan Mountain and down on the North Carolina side to Spruce Pine, NC.  Drove to the Blue Ridge Parkway via Rt. 226 and North on the Parkway to mile marker 324.8 to Bear Den Rd and back in about one mile to Bear Den Campground.  I am working in the office/store and Dennis is part of the Maintenance/Security team.  It is beautiful here and we are looking forward to a cool and enjoyable summer!  Picture will follow within the next few days!

LOOKING FOR A NEW SUMMER JOB!

This organization is just NOT for us and we have given our 2 week notice and will be leaving in the morning!  Nothing has been as it was told to us and does not show any signs of improving.  We are way too old to work someplace where we are not comfortable or happy!

SO, down the road we are heading into North Carolina where we will check out another family owned campground tomorrow.

We may or may not have Internet so will try to keep everyone up to date when we settle down with something!

LIFE AT HILLSVILLE, VA

May 1, 2010 -- Time is flying by and we have not started work yet…we are on the schedule to begin on Monday, May 3.

We are all settled in and have the trailer as well as the patio pretty much the way we want to live for the next few months. There are bright flowers and hummingbird feeders. The awning is out and tied down as tight so that it doesn’t flap!

Friday we explored Mt. Airy, NC (home of Andy Griffith…and, Mayberry RFD)…it was a beautiful drive with dogwood and azaleas everywhere. So far we have not seen any rhododendron in bloom…I think it is sometime in June before they come out!

Lake Ridge RV Resort is about 7 miles to the NE of Hillsville out in the country. On our way to and from town we see this BIG BOY nearly every time!

This morning they were having “Spring Fest” at the Southwest Virginia Farmers Market right here at Hillsville and we visited it and listened to mountain music while eating fresh pulled pork sandwiches. There were lots of flowers for sale as well as the real “Virginia Hams” in bags and sliced Virginia Ham in shrink wrapped packages. We bought a cabbage, new potatoes and onion as well as a couple bags of different homemade trail mix…one with cranberries, raisins, nuts and raspberries and a bag of Roasted Green Peas!

Here on the patio the hummingbirds took no time in finding the sweet nectar I cooked up for them and they entertain us constantly! It is amazing how they seem to hover just like they are looking us over!

Denny wants to know..."HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A HUMMINGBIRD PREENING ITSELF...UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL?????" Isn't this a neat shot?