Little Red Traveled Back to Devil's Fork...

We actually spent a whole week in one spot - first time for us and we loved it.  I didn't want to leave but of course it's always nice to get home.  Lake Jocassee is a beautiful back drop and it was just steps away from our site.  We camped on #1 this trip and we had made reservations back in October of last year for this visit.  This campground is very busy during peak times so make your plans early.  Even the tent sites fill up.

Lucy loved the lake and actually went swimming this time.  Her favorite thing to do was sit out in the screened room in front of the fan and chill.  As usual she didn't love the drive but the car seat did help.  She spent about half of the trip in her seat and slept and looked out the window..  That is a huge improvement and made us very happy.  Thanks so much to the camp host at Table Rock State Park for that idea!!

Our set up this time was awesome.  We had the screened room and our site was right beside the path to a little beach area on the lake.  That kept us from having to walk down to the main swimming area, although we did just about every day for ice and ice cream....of course.  😀  There are so many trails
and areas to walk in this park and plenty to do.  On this trip the campground was fairly packed and bustling.  We met so many people and dogs of course.  Lucy made all kinds of friends.  We have to shout out to Charles and Ashley and their dog Katie - they left us their awning on the lake and it was awesome and we left it for some kids who were there when we left.  We also met the most awesome little dog named Bud...Lucy was in love with him and he tolerated her.  He was quite the Man! 

This was the most moderate weather we have experienced so far and we cooked outside every day.  The bugs were minimal and the sun was beautiful through out our visit.  We could not have ordered a better week.  It was also our 32nd wedding anniversary mid-week so we celebrated by going into Seneca and having dinner at the local Fatz restaurant.  It was excellent and so much fun.

Our youngest and his girlfriend came down and spent the last few days with us in a tent and we all had a blast.  They canoed some and we all went to an awesome local Mexican restaurant for lunch on Friday.  We found the neatest little general store and picked up some goodies there.  It is stocked with unique canning jars, Lodge products, handmade goodies and so much more.  If you are in the area do stop by The Burgess General Store and visit with Mark and Krystal.

We love this area and will definitely visit again.  From here out until Fall this campground is super packed and hard to get reservations.  Be sure to plan ahead if you want to camp here.

So far we are still loving Little Red and he has been very reliable and very little issues - always caused by our lack of knowledge or human error.  The only thing on our list down the road would be a little larger camper - possibly a 177 or a little bigger.  A walk around bed would so nice but we still love our little 166 and we can easily tow it with our Ford Edge.

As far as gadgets on this trip we used our Coleman grill every day and it actually works better than our big gas grill that we use at home.  We would highly recommend it to anyone who camps or tailgates ....or just needs to be mobile.  The other real life saver on this trip was the "Pooper" - this was our first use of it because we were staying put for the week.  We were so happy to have it.  Being in one place and having relatively small tanks on the 166 it really made our stay so much easier.  This is something we would also highly recommend if you camp a lot where there are no full hook-ups available or you just don't want to pay extra for them.  It was quick
and easy to attach to the back of the car and drive down to empty.  It also made it easier when we left and dumped the tanks.  

We have more pics of the lake on Greg's DSLR camera and we will put those up as soon as we get them transferred.  Not sure where our next trip will take us but we'll keep you posted.  See you on the road....

Devils Fork State Park

We took the Little Red Retro on our 3rd camping trip up to Devils Fork State Park and Campground which sits on Lake Jocassee.  We had planned on staying four days but we loved it so much we extended our stay an extra day.  To say the lake is beautiful is an absolute understatement.  It is breath taking and the most beautiful shade of aqua we've ever seen in a lake.  I will post pictures but they just don't do it justice. 


We stayed on site 43 but we found quite a few that we liked and we already have a return trip booked next May on site 1.  This campground is very woodsy and there are sites on the lake side and down on the wooded side.  We liked the lake side and we were just up the hill and could look down onto the lake and trees from our window.  There are also pack in pack out tent sites that are very nice.  The weather was perfect during this visit with bright sunny days and warm with a crisp cool in the evenings.  One of the best things was there were no flying bugs or insects.  Camping a lot in the low country, we were so happy not to have to deal with those little buggars. 

We found all sorts of things to explore here and walked a lot every day.  There are trails and pathways and we loved the beach areas of the lake where you could sit and relax.  This was another dog friendly campground and our Lucy made lots of friends.  There is a camp store and a lakeside rental place where you can rent canoes, kayaks, life vests and more.  They also have ice cream and drinks as well.

This is the view from the registration/office and it is beautiful.  We had seen this picture on the web site but you just have to see it in person to believe how awesome it is.  The grounds are very clean and well maintained.  The staff is friendly, helpful and well versed on the campground

There are a few areas to grab a bite or shop close to Powdersville where the park is located.  We went into Walhalla and grabbed lunch one day and picked up a few things.  There is a very nice Ingles grocery store there as well as Dollar General, and CVS along with McDonalds.  On our way home we had a recommendation from a fellow camper to stop off in Easley, SC and visit Mutts BBQ.  It was excellent and we highly recommend it too.  If you like BBQ and veggies then this is your place.  A full review is on our Yelp profile on the right hand side of this page.

This area is the side of the lake where we put in.  There are several boat ramps and an area to put in for non-motorized boats.  We put in near the beach area and didn't have any trouble.  All of the boaters were very respectful of the small boats and kayaks and took it slow and easy until they got further out.  We canoed across to the other side and back and it was a very nice trip.  We loved it!! 

Scuba diving and other activities are also readily available and you don't need to leave the campground to find a group to provide these services.  There is also a boat tour of the lake available and we definitely plan on doing that the next time we visit.  They actually take you out to the falls which we heard is pretty amazing. 

The bathhouses are ample and convenient and very clean with large showers that have separate areas with curtains for each shower.  Plenty of hot water and strong water flow make for a nice relaxing shower.  On our site the bathroom was only a couple of sites away and most of them even had drink machines just outside on the porch area.

This campground is definitely at the top of our list now and we have to give it a 5+ rating.  It hits all of the things we love and then some!

Cost:  $  (The most reasonable one so far)
Location:  5 out of a possible 5 - this is one of our favorites!
Service:  Excellent
Overall Rating:  5+ out of a possible 5 Campers

Update on our Little Red Retro.  We still love it and are enjoying it more each time we take it out.  We get lots of attention when we are hauling it - everything from high fives, thumbs up and horn honks.  Each time we stop somebody walks up and asks us about it.  We went to Costco on our way out of town and even had a couple come up to us there and want to know all about it.  We had visitors at the campground and on the way home.

I believe we have tried out everything on the camper now and it all works well for us.  We even tested the gas heat on this trip and it worked really well and heated things up very quickly.  For the two of us and our little Lucy Loo this camper is just perfect for us.   We are still working on that video of the camper and we will get it up soon.  Another recipe will be up this week - Hobo Dinner.  It turned out pretty yummy!!