FAW3
Adventurer
Just enjoying the great Fall weather and the FWC as we roam around near home in Northern Virginia. All of these destinations are about 2 hours or so from our home.
Scooting out of urban Northern Virginia we headed West. Skyline Drive/Shenandoah NP is always fabulous this time of year. So many spots to pull off and sightsee. Magnificent Fall colors and mountain views with the opportunity to catch a glimpse of bear, turkey and deer along the drive or a trail.
Overnighted at Big Meadows CG in the hopes of having a great comet view at night, but clouds rolled in as did high winds. Ozy our ACD was kept on his toes as deer freely roam the CG.
Hit the Big Meadows Lodge at sunset and enjoyed the moment looking out the huge windows and sitting by the fire. We sweetened the deal a bit later with a slice of apple pie in the restaurant.
A solar power comment: Fall/Winter camping can be a bit of a struggle when you need to grab all the solar charge you can via just a fixed mount solar panel on your roof. The lower sun angles really hit the output from your panel. I love our foldable Bluetti PV120 solar panel that we use to augment the roof panel. With an extension cord it can be placed away from shade and angled towards the sun.
Info Link: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/driving-skyline-drive.htm
Big Meadows CG:
OZY at a Skyline Drive overlook:
We then roamed Northward heading towards Gettysburg and Michaux State Forest. We enjoyed a nice drive-up Route 15. The battlefield and historic town filled the day nicely. With the wonderful fall colors as a backdrop to the Gettysburg Battlefield Park we loved hiking the various trails and reading the many monuments and markers. Around mid-day we headed back to town and had lunch at the Appalachian Brewing Co... excellent!
Gettysburg overlanders note: The rear parking lot is huge at the ABC for rigs of all sizes. There are also several nice commercial campgrounds around Gettysburg.
A 20-minute drive West on Route 30 takes you to Michaux State Forest with miles of gravel roads and rustic camping spots. We enjoyed our overnight at the Teaberry Parking Area that offers several campsites on the perimeter. Sites C and E offer smaller camping units to pull into the woods a bit for more privacy. Great star viewing and a quiet night here. Would camp here again.
Within MSF there are designated sites for dispersed camping and see the website for locations and fees.
MSF Info link: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-forests/find-a-forest/michaux
Gettysburg & Michaux SF area sights:
Site C, MSF Teaberry Lot Camping Area:
With the great Fall weather still holding on we set out towards Hagerstown MD and aimed for the National Park Service C&O Canal and McCoy’s Ferry campground. The road into this destination has a tunnel with clearance of 10’ ...our rig just fit. The reward was a deserted CG right along the Potomac River. Nice big sites, mature shade trees, level, peaceful…but there is light nearby train traffic. There is a freshwater manual pump and a vault toilet at the nearby boat ramp area and a couple of porta-potties in the CG. Good Verizon cell service. Definitely coming back.
NPS C&O Canal info link: https://www.nps.gov/choh/index.htm
And folks wonder why I'm fond of our FWC pop-up:
McCoys Ferry CG:
My "last meal" for the trip: Cast iron skillet & a Coleman stove. Sliced potatoes and a good steak.
Using medium heat and some olive oil in the skillet, drain and season canned sliced potatoes with black pepper, red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning. Cook potatoes until lightly browned then push them to the perimeter. Add the steak and cook to preference, I seasoned with Montreal Steak Seasoning.
Making the most of it close to home.
Happy travels!
Scooting out of urban Northern Virginia we headed West. Skyline Drive/Shenandoah NP is always fabulous this time of year. So many spots to pull off and sightsee. Magnificent Fall colors and mountain views with the opportunity to catch a glimpse of bear, turkey and deer along the drive or a trail.
Overnighted at Big Meadows CG in the hopes of having a great comet view at night, but clouds rolled in as did high winds. Ozy our ACD was kept on his toes as deer freely roam the CG.
Hit the Big Meadows Lodge at sunset and enjoyed the moment looking out the huge windows and sitting by the fire. We sweetened the deal a bit later with a slice of apple pie in the restaurant.
A solar power comment: Fall/Winter camping can be a bit of a struggle when you need to grab all the solar charge you can via just a fixed mount solar panel on your roof. The lower sun angles really hit the output from your panel. I love our foldable Bluetti PV120 solar panel that we use to augment the roof panel. With an extension cord it can be placed away from shade and angled towards the sun.
Info Link: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/driving-skyline-drive.htm
Big Meadows CG:
OZY at a Skyline Drive overlook:
We then roamed Northward heading towards Gettysburg and Michaux State Forest. We enjoyed a nice drive-up Route 15. The battlefield and historic town filled the day nicely. With the wonderful fall colors as a backdrop to the Gettysburg Battlefield Park we loved hiking the various trails and reading the many monuments and markers. Around mid-day we headed back to town and had lunch at the Appalachian Brewing Co... excellent!
Gettysburg overlanders note: The rear parking lot is huge at the ABC for rigs of all sizes. There are also several nice commercial campgrounds around Gettysburg.
A 20-minute drive West on Route 30 takes you to Michaux State Forest with miles of gravel roads and rustic camping spots. We enjoyed our overnight at the Teaberry Parking Area that offers several campsites on the perimeter. Sites C and E offer smaller camping units to pull into the woods a bit for more privacy. Great star viewing and a quiet night here. Would camp here again.
Within MSF there are designated sites for dispersed camping and see the website for locations and fees.
MSF Info link: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-forests/find-a-forest/michaux
Gettysburg & Michaux SF area sights:
Site C, MSF Teaberry Lot Camping Area:
With the great Fall weather still holding on we set out towards Hagerstown MD and aimed for the National Park Service C&O Canal and McCoy’s Ferry campground. The road into this destination has a tunnel with clearance of 10’ ...our rig just fit. The reward was a deserted CG right along the Potomac River. Nice big sites, mature shade trees, level, peaceful…but there is light nearby train traffic. There is a freshwater manual pump and a vault toilet at the nearby boat ramp area and a couple of porta-potties in the CG. Good Verizon cell service. Definitely coming back.
NPS C&O Canal info link: https://www.nps.gov/choh/index.htm
And folks wonder why I'm fond of our FWC pop-up:
McCoys Ferry CG:
My "last meal" for the trip: Cast iron skillet & a Coleman stove. Sliced potatoes and a good steak.
Using medium heat and some olive oil in the skillet, drain and season canned sliced potatoes with black pepper, red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning. Cook potatoes until lightly browned then push them to the perimeter. Add the steak and cook to preference, I seasoned with Montreal Steak Seasoning.
Making the most of it close to home.
Happy travels!
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