Tom and I moved from our full hook-up site on June 28 to an electric only site. I thought I would give you a campground update on how I feel about living at the Wilderness Road Campground.
As I mentioned before, Tom and I usually get a full hook-up site when we work in the National Parks and were expecting that here. We had that full hook-up site until the end of June because we were in a camphost spot. On June 28 we moved across the street to an electric-only site.
A couple of weeks before our move, the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Superintendent, the Chief of Interpretation, and the Volunteer Coordinator asked to speak with us. We thought we were in trouble! All three apologized again for not having the full hook-up site we had expected. They laid out two options. We could move within the campground and they would get us anything we needed to make our stay as easy as possible. Or we could move to any campground we wished and the park would pay for our stay and for the gas for our commute. This second option was a generous offer on the part of the park because long-term stays at area campgrounds are about $600 per month.
Tom and I said we would consider the options and let them know. We appreciated the lengths to which they were willing to go for us to stay. We looked at two of the closest campgrounds that had full hook-up sites. The first, River Forge Campground, was a gravel parking lot next to a creek. The grass had not been mowed and the campground only had a few RVs in it. The second, Mountain Pass Campground, looked more inviting but it was up a twisting mountain road and would have taken us an hour to drive to work.
Tom and I considered our options and decided to stay at Wilderness Road Campground. It is close to work, within the park, and has good cell service. Even more important, we have gotten used to the community at the campground. We like Ranger Stormy, the campground ranger, and the camphosts. Tom promised, again, that he would empty the tanks and bring over fresh water every day, if needed.
We moved to our new site on June 28. We had to boost the front of the RV up by eight inches to get the RV close to level. Level is important if you don’t want to feel like you are constantly walking uphill or downhill inside. Also, the shower leaks when the RV isn’t level. Tom has been emptying the gray and black tanks and filling the fresh tank as needed. We use 10 to 12 gallons of water every day. I appreciate his hard work because it means I can shower and use the toilet in the RV.
We have been especially glad that we stayed when worship services started in the amphitheater. It is nice to be able to walk over to them after our day at work. We also really like the camphost who took the spot we were in originally. His name is Robin Smith and he is very friendly and a hard worker. We have been doing some stuff with him and sit over at his campsite most evenings for some conversation.
I’m sorry that Tom has extra work to do every day for us to stay at the Wilderness Road Campground, but I am glad we stayed. He hasn’t complained and he likes being here as well.