After lunch yesterday, we decided to check out Tanglewood Park just outside Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It seemed like a good idea on a rainy day with no let up in the precip in the forecast.

To say the 1000+ acre park is beautiful is understatement. We paid an entrance fee of $2.00 and drove around for about 45 minutes just getting a feel for what was available to us.  Great waking/biking trails are available. Golf, if that's your thing, including a driving range. Tennis. Swimming. Picnic shelters. Lakes. Music venue. Horseback riding. And an RV park. And Tanglewood offers one of the most beautiful old growth deciduous forests we've come across. 

We were scheduled to boondock in Wilkesboro, but after seeing the great venue Tanglewood provides, we decided to check out the RV park there too.  I asked Melanie if she'd consider staying there if there happened to be a vacancy. I'd tried to book us a week back with no luck, but figured since it was rainy, maybe someone had cancelled. 

I was right and so we decided, given the inclement weather, we'd like to be hooked up for the evening to try and keep the humidity at bay.

There's nothing too special about the RV park. The park is, however, among a great stand of beautiful old growth oaks. It's clean and well kept. The hosts are friendly. The shower house clean given the wet conditions. The pads are asphalt.  And it's quiet.

But be aware that many of the sites are not level. And not just slightly. Some of the sites will take real work if you want to be level.

While I did not check out all the sites, I can say the row we were on (40's) were all pretty reasonably level and had the benefit of being at the back of the park. Stay away from the lower 30's sites.

My only regret is we weren't able to take advantage of the great park amenities because of the weather. 

Bandits Roost campground is (yet another) stellar Army Corp of Engineers campground. 

We stayed here for two nights on our way to Winston-Salem. Arriving early, we were graciously checked in only to find our reserved campsite occupied. No worries, says the nice volunteer, the current occupants will be out by 3 and you can move in. Fine. 

We decided to check out Wilkesboro, just 6 miles away. After enjoying a latte at a local establishment, Melanie had work and, having seen a laundromat on the way into town, I suggested we park in the laundromat parking lot, let Melanie work while I did laundry. 

Finishing our laundry at around 4:30, we made our way back to the campground only to find it still occupied. A new volunteer was on duty and, after explaining we could, if we wanted, continue to wait for our site, gave us options as alternatives to our booked site. We choose on of the three sites he suggested, 22A, which, turns out, was a much, much better campsite this time of year.

When choosing a site in this campground, default to the "A" loop. Sites 23-28 are out on a point and have great views, but with those great views comes great exposure. This time of year especially.  Spring and Fall might be a good time. You have full hook-up, but the sun will bake you during hotter times of the year. Sites 18-22 are water front and have great shade trees.

We will have spent 3 nights in this National Forest Campground when we leave tomorrow. The campground is organized into 8 loops and most every site has just enough privacy for this type of camping. Site 145, the one in which we currently reside, is directly on the Davidson River and is currently a "walkup" only site (no reservations). I showed up Sunday without reservation and was able to book it.

Davidson is just three miles from downtown Brevard. There are grocery stores and breweries and a giant bike shop nearby, among other amenities. I see people trout fishing in the Davidson. There's nice trail that runs much of the way into town so I took the bike for a spin into town this morning. 

It's a gem.