Divermarv

Tanglewood Creekside Campground

Near Linville Gorge in North Carolina is a nice little campground, Tanglewood Creekside Campground to be exact. It seems to be somewhat new, but is coming along nicely. Situated alongside Pepper Creek, there are some wonderful locations. I look forward to coming back in the future.

The location is superb. There are a ton of hiking trails, as well as some quaint spots to visit. I may not get them all this trip, but I’m noting anything I don’t for subsequent visits.

Arrival

We have been having some nice dry summertime weather in the region, but as my trip approached that changed. The day before the Linville area got a big storm, a gully warsher, we used to call them. It was cool when I arrived, upper seventies, but the humidity was in the 90% range. And the annoying bugs were pegged at a 110%! And guess what idiot forgot bug spray. Yeah, I’m sure you guess right.

I got my camp setup. It took almost an hour to set up Stella, but I was taking my time to try to get it taut. Taut at both the base and the walls. There is one edge of the base that could be tighter, I’ll be more careful next time.

What took me the longest was getting the guy ropes at the right length. This was my major faux-pas the previous setups. I’ve got them this time though.

How you might ask. Why thank you for asking. Well, I used a little mathematics. The book says to have the guy lines at a forty-five degree angle. And the one thing that is set in stone… okay, set in canvas, is the height of the tent wall. Not being able to stretch it out at home I guessed the height at three feet. My trigonometry was rusty, but I knew that the opposite side divided by the hypotenuse is equal to the sine of that forty-five degree angle. A little algebra and you get the three foot wall divided by the sine of forty-five would give me the length of the guy rope.

While setting the tent up, I measure the height of the wall and found it was a little over two and a half feet. Minor adjustment to my calculations and bam. I was moving.

Slowly. Yeah, moving slowly. I had to adjust all thirteen of the guy lines. And… though it was cool, the humidity was killing me. My clothes were drenched! But it all worked out. Stella is looking good.

The Experience

Power to the People

My stay at Terry Bison Ranch in Wyoming was my first extended time at a campsite without an electrical hookup. Buckeye Bank is my second.

The two are quite different. Wyoming = sun; Buckeye Bank (in a little valley in western North Carolina) = sun, but lots of shade, and steep ridges that minimize direct sunlight.

All to say that I will need to prepare, and form my habits, around the availability of sun for my solar panels.

Size matters

Stella has a thirteen foot footprint. But as you see above the guy lines extend that about another three feet. At Buckeye Bank site, there is a nice pad by the water, but sadly Stella’s bottom wouldn’t fit. When I arrived everything was still quite wet from the previous day’s heavy rain, and my tent location isn’t the best for extended camping (meaning: view from the tent door and all that). But it was good for dryness at the time. I checked out some of the other sites, and when I come back I’m going to reserve Pebble Beach.

Geology

How could I leave out my science nerdery?! A quick snapshot from Rockd, a great geology app, developed and maintained by the Macrostrat Lab at the University of Wisconsin.

Recreation

And this is what this is all about now isn’t it? I did some recreating, and it was nice. It was pleasing. It was… good.

I was too lazy to do any hiking, plus I wanted to focus on my campsite. But relaxation was my primary goal, and I did meet that.

All work and no play…

But the opposite is likely true as well. One of my goals for this trip was to experiment with working while camping. My work consists of writing, and I am working on my second novel. Lady Bird.

It’s 1950s America, and the aviation industry is booming. Abigail Mundson, an adventurous entrepreneur and accomplished pilot, wades into this industry with both feet. Her driving desire to connect the continents for smaller commercial aircraft opportunities embroils her in the swirling pot of Cold War tensions. She finds herself trapped in a complex web of intrigue and danger as she wings across Africa. In search of a mysterious artifact.

I am enjoying the creative processes of the first draft, and somewhat looking forward to the grueling revision process of the many subsequent drafts.

I shall report back on any significant movements with this draft.

Sights to See

Here are some of the local places I want to see. I’m a little bit lazy, so not sure if I’ll do them all. I will write a follow up post on my success, and reviews of the places I visit.

The Switzerland Cafe

Little Switzerland Books & Beans

Museum of North Carolina Minerals.

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As always…

Peace and Love
Marv