Post up some shots of your T@B set-up at the camp site! Part 2

2Cougs

@dsfdogs- love the pics and the pups!  I chose not to dump when I left the campground (8AM) because I was afraid I would break the black and grey water gates.  Bottom line is that we are pushing the season and probably should have winterized 

dsfdogs

@2Cougs totally agree to pushing it...we are living on the edge! 

dragonsdofly

@Boulderjay, location of those brrrrrr conditions, please. Driving from the Detroit area to salt lake city in  few days, with the t@b in tow, departing  this coming weekend. Just "sizing up" the weather ahead. Thanks.

Homebodyatheart

@dsfdogs stunning scenery! Reggie has been ours for four years now, and I’ve taken him on a few single nights camping but never an extended time. I left his brother from another mother home with the family. It was a successful trip. Whoever owned him at some point taught him how to car travel. Whoever dumped him off to die, well, you fill in the blanks. He’s our quirky but beloved rescue pup! A hair dryer also works on dump gates I’ve heard. When I winterize I put antifreeze in the sink and shower p-traps, down the toilet and an inch in the toilet to keep the gasket from having issues. You can then quickly open and shut the black and grey dump gates to get antifreeze in there, too, so they don’t freeze and crack. That would not be good! I use a half gallon altogether. As for the pump I only use it when I run the shower. 

Boulderjay

dragonsdofly said:

@Boulderjay, location of those brrrrrr conditions, please. Driving from the Detrkoit area to salt lake city in  few days, with the t@b in tow, departing  this coming weekend. Just "sizing up" the weather ahead. Thanks.

Dragons , we were  above Morrison Colorado  off of  285  but all that snow is already a distant memory! All of Colorado looking sunny and dry for the next week or so. The scenery will be amazing, snow covered peaks and still some color in the leaves! Enjoy your trip

dsfdogs

@Homebodyatheart I bet Reggie enjoyed one-on-one time with Mom!

Even though my trailer is garaged and it doesn't get below 40, I'll do as you with the antifreeze. But I was wondering if there is anything to do while still camping as we were when the temps dip. I had brought some antifreeze with me for the shower P trap, but I assume adding any to the gray/black tanks, when diluted with their contents, wouldn't have helped?

Dcarlton

Fall in California! Campgrounds are uncrowded and prime surfing season is just beginning. Morro Bay on  California’s Central Coast. (No snow here!)

pthomas745

@Dcarlton Morro State Beach?  Looks great!

BigGrover

At Fort Mitchell, Al

BrianZ

We had a great 4-night/5-day first time boondocking trip to beautiful Julian Price National Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Blowing Rock, NC.  Lots of things went right for us on our 2nd Annual Twin T@B Fall Reunion with our cousins who have the exact same T@B.  They reserved us the perfect spot to try out our solar panel for the first time in one of only two open areas in a mostly heavily wooded campground.


Rotated our T@B to face the morning sunrise over the lake just behind the trees.  The solar panel, supported by 2 adjustable selfie sticks, faced south @ 36° angle & was tethered to tent stakes that survived 40+mph wind gusts that had our trailer rocking one night.  Now we know why people go to greater lengths to tie down their visor, as ours flipped up & banged into the antenna pole, despite being wrapped around the stabilizers.


The morning sun greeting us.


A short walk from our site to the boat launch & kayak rental.


From there a path led us on a nice 2mi hike around the lake, where we saw the best color of the season (which has been a bit underwhelming in most places).




Far side of Price Lake.  Our campsite is somewhere behind the trees lit by afternoon sun.  Huge rhododendrons like the one at right are literally everywhere on this forest floor & grow up to 20ft tall.  Must be quite a sight in the spring when they are flowering.


Some nice reflections in the headwaters of the lake with the dry air after the cold front blew through.


Just got the campfire going before cousins joined us for s'mores, but wanted to get a shot while there was still enough light.  Had the little Weber Q grill set up for grilling hamburgers one night, brats another, and pancakes one morning.  


Here's a sunrise view from inside the trailer.


Our picnic table in foreground shows how close the deer were that visited on a couple of evenings.  


They weren't afraid of people, apparently, as we had been on a walk and were returning to our trailer when we got these shots.


Not far south from the campground, the Blue Ridge Parkway wraps around the side of the mountain on the Linn Cove Viaduct, a real masterpiece of engineering.


A path from the Linn Cove visitor center gives a great view of this amazing bridge.


Another view of the viaduct suspended in the air above the mountainside.


A hike around beautiful Bass Lake below the Moses Cone Estate near Blowing Rock, not far north from the campground.

Sharon_is_SAM

Nice shots @BrianZ!  BTW, try staking down the visor straight down to the ground - others have avoided the flip over the top during winds using this technique.  

