Eclipse-3

Day 3 - 8/18/17

Once again, the day's trip was one of beautiful sights but with heavy traffic. The sky was clear, the clouds awesome. I traveled through a small portion of Maryland and into Virginia and even caught a glimpse of the Potomac River.

The Potomac River. Known as "the nation's river," it flows through
West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and DC.
It supplies the six million residents of DC with its water.

Pointing and shooting without looking not only captured
the beautiful landscape....

...but the cloud formations as well.

This mid-day view of southbound I-81 didn't help the pleasurable
ride but did start me thinking about a Plan B. If this was Thursday traffic,
what was the weekend traffic going to be like with the Eclipse Mania?

I finally made it to Buchanan, Virginia and Middle Creek Campground. It was the longest journey into the woods ever. Off the main road, it was another five miles through the Jefferson National Forest before I got to see a sign of civilization. The family owned campground lies on the border of the National Forest. 

The narrow, winding road followed what I'm assuming was Middle Creek
as it meandered through the dense forest. The ride to the
campground crossed the creek many times.

Finally, my first sign that I was on the right path...civilization just ahead.

The forest opened up, the sky was visible and I knew I had arrived.

When I checked in, Susan showed me the site map and
said I could have any one I wanted.

We agreed site 102 would be nice as it was a pull through but when I
drove there, it was occupied so I went a little further and chose 89

This campground opened in the 60's primarily as a
hunting camp. It was difficult determining where my site was.

I drove to different spots, got out of my RV and tried to determine which
electrical box and water pipe belonged to which site.
Very rustic and primitive.

The bathrooms were nearby and at night it provided the only light source
in the entire area. It was pitch black.

I knew whatever site I chose was going to be okay. The entire
area had but two or three pop-ups. Sites were difficult to delineate.
I guessed where one site started and the neighboring one ended.

These were trivial matters as I was busy thinking through a Plan B for tomorrow's anticipated horrendous traffic south into South Carolina. With no traffic the 346 mile trip would take more than five hours. Stay tuned for the trip into Table Rock State Park.