The Magical Mystery Trip!

May 2024 – Hungry Mother State Park, Marion VA

Generally when we make our travel plans, we (mostly) share in the planning chores. I will admit that Melinda does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to making reservations- she’s a naturally organized person that way, much like I am naturally good at making sure everything is in working order and ready to roll. We work well together, like peas and carrots!

But for this trip she decided that, since I tend to plan many surprises for her, that it was going to be her turn to plan a surprise for me. So she took care of all the scheduling and the only thing I knew when we were taking off is that we were heading north, and that we were NOT attending an Airstream rally. Not that I mind rallies- I’ve come to really enjoy the friends we’ve made and the camaraderie we have at rallies. But after two nearly back to back urban rallies (Silver in the City and Trot to Tryon) I needed a break…I needed some time in the woods

Three hours of driving north up I77, including the very ironic section where you drive north on I-77 while simultaneously driving south on I-81, we passed through the town of Marion, VA and into the curiously named Hungry Mother State Park. And it was exactly what I needed! There are two RV campgrounds- the first is Burson, just as you enter the park. It is easy to access, the spaces are large and accommodating for any size RV and I think most of them are pull through . It is pretty, but typical for an RV campground. The other campground is Creekside, and it is quite the opposite! I mean it is a much prettier campground and, as the name implies, it is right alongside a lovely creek. To quote the website : “There’s a very sharp turn in the road leading to the Creekside campground so guests with large RVs and trailers should take extra care.” To say this is an understatement would be an understatement! The hairpin turn is tight enough that I doubt an RV over 30′ could actually make it without tires dropping off the center of the turn. In fact I’d recommend that one person walks ahead and verifies no one is coming the opposite direction (stay in contact on the phone) before going through. It isn’t long- maybe a 1/4 mile- but two large vehicles are unlikely to safely pass each other. Just warning you!

You also need to do your site selection carefully- these spaces are smaller and not all straight. There are a few pull throughs, but even those can be deceptive- Melinda chose site 10 for us, because it was on the creek AND it was a pull through; but the turn was so tight and so close to the water/power pedestal on the inner curve and close to some wooden connection boxes on the outer curve that I saw no real way of getting Tess in easily (it was also really muddy that day) so I ended up backing her in, disconnecting the truck and pulling it in behind us.

But once we got in…man it was just gorgeous! We pulled out the awning and had the 20′ wide creek right in front of us! There is plenty of room between the spaces so you don’t feel crowded- but we were there the week before Memorial Day and there were never more than 6 other campers there, so it was really quiet. We had mallard ducks swimming in the creek all day- including one solitary guy we referred to as “the bachelor”, crows, deer and even two bear- but we only saw them on our drive into town.

There are quite a few trails, and we did two of the longer ones- Lakeside Trail (long but easy) and Molly’s Knob/Vista (almost as long, but not easy) which was a good workout and had a stunning view as a payoff. After each hike we cooled off with our chairs & feet in the creek. We had some great interactions with a couple of neighbors- Marty & Jean, 70 year old tent campers- but Jean grew up camping with her family in their Airstreams, so we hopefully talked them into “coming home” to the Airstream cult…ummm, community. And two cool ladies traveling in their Travatto van with their waving labradoodle. It was a nice break from the open houses of the rallies!

On Thursday it was raining so we went into town- Marion is another small city that punches above its weight. We walked around and admired some lovely houses, had an amazing lunch at Sisters Cafe and then took a great tour of the stunning Lincoln Theater– it was truly beautiful and worth visiting. It would have been nice to see a movie or musical act there! But while they seem to have things regularly happening, nothing was going on that night. After that the rain got more intense and we headed back for a wild night of severe and close thunderstorms, which Tess weathered like a champ!

So my surprise trip was a tremendous success! from here we take a break from Tess until July, then after that we will be in full Iceland prep mode. Stay tuned!