BrianZ

Thank you, @Sharon_is_SAM, I'll try that next time.  We had extra tent stakes we could have used & had even received a weather alert about the high winds coming with the cold front, but thought we'd be ok with the cords around the stabilizers & cinched down tight.  Wrong! 
It sure makes a lot of noise when it flips up & down like that & it was not a restful night, but I wasn't about to try taking it down in the wind & darkness.  So, waited until morning to remove the visor.  Just glad it survived intact.

ericnliz

@BrianZ, Thanks for sharing the great shots of your adventure!

atlasb

Earlier this week Porum Landing COE, Lake Eufaula,OK

2Cougs

@BrianZ and @atlasb- Love the Fall foliage and colors in your pics!!!

BigGrover

This past weekend at Uchee Creek Camp Ground, Fort Mitchell, Al

Mouseketab

Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort, Site 1301

BrianZ

Looks like you're ready for a Halloween party, @Mouseketab!  I guess it takes two vehicles to pull a trailer & a golf cart?  I like the "blue room".

BigGrover

Last week at Uchee Creek, Ft Mitchell Al

jgram2

Nice looking!

webers3

Last week at Bass Harbor Campground ME

Rolltide82

BigGrover said:

Last week at Uchee Creek, Ft Mitchell Al

I never even knew about that campground....I go to Lakepoint in Eufaula all the time...

BigGrover

It's military, $24/night.  Let me kniw if you want to go sometime.  Where are you located?

treefrog

Silver Falls state park October 20. Not much water in any of the waterfalls, still a nice time.

dsfdogs

@treefrog I bet it was nice and quiet in there now.  Love the white TV and 400. Another owner here in Bend have the same TV and all white 320-spiffy! Can I ask where you purchased your 4Runner? I'm ready to upgrade to a '18 or '19 (has to be silver to match the 320)!

treefrog

We bought it at Beaverton Toyota. They were good to deal with except for how hard they pushed the extended warranty. Lexus and Toyota are the two top rated lines for reliability. So why buy a warranty?
My wife likes the silver color the best, me too.  Not sure why we bought a white one, really like the 4Runner.

Rolltide82

BigGrover said:

It's military, $24/night.  Let me kniw if you want to go sometime.  Where are you located?

I am originally from Columbus GA however now I live in Warner Robins Ga.  I'll let you know sometime.  I don't camp much in the fall or winter.  I save up my vacation to go ski in Colorado a few times every year.

BigGrover

Winter we are heading douth to Foley.  May hit U hee Creek on or two more times this fall.

rjgors

North Higgins Lake MI 

BrianZ

Went for an overnight at Chippokes Plantation State Park, because we'd never been there & it's less than an hour from home..
Spacious shady sites, clean facilities & an historic plantation farm to explore - one of Virginia's best kept secrets IMO.  See that big oak tree? - The squirrels were dropping lots of big acorns from 60 ft up & they were quite loud when they hit our roof, and painful when they hit you - we both got hit once.  It's been a productive year for acorns.

James River overlook on a steep bluff behind the campground's visitor center.  We took advantage of the nice trails to explore the nearby plantation area on our bikes.

View from the path down to the edge of the south bank of the James.  Colonial Jamestown is on the other side of the river at the most distant horizon.  We walked out to the rock jetty to see the sunrise.  This would be a great spot for someone to stay who wanted to hop on the ferry & visit historic Jamestown.

Looking into the river from the rock jetty.

Same location, but opposite view looking back towards the park overlook.  This is why we have our T@B, to go & see places we otherwise might never see.

Scallop shells on the James River?  Yes, but they are the ancient fossilized remains of Chesapecten jeffersonius, the first described fossil in America.  They are all over the little beach, having been uncovered from the dirt cliffs where they have been buried for millions of years.  Rare giant sharks teeth have been found here too, the only fossils that can be kept legally.

There was a little color in the campground, but mostly still green.  Temps were in the 60's at night, so very mild for late Oct.

A fairly short bike ride to the plantation farm, one of the oldest continuously operated farms in the country, dating to 1619.

A mansion built by owners in the 1800's.

Their separate kitchen house.

We visited the friendly cattle across the lane from the front of the mansion.

Like with most animals, you must pass their smell test.

Campsites have these clever grills next to the fire pit, which makes it easy to rotate in & out from the fire & can be adjusted up & down by moving a pin.

Cotton fields in the nearby town of Surry, where we went for dinner at Chenn's China Grill (very good!).


PS: Forgot to mention that while walking over those big boulders on the jetty (with sand on my shoes), I slipped & fell.  Caught myself without injury, but my cell phone fell on the rocks & dropped under them where I couldn't reach.  It was low tide & water was nearby, but I found another crack to get my arm into & barely reached it.  I was relieved, but after we got back found the screen was cracked.  So, today was my first time ever to use phone insurance, but glad I had it - only cost me $29 deductible to get a new screen (front half of the phone actually, including a new battery), which was a $250 repair.  See long crack in photo on curved edge of my Galaxy Note8.  Be careful out there!