A "Special" Camping Weekend

kanyonkitty · 04-18-2010, 06:32 PM

Well, Gary & I had the PLEASURE to spend the weekend camping with John & Cindy Barca. We decided to try to meet approx 1/2 way, which lead us to the KOA located in Washington, PA. I live in WV which is known as the "Mountain State". Trust me, this KOA could easily fit in with the mountain state. You have some pretty steep inclines/decents getting to the campground, and then going to your site you realize the sites are "tiered" up/down the hillside. The parking pads were cut into the hillside to minimize leveling problems, but the grass yard had some slope to it. We had adjoining sites which made it very nice for spending time visiting one another. We (Gary & I) were invited in the Barca abode for breakfast both mornings, then we did dinner one night at each rig. We had such a wonderful time just chilling out & spending some great social time with John & Cindy. I think we even ended up learning a few thing, too. OH, one thing we learned was the we had no sewer hose, so John lent us his "Rhino" hose. Just might have to get one of those.

This was our maiden voyage for the 5th wheel, and Gary & I kept saying all weekend how much we "loved it". And, get this, I even still have EMPTY cabinets in it.

Got the Barca Coach Tour & Modification information. Might have to apply a few of those to the 5er.

Weather was cloudy and cool, so we spent a lot of time inside just have a fantastic time socializing and discussing what else ?, "Sunlines"

We towed the 5er with my '05 F-350 short bed, and Gary really does not like towing with the short bed and HATES the built in brake controller, as it is one of the early models and doe not want lock up the brakes unless you are doing about 15mph. This is not good for doing your "pull test" on the hitch connection. Hopefully soon we will begin towing with the 1994 FFV diesel F-350 crew cab longbed.

IF you ever get a chance to spend a weekend camping with the Barcas', don't pass it up. Gary & I really enjoyed our time with John & Cindy, but sadly it came to an end way too soon.

Kitty

EMD_Driver · 04-18-2010, 06:38 PM

Here's a pic, that shows the terrain of the CG... What you can't see, is the 4% grade of the entry road and the 5+% grade of the exit road... Whew! Kitty's F350 brake controller doesn't activate until you reach 15MPH. The trip down the hill was accomplished using only the truck's brakes.

It's also proof that we got to actually camp with John and Cindy!!

The fiver looks good in the evening light!

Unfortunately, we couldn't use the "New" TV.. but Kitty's truck was up to the challenge!

More proof, that we camped with John and Cindy... Here's Kitty in the T-310SR

**JohnB** · 04-18-2010, 08:06 PM

H’mm What are the odds….

One Sunline heads East.
One Sunline heads West.

2 Sunlines, 2 2005 Ford F350’s, Same campground, Camped side by side, each even came with there own Weber Baby que..... Who would a thunk…

I thought I was in the wrong state… This rolling hill sides resembled Kitty Country.

Here, this one does more justice to the 5% grade.. What goes up must come down…

Cindy and I where both honored to attend Kitty’s and Gary’s first campout in their new rig with them. It was special.

John

Trailblazer · 04-18-2010, 08:19 PM

Congrats on the maiden voyage. Glad your were finally able to get out with the 5'ver. Hopefully you enjoyed your maiden trip as much as we enjoyed ours. Like you we still have lots of empty cabinets.

The campground looks really nice.

Galaxiedriver · 04-19-2010, 08:14 AM

Sounds like a great time and the Sunlines look great.

That area is my old home stomping grounds. We had a farm around 30 miles north of Washington in a little place called Hookstown. When my Dad sold the farm and retired he moved to Washington and spent his last years there.

That whole tri-state area was booming with family farms when I was a kid and now most are gone. Pretty much the same for steel mills, potteries and other industry that once thrived there.

henryj · 04-19-2010, 10:52 AM

We camped on a hill like that outside Amana Colonies just weeks after getting the A-frame on the 2499 welded up. I was still paranoid about it twisting as we maneuvered in and then used every single block I had to get it level. Only we had to pull in the opposite way and the door was downhill. Rarely have to use our step stool, but this time it wasn't even high enough. I crossed that campground off our list as we had one of the few "better" sites. Many of the campers were seasonal as they also had a lake, but it was not a good spot for overnighters.

Glad to hear the maiden voyage went well and a good time was had by all. Looking forward to traveling through WV in June!

Henry

kanyonkitty · 04-19-2010, 04:31 PM

OH, forgot to mention the added excitement that was un-expected. Mid-morning sunday, Gary was exiting the rig and ol' sneaky KD decided to take a tour of the KOA. She quickly slipped past Gary and off she went. Gary ran over to John & Cindys', popped his head in the door and said KD took off. For anyone that does not know about Greyhounds, the one draw back is that they DO NOT come when you call them if they get loose. OH, she was just having a grand ol time running thru the campground. I really thought OK go in get online to "Grey-Talk" and post a 911 Grey loose in Washington, PA KOA. She would come only so close to any of us and then just whiz past. Finally she slowed down a bit, and I thought to bribe her with "KD want a cookie" Well, she paused her running so I asked her again, and she headed towards me, so the cookie bribe worked, and she came to me and I grabbed her collar. I didn't have any cookies with me, but once I got her back to the rig, I did give her cookies. All the while I had this vision of me staying at the KOA for god knows how many days to get help and catch her. I doubt that Gary & I will ever forget the X-pens again. They are our safety shield should she slip out the door unleashed.

Kitty

jsms264 · 04-22-2010, 10:21 PM

We stayed at that KOA in August of 2008 on our way to Hungry Mother State Park in Marion VA. (Hungry Mother is one of the nicest CG I have ever been to BTW). Anyways we pulled in there after a long day of towing and all I can say is the hill climbs in that CG are sick! I remember after we checked in going around the bend to the left immediatly after leaving the store, and making one crazy ass hill climb to the top and then making a 180 to go back down....what a fun adventure. I have pics somewhere...

Sounds like you guys had a great time, good for you!