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Post by Clipper on Jun 10, 2023 14:31:22 GMT -5
We are leaving in the morning for 4 days of camping and trout fishing along the Watauga River. A gal from our bowling league and her mom are camping with us and will have their trailer on the site next to us. I topped off the gas tank this morning for a mere $78 for a little less than half a tank. Yikes! With a 50 gallon tank I certainly won't be letting it get empty.
I was surprised to find that the senior fishing and small game hunting license dropped from $5 to $4.
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Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Jun 10, 2023 16:21:10 GMT -5
Have an enjoyable time camping and fishing. Maybe the price dropped due to to many fish in the lake!!!! Catch me a salmon
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Post by clarencebunsen on Jun 10, 2023 17:12:04 GMT -5
Have a great time.
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Post by Clipper on Jun 11, 2023 6:11:39 GMT -5
We will be heading out shortly. The forecast is for scattered showers tonight and tomorrow with a thunderstorm possible overnight so we want to be set up before showers move in. I will be off line until Thursday morning unless I we happen to go into Elizabethton. If we do I will probably hop online at McDonald's just to check my mail and the forum. There is no wifi available at the campsite.
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Post by Clipper on Jun 17, 2023 8:53:32 GMT -5
I can't resist sharing our camping experience. It was a much-needed escape to unwind and recharge. It has been sad and difficult being here for my sister and her husband who pretty much out of the blue has been diagnosed with stage 4 terminal lung cancer that had spread all through his lymph system, and spread to his liver, and his brain. They came to the campground on Tuesday and spent the afternoon and evening enjoying the outdoors and a cook-out with us before he began his radiation treatments on Wednesday that will be daily for 10 days to try and slow the brain cancer. He would only have about 3 months without treatment, and possibly may live 18 months max if he has chemo. There is no hope for remission. They live just a couple miles down the road from us so I have another lawn to care for and to be here for my sister to come here and find a shoulder to cry on when she has an extremely bad day. She needs that place to spill some tears and get a hug when she doesn't want to break down and sob uncontrollably in front of Steve.
It was a great get-away and our first camping trip in two years. Soon after we acquired the motorhome Covid 19 struck and recreational travel pretty much ground to a stop. Camping was an activity that was still an option during the early days of the pandemic due to the fact that masking and social distancing allowed for the outdoor activity but Kathy and I opted out because we enjoy the socializing with other campers, and sitting around a fire with newfound friends. We only made one other camping trip before this one.
We knew that there was a chance of a severe thunderstorm forecast for Sunday afternoon or overnight Sunday night. We got to the campground shortly after noon and set up long before the rain moved in. The storm rolled through during the night and was a real attention getter. The wind howling, rain beating violently on the metal roof, and the motorhome rocking even with the stabilizing jacks down made for some tense moments for awhile. Riding out a violent storm in a 30 foot metal can tends to be quite scary.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday turned out to be sunny and warm with a pleasant breeze wafting off the river. I fished in both the early morning and evening all three days. The campground is a fishing camp with only 14 sites. We were surrounded by fly fisherman from as far away as Florida and Kentucky. I took both spinning equipment as well as a fly rod and Dave's fly fishing "how to" book that he sent me many years ago. A single guy in his 40s from Florida was on a site near us and when he saw me trying to master casting a fly line he was kind enough to spend a couple of hours helping me learn proper casting techniques which in turn allowed me to actually enjoy a bit of fly fishing. Sadly the trout were not hitting on flies but I did catch an 11 inch rainbow Tuesday morning with a spinning rod and a night crawler. We ate all of our meals with our friends Bonnie and Jackie. The gals cooked up some nice thick slab bacon, eggs, and toasted English muffins. I fried up my trout in a bit of the bacon grease and butter and savored every bite of the first fresh trout I had eaten in a long time, accompanied by a couple of eggs and toasted muffin smeared with Kathy's fresh strawberry refrigerator jam. Sitting around a campfire with a cup of coffee with the smells of bacon cooking and coffee perking is one of the most relaxing parts of camping and cooking outside on a camp stove.
It was the most relaxing vacation we have experienced in many years, fishing in the mornings, playing corn hole in the afternoons, fishing again in the evening, and playing cards with Bonnie and Jackie in our camper until 10 or so each evening.
There is little that can rival the relaxation of fishing in the quiet of early morning, alone in your thoughts while waiting for that wily trout to slurp your fly or strike your lure or bait. I didn't catch any fish on Tuesday but on Wednesday morning I caught a 10 inch brown trout and a brightly colored 17 inch rainbow that was too beautiful to keep. I wish I had taken a photo, but I left my phone in camp just in case I were to fall in the knee deep water while wading.
We got home at about noon on Thursday and just took a few necessities in the house and went shopping. Yesterday was a busy day of catching up my mowing, and taking Kathy to a doctor's appointment, so today I will be tasked with unloading the motorhome, stowing the camping gear, bringing in the laundry and clothes, emptying the refrigerator, cleaning and vacuuming the camper and changing the bed linen. Kathy's mobility issues dictate that I take care of the camper while she catches up the laundry. This smoke haze has made for some unpleasant days for her that have required her to use her oxygen and trying to do much with the concentrator hanging from her shoulder would be cumbersome.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Jun 17, 2023 9:55:05 GMT -5
Sounds like a great trip.
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Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Jun 17, 2023 9:58:59 GMT -5
How old are your sister and brother in law and do they have any children? I feel sorry for him as well as your sister.
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Post by Clipper on Jun 17, 2023 11:30:46 GMT -5
My sister is 70 and her husband Steve is 71. They have three grown children, a son in Wilmington NC, a daughter in San Antonio Texas, and a son in Morristown Tn. (about 50 miles down the interstate). The biggest worry at this point is that of the several tumors on his brain, some are forming aneurisms that could burst at any time, and the others are in a place where they could cause seizures.
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Post by Clipper on Jun 17, 2023 11:35:14 GMT -5
Now the countdown to our trip to CNY from July 9th-19th begins. We haven't been home in a couple of years so we are really looking forward to the trip and are getting excited.
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Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Jun 17, 2023 13:57:08 GMT -5
My sister is 70 and her husband Steve is 71. They have three grown children, a son in Wilmington NC, a daughter in San Antonio Texas, and a son in Morristown Tn. (about 50 miles down the interstate). The biggest worry at this point is that of the several tumors on his brain, some are forming aneurisms that could burst at any time, and the others are in a place where they could cause seizures. Oh my. May our Lord grant them consolation during this trying time. My prayer is with them... |
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