The first night in our camper

October 2010
Rippling Waters Church of God Campground, West Virginia http://www.ripplingwaterscog.webs.com/

We were driving from Indiana to the Western part of Virginia through Ohio and W. VA. We got as far as W. VA after driving most of the day and stopped at a rest stop just over the border to ask about campgrounds. They recommended one that was about an hour down the highway right before Charleston, that was owned by a church. We found it after driving quite a ways (it seemed) off the highway, and it turned out to be quite nice. There was fast fading evening light, so we tried to back the camper in and set up as fast as possible. Lets just say that the first time backing in was a laugh. We ended up pushing it into the site (thankfully it doesn't weigh very much and is easily maneuverable with one person pushing it). 



Pond with a little chapel at the campground

I wished we had watched the setup video on the company website at least two more times before attempting to do this in a rush. We were unable to use electricity that night because the connections in the part of the campground that was opened was not yet converted to 30 amp, which is what the camper has. So, by flashlight we worked, taking about an hour to set everything up. It was starting to get cold by this time, it being mid-October in the W. VA mountains. After driving all day, all we wanted to do was grab a quick something to eat and crash into bed. The camper body is all aluminum (a major selling point for us) so conducts heat and cold very easily. I froze that night, since we hadn't installed the flooring mat for the camper and since we didn't have electricity, there was no way to set up the heater we had gotten at the Wal Mart down the road. At least we had two foam mattresses which were fairly comfortable to lie on. We had actually entertained the idea of staying at the Wal Mart, but there were too many lights in the parking lot, and a lot of traffic for such a rural area. Wal Mart has a fairly liberal policy of allowing campers to set up for the night, as they will benefit when the people go in the next day to buy items.
Here are some photos of the campground, but not of our site, which was a grassy strip with electrical outlets and water along the side.


Permanent campers across pond from chapel

 The people who had campers set up year round had the best sites, overlooking the little pond.

We didn't stay long at the campground, no electricity, no hot coffee... Besides we had to get to a friend's house in VA. If things had been different - a great place to relax, take walks and explore the surrounding countryside.