Our stay at Merchants Millpond began Sunday afternoon. We had our choice of many campsites (non-electric), which cost $12/night (senior discounts rock). Was it quiet? That is a difficult thing to find these days, humanity having spread its noisiness almost everywhere. But yes, except for the camper who ran his generator for 30 min., it was quiet (with the moan of traffic in the distance).
The park has about 25 non-electric sites, more than half can easily accommodate a teardrop or a little larger. The all important facilities were clean and the showers hot. Our T@B is a Q model, no bathroom, so we always hope for nice facilities, especially hot showers. The park office has a really nice museum quality displays about the natural and cultural history of the park
We enjoyed the cool mornings and the warmth of our little “Puff” teardrop trailer. The ALDE heating system worked great, as did the gas stove and water system. This was our first multi-night non-electric campout, and we were able to easily manage our power usage over two days. We cooked both inside and outside, including delicious steak kabobs on the campfire.
More about our T@B for T@BBERS – We added a door alarm purchased at Lowes for $12. It beeps or blares if someone opens the door uninvited. I have found the wheel lock to not be a necessary security item on the road, but I do try to keep it on at home. Vodka did a satisfactory (though more expensive) job of winterizing, without the lingering flavor of anti-freeze. The water pump, originally very noisy, has quieted down on its own and is working well. I plan to add a strobe light on the back of the trailer to alert speeding drivers of our slower pace, like the ones they use on NC school buses. We noticed a drop of 2 mpg with the added kayaks. Oh well. Hope to add our “Puff the M@gic Dr@gon” decals soon. Look for us soon in Ohio for birdings biggest week.
Birding is always part of our wild adventures but we were so busy paddling and enjoying the whole experience I did not take ONE single picture of a bird. Yeah, I know. Crazy. Photography while kayaking is risky for the camera gear, and its difficult to stay still. Even the finding or looking at a bird can be a challenge. I did take time to get some audio of some bird calls we were hearing, which you can listen to below.