2024 Outings and Trips

Camping Travel

I made 21 trips and outings in 2023. I’m off to a slightly slower start this year but hope to ramp it up a bit in the next few months.

March 15, 2024: Oregon Inlet Campground, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, NC (Aliner)
Nothing special – just a quiet weekend in Hatteras. The weather was great and I wound up walking almost 10 miles on Saturday. Cell coverage: pretty good with the WeBoost.
March 28, 2024: Ocracoke Island Campground, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, NC (Aliner)
With the ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke temporarily suspended due to over-wash on the northern end of Ocracoke Island, I was able to grab a spot on the Swan Quarter ferry on Thursday afternoon. Although it was rainy on Thursday, it cleared up during the night and the rest of the weekend was beautiful. Fortunately, the road was re-opened Friday afternoon and I was able to take the Hatteras/Ocracoke ferry off the island. Cell coverage: pretty good cell coverage at the campground but the service provider apparently blocks the ability for your phone to act as a hotspot (at least for Google Fi and/or T-Mobile). Although this seems to be a fairly common practice in other countries, it’s apparently rare in the US. In any case, I was not able to find any workaround. Rather annoying.
April 12, 2024: Kiptopeke State Park (Aliner)
I snagged my favorite site (A02) for two nights on what turned out to be a really nice weekend. Blue skies, pleasant temperatures, cool nights–what more could you want? Cell coverage: excellent.
April 26, 2024: Frisco Campground, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, NC (Aliner)
And another one of my favorites sites (P052) was available so it looks like l’ll be hitting my third OBX trip of the year. The forecast looks pretty good so it should make for a nice weekend. Cell coverage: (Google Fi/T-Mobile) was a little sketchy in the campground. Being on the north side of the campground and slightly elevated, I was able to get minimal 5G with the booster – not quite enough to stream video but OK for other stuff.
May 10, 2024: Cedar Point Campground, Croatan National Forest, NC (Aliner)
This is one of the nicest National Forest Campgrounds on the coast. It’s also one of the few campgrounds where you can reserve a site without worrying about whether or not it’s going to be a “good” site when you get there – they’re all good. Nicely paved, reasonably level, spaced out nicely, basically no surprises. Nice trails, a boat launch and dock, and only a few miles from Bogue Banks (part of North Carolina’s Crystal coast.) And very good 5G cell service as well. Highly recommended.
June 1, 2024: False Cape State Park, Virginia Beach, VA (Bike/Tent)
A nice S24O (Sub 24 Overnight) with some good friends at False Cape SP. As close to true primitive camping as you get while being less than 10 miles from a major resort destination.
June 23, 2024: Stony Fork Campground, Jefferson National Forest, Wytheville, VA (Aliner)
Stony Fork is one of my favorite National Forest Campgrounds. Big and flat sites, lots of shade and privacy, with a nice stream running through the campground. On my way out on Sunday, however, I decided to check out Rural Retreat Lake, walk the lake trail, and do a little fishing. It’s a a 90-acre Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR)-owned impoundment located near the Town of Rural Retreat in Wythe County. Next time I have a weekend event in Wytheville, I may have to give their campground a try.
June 30, 2024: Kerr Lake, Hibernia Campground, Henderson, NC (Aliner)
Being a Sunday, I took a chance that there would be vacant site with electricity – and I lucked out. This was really just a convenient stop on the way home as I didn’t feel like pulling in at midnight. It is, however, a great campground – especially when you can snag a site right on the lake.
July 10, 2024: Grayson Highlands State Park (Aliner)
July 13, 2024: Bolar Mountain Recreation Area (Aliner)
July 19, 2024: Virginia International Raceway, Danville, VA (Aliner)
Not my typical camping destination but spending the weekend hanging out a sports car race has been somewhat of a bucket list item and it turned out to be a blast. This was the SRO GT World Challenge (rounds 7 & 8) so although it’s a big event, it’s not so big as to be overwhelming. Plenty of options for setting up the camper and easy to get around the track to experience all the different viewing options. I have to say, having your morning coffee and hearing the first session hit the track at 8AM is really cool. It’s already on my calendar for next year!