Salthouse Branch in Henry, VA May 28-June 8, 2021
The initial campsite at Salthouse Branch left a lot to be desired. Most campgrounds require backing into your space. This particular space required backing in between 2 guide boards, up a steep & narrow slope, at a weird angle, over exposed tree roots! 😳 It reminded me of my first driving test as a teenager. The RMV inspector told me to back up a long hill & around a corner at the top. I remember that it was March & there were snowbanks obscuring my vision. There were also trash barrels blowing around on the street. I failed miserably. A week later, I passed the test & got my license. This driveway gave me an uneasy feeling of deja vu.
We arrived on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend & it rained heavily all weekend. I felt sorry for the other campers because it was probably a much anticipated get-away vacation for most of them. 🥺 Maddie & I spent all weekend in the car, soggy & miserable.
On Monday afternoon, the sun finally came out. While walking around with Maddie in the sunshine, I realized that this campground was actually really nice! For anyone old enough to remember, it reminded me of the song Camp Grenada by Allan Sherman. https://g.co/kgs/twNGmn “Hello Muddah, hello Faddah.
Here I am at Camp Grenada.
Camp is very entertaining,
And they say we’ll have some fun, if it stops raining.” 😁 By now, all of the other campers had left. Most had left early, but everyone was gone by then. The weather report looked promising, so I decided to extend our stay. I moved to the campsite next to the original one. It was great! The driveway was less challenging & the space was fantastic! Without a tent, we were sleeping in the car, so it was much more space than we needed anyway.
We’d been stuck in the car for most of 3 days & really needed to stretch our legs, so I opted to walk down to the entrance gate to exchange our car pass for a new one. Timing is everything! The woman at the gate asked me about Maddie. While we were talking about my journey, a car had pulled up, with a dog barking out the window. I finished up & started walking back up to the campsite.
The driver of the car, Lowell, had overheard me say that I didn’t have a tent. He pulled up beside me & offered to give me one! He no longer camps because he bought a house on the edge of this campground. My safety radar went up because this felt too good to be true! He told me he’d go get it & bring it back in about 10 minutes. We agreed to meet back at the gate. 🤔
I took Maddie back up to my car & walked back down to the gate. After waiting 30+ minutes, I was about to give up when Lowell drove up, very apologetic for the delay. He’d packed up a bag of camping gear for me that he no longer needs! He gave me the almost new tent & a brand new backpackers cot, still in the box! In the bag was a variety of things, including: a Citronella candle, bandaids, 2 different antibacterial ointments, a flashlight, kleenex and a Bic lighter. I was overwhelmed!
We stood & talked for a long time. He’s originally from Winston-Salem, NC. He fell in love with this area, so he bought a house & retired there. He’d rescued his beautiful dog, Ellie. I told him that my Mom is my Guardian Angel & I believe she sent him to help me. 😇❣😇
After awhile, I needed to get back to Maddie. He gave me his phone number, in case I needed anything. I thanked him for his kindness & generosity & walked away. He was a perfect Southern gentleman/Guardian Angel 😇.
The tent is WONDERFUL! It’s an automatic set-up style, so it’s ready to use in a few minutes. The cot is very comfortable. Thank you, Lowell. 🤗
The rest of our visit was extremely quiet & peaceful. I had almost zero phone reception. My communication with the outside world was non-existent, except for a few texts that made it in & out. We were the only campers in our entire area! Other than the staff who drove through occasionally, we were alone.
After calm returned to the forest, the wildlife inhabitants came back out. This sweet deer wandered by to eat her breakfast. I was glad Maddie was asleep, so her breakfast was uninterrupted.
I did a lot of meal prep that week. There wasn’t much else to do, so I really enjoyed planning out & preparing my meals.
The day before I was leaving, I found out about a little convenience store right outside the park gate. I had a long talk with the owner about the history of the store & her plans for it in the future. She & her husband are going to add a patio on the back, so they can have live music & a bar for the campers. They had just bought the existing business when COVID hit, so they’re excited to move forward now. I think Salthouse Store & More will be a huge success!
Next stop: North Bend Park Boydton, Virginia
June 8-17
Where's Wendy? Livin' in the Edge! 