RV ALASKA - 2024 Outdoors RV Owners East Coast Rally

In planning to spend the summer of 2024 in Alaska, Alan and I were working within certain parameters.  We had secured a highly coveted waterfront site at Northampton Beach Campground on Great Sacandaga Lake in central New York for the opening weekend of the 2024 camping season.  Plus, Ryan and Anya (our son and daughter-in-law) and friends Bernie, Carol, Cliff and Diane (fellow Outdoors RV owners) were joining us there.  So, the departure date for our Alaska adventure was actually the day after Memorial Day when we broke camp at Northampton Beach.  At the other end of the trip was the 2024 Outdoors RV (ORV) Owners East Coast Rally scheduled for mid-September at Pocahontas State Park in Virginia.  Because we had missed the last three annual rallies, Alan and I were determined to attend this one.

When we left Dam West on Carlyle Lake in Illinois, we were pushing hard to arrive at the rally on September 19^th.  That would mean two days of driving through Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia and most of Virginia.  After a quick one night layover at Kentucky Horse Park State Park near Lexington, we pushed on to Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield, Virginia.  By this time, Alan and I were a bit road weary, but the thought of reconnecting with ORV friends, old and new, made the final push worthwhile.  Following the rally, we had planned to spend four nights at North Bend, an Army Corps of Engineers (COE) campground on the John Kerr Reservoir – a large body of water on the Virginia/North Carolina border.  North Bend had been on my bucket list for years, but we never made it there because it was kinