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Last year's visit to Sedona, AZ

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

May 29, 2010 Prince William Forest Park

Well, I think I have found one of the Park Service’s hidden treasures.  If you search for National Parks in VA, it does show up, but National is not part of its name.   The next is a quote from their website http://www.nps.gov/prwi/index.htm

Experience a place where history and nature unite!

Prince William Forest Park is an oasis of natural beauty and human history located only 35 miles south of Washington, DC. 37 miles of hiking trails and 21 miles of bicycle-accessible roads and trails traverse this 15,000 acre piedmont forest. Beneath its canopy lies evidence of human history reaching back to 8,000 B.C.DSC06859

Oak Ridge Campground has 100 sites in 3 loops.  2 loops can handle RV’s or tents, and one is tents only.  There is also a RV park called Trailer Village that we did not visit.  It has hook-ups and a pool and such.  We found a great site for our 2nd and 3rd nights.  The first night we arrived about dark and found a nice level site but it turned out to be in a very low damp spot and I moved to a higher ground site early Sat morning.  When we arrived at the check-in and campground host site, there were a lot of blue flashing lights in the A loop. The host said there was an ‘incident’ involving fire trucks, rangers, sheriff’s deputies and others but it was about wrapped up.  Didn’t ask questions and the host assured us it was a temporary situation and was nearly resolved.  We had to bypass that campsite by going the wrong way on the one-way but found a site in B loop for the night without difficulty.DSC06858

When we set up on our new site Sat morning we were beside a large family in a pop up and tent with kids.  Figured that would be nice when Adam and family arrived later.  The bathroom and water source were just across the road.  I’m never sure I have enough water since the gauges in the Roadtrek are always telling me the tanks are full.  I use fresh water for drinking and cooking mostly.  Use the water tanks for flushing and dishes. Leveled the RT with 2 of the Lynx Levelers and set up the awning and Buddipole antenna and gathered some firewood for later, and we were set for the day.  Our site also was right up against a sloping grassy  playing field for the kids as seen in the top picture.  Lots of preteens and younger kids gathered there Sat afternoon and evening for a long soccer game and tree climbing.  I think the girls might have won….. 

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This is a very wooded and hilly campground.  The bicycling is interesting. It was a steady climb back to the check-in but coasted all the way back.  Lots of kids on bikes, and adults, too.  The group of veterans on motorcycles across from us spent most of the time at Rolling Thunder in DC. They were up from Florida for the bike parade. 

We had a good campfire for dinner and cooked veggie-burgers and hotdogs and had cole slaw and potato salad. DSC06861

As the night came on, we made S’More’s.  Only had one kid accept the invite and she was really appreciative of the treat.  Abe had already crashed, Sam enjoyed roasting the marshmallows.  I boiled some potatoes on the LP range for breakfast and washed dishes before settling in for a quiet night.  Whippoorwill’s sang us to sleep.  Along with some Green Tree Frogs. 

Up early.  Adam already had a fire going.  Water for coffee heating.  I got Lila to ramrod the hash-browns cooking while I used the Roadtrek gas range for the pancakes.  Honey, syrup and home-canned pears for pancake toppings.  Everyone got full and seemed happy.  Adam, Sam and Abe left for home mid-day and we hung out around the campground relaxing.  There were a lot of sites used.  Our neighbors use this area a lot, being local, and said it was an unusually large crowd.  Maybe the economy has kept folks closer to home and at cheaper areas.  The sites here are $15 a night without hookups.  Hot showers and good water and lots of shade make this a spot we’ll visit again.  And with our Golden Age Passport we get free entrance and half rate on the campsite, so it’s a great bargain.DSC06853

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