New Year's trip to Crooked River State Park, St. Marys, Georgia

 This was our first visit to Crooked River State Park.  I will start by saying that the campsites are VERY roomy.  Even the closest campsites were no worse than average size sites in most parks.  The campground is very RV friendly (both motorhomes and travel trailers).  There were no sharp turns and I didn't see any curves or back in sites where trees would be an issue.  There are quite a few pull through sites and I'd say around half of the sites have full hook-ups.  There were only two sites that might be a little tricky for an RV and those are 42 & 43 as they are at the end of a dead end road.  Our site was #31, a pull through with 20/30/50 amp service, water with dual spigots and sewer hook-up.  The only concern we had was whether or not our grey/black water drain hose would reach the drain as it and the power/water are all at the back end of where our trailer sat.  Luckily we did have enough hose (just).  If we hadn't we would have been fine as the local Wal-Mart has a rather robust RV section and there were several waste hoses on the shelf.  The park was very well maintained with lots to do if you chose to partake.  There was a mini golf course, a small nature center, several trails, a boat ramp, playground and plenty of flat roads for biking (we didn't bring the bikes this trip, we will next time).

Crooked River is adjacent to the Navy's Kings Bay submarine base although you'd never know it while in the park.  St. Marys is a nice quiet coastal town.  The waterfront reminded Robin and me of the town of Beaufort, NC which is near where I was stationed while in the Marine Corps.  The waterfront part of St. Marys makes for a nice walk even during winter.  This is also where you can catch the ferry boat to ride out to Cumberland Island National Seashore.  We checked but the ferry was booked for when we wanted to go out to/return from the island.  That just gives us a reason to visit Crooked River again in the future.  About three miles from the state park you will find what remains of the McIntosh Sugar Works.  This is a tabby construction and is a nice little stop if you'd like to explore.  (Tabby is a type of construction that uses oyster shells to create a type of concrete.)  St. Marys, Georgia is also close to both Jekyll Island to the north and Amelia Island, Florida just to the south so a visit to Crooked River is full of possibilities for things to do.

Now, our little SNAFU... We have a Dish Playmaker Dual satellite antenna and a single Wally receiver.  Keep that in mind, as the fact that the antenna is a DUAL and we have a single receiver are key pieces of information.  Since we were camping on New Year's Day there were, as I'm sure you are aware, a couple of rather big college football games being played that day.  Since the weather was perfect and our camper has a nice 40 inch television mounted in the camp kitchen and we had perfect reception with the Dish I thought, what a perfect time to watch some football while outside near the fire.  As I previously mentioned, we have one Wally receiver.  I have wrapped up and zip tied the cables running to the receiver in order to keep them neat and organized so moving our one Wally wasn't an option.  No worries, I carry a ten foot HDMI cord and our outdoor TV is positioned such that we can run the HDMI cable out next to the slide through the rubber seal and hook up to the outdoor TV without having to move the equipment inside the trailer.  We had already discussed buying a second Wally for our outdoor TV, we just hadn't done it yet.  This set up worked great and we left the HDMI cable connected to the outdoor TV incase we wished to watch anything else the next evening.  To watch the indoor TV it was simply a matter of pulling the cable for the outdoor TV from the Wally and connecting the cable from the indoor TV to it.  Now for the other important part of the story, the fan.  We have a regular floor fan that we carry in the camper.  It really helps keep the air circulating and greatly reduces the work the air conditioner has to do.  We place two small fans next to the windows on either side of the rear of the trailer pulling air in and we put the floor fan in the tunnel created between the kitchen island and the wall housing the stove and some cabinets where it fits perfectly, about half an inch to spare on either side.  This wall is part of the slide (another key piece of information!).  Fast forward to Saturday night after the campfire has died down (we did not watch any TV outside that evening by the way) and, knowing that the forecast called for rain that evening I wanted to get everything buttoned up outside.  Remember how I said we run the HDMI cable out along the slide through the rubber seals?  Well, in order to do this you have to bring the slide in about 3 inches.  Naturally, if you have to bring the slide in 3 inches to snake the cable out of the camper, you have to bring the slide in 3 inches in order to retrieve said cable.  Remember when I said that the fan fit perfectly with about half an inch to spare on either side?  Well, when you forget that the fan is sitting next to the island and you move your slide in 3 inches, guess where your fan goes?  Yep, right through your cabinet door.  Luckily I was able to get the parts information from Apex so I can order a replacement door.  I'm sure that the door will cost at least $100 if not more.  The cost of a second Wally receiver by the way... $99.  Lesson learned, ALWAYS check for obstacles before moving your slides in or out.