A Diamond in the Rough

We left the RV Resort at Carolina Crossroads in Roanoke Rapids this morning around 9:30, heading to Cherokee, North Carolina, in the Great Smokey Mountains.  About an hour or so into our drive, it began to rain, but it wasn't bad.  However, the further we drove, the harder it rained.  After about 3 more hours, we decided we had had enough and began searching for a place to stop for the night.  We had planned to stop at Tom Johnson RV Park in Marion, North Carolina, about 95 miles East of Cherokee, but quickly realized that was not going to happen.  So, I hopped on the computer and checked out rvparkreviews.  There was a campground that had great reviews near Hickory, North Carolina, so we decided we would stop there.  I called ahead to make sure they had space for us, which they did.  They have a code-entry gate, so the owner gave me the code when I called.  Maybe that should have been a hint, but we really didn't think much about it.

We got off I-40 at Exit 119.  That's what it said on their website -- "take Exit 119."  No signs -- absolutely no signs indicating a campground anywhere.  The website said it was only a mile off I-40, so how difficult could it be to find?  We came off the exit and came to a stop sign -- "Okay, which way do we turn?"  The sign said "Henry River" to the right and we knew the CG was supposedly near Henry River, so we turned right.  The website stated to make sure we turned on "Whitener Drive," not "Whitener Road," so we're looking for Whitener Drive but never saw it.  We went more than a mile and we were like, "Where in the heck is this CG" -- again, NO SIGNS.  So I called the CG again -- they asked where we were.  Of course, we had no clue, but we know we missed the CG.  She starts asking me questions like do you see old houses, etc.  All I see are signs alongside the road with Bible scriptures.  She says you will come to a section with old houses and all of a sudden, we were there.  Alan pulls into an area where he thinks he can turn around -- WRONG!  It's not raining as hard as it was, but it's still raining.  We get out, look around and there's no way he can make the turn to turn around.  We are stuck!  He decides to disconnect the car.  We have a leather car cover we use when towing and we did not want to take it off because it was so wet.  He disconnects the car and guides me in backing it up.  He then turns the MH around and reconnects the car.

After all was said and done, we found ourselves at the site where "District 12" of the Hunger Games was filmed.  Now we haven't seen the movie, so we have no idea what the Hunger Games are -- other than the advertisement we saw on TV.  However, our grandkids sure know and thought it was "cool" that we ended up there.

I managed to snap a couple of pictures while Alan turned the MH around and hooked the car back up.  If you have seen the movie, maybe you will recognize something from the pics.

We managed to get back on the road and the CG owner stayed on the phone with me until we were actually on the right road to the CG.  You must turn left on Costner Road, then right on Whitener Road, but again, NO SIGNS.  The owner told us the County will not allow signs because they do not have a bathhouse or allow tents -- all RVs must be self-contained -- and the DOT says your CG must be accessible to everyone before you put signs on the highway.   

A quarter of a mile or so down Whitener Road the road turns to gravel and you come to the coded gate.  (I'll get a pic of that tomorrow when we leave and post it tomorrow night).  

By this point, Alan is NOT a happy camper.  When that gate opened and he saw the road beyond going down into a valley, I do believe if he could have turned around -- again -- he would have.  Anyway, we made it in -- the owner is super, super nice and was very apologetic about the problems we had in finding the campground.  By the time we got settled in and had some dinner, the rain stopped, the sun came out and we were able to explore our surroundings.  

It turned out to be a very nice little park we dubbed as a diamond in the rough.

Laundry -- 2 washers & 2 dryers

Catch and Release Pond

We even found the Henry River

We are happy and thankful to be back on the road and are looking forward to exploring Cherokee, the Great Smokey Mountains and beyond.