Valentines Day, February 14th: Catching a break, we escaped the uncomfortable weather in Jonestown and had a sunny and pleasant 4 hour drive to Walnut Hills RV Park near Staunton, Virginia. We have stayed at Walnut Hills before. It's a very nice park with lots of areas to walk Parker and Maggie, and great hillside views.
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| Hillside site 416 |
There are heavy rain and high wind warnings out for the entire weekend, so we extended our stay for one more day and will move on to Wytheville, VA on Monday, Presidents Day. The rains Saturday night melted any remaining snow, but also brought some minor flooding to the campground in spots. The rain was replaced Sunday afternoon with temps in the 50's, but also wind gusts in the 50's.
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| We are high and dry up on the hill. |
On Monday the 17th the weather was clear and so we moved on to the Wytheville KOA for one night. This is an excellent KOA with large pull thru sites and lots of space for dog walking. We keep thinking we are going to stay in the area for a few days sometime, but it always seems like our schedule gets messed up, just like this year.
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| There were only 5 of us hearty soles. |
Tuesday, the 18th. We are in the Central Time Zone now, and have arrived at the KOA in Crossville, TN to a beautiful sunny and 45 degree afternoon. It was a pleasant drive on I-81 and I-40, except for a very busy 5 lanes of traffic around Knoxville. We have a beautiful patio site.
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| Early sign of spring...but it didn't last long! |
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| Parker and Maggie checking out a small herd of cattle next door. |
Because of a weather advisory for couple inches of snow Wednesday, and lows Friday morning of 10 degrees, we have extended our stay for 1 more night. We will now leave Saturday and have a long drive to Memphis on Saturday. 60’s predicted in Memphis next week. Finally!! But until then, Mother Nature is still toying and challenging us with lows in the teens and a couple inches of snow. Sure enough, Wednesday morning!!!!
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| Looks like we landed on the moon! |
Temperature wise, our 4 night stay in Crossville was BRUTAL! Friday morning we awoke to 10 degrees!! We needed both the propane furnace and the electric fireplace to keep the camper warm. Thankfully the day ended up being pleasant with sun and 40 degree temps.
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| Blue Ridge Mountains on a snowy day. |
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| The same view a day later. |
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| Beautiful KOA office and store. |
So, to summarize, we have survived camping in below freezing weather. We even learned a few things. It's not especially fun, but it's doable. We took our time and waited out the weather to travel only on clear days. The RV furnace goes through propane like crazy, so have a source nearby. And most of all, keep a positive attitude. Remember, it's all part of the RV adventure.
This KOA turned out to be a wonderful stop, even in the cold, and family run by some very nice people. We would like to come back sometime, maybe in the fall. They said fall colors are their busy season.
Saturday is looking good, so we will move on to Memphis.
Visit our previous post from February 15th;
2025: "It's time to find some warmer weather" HERE.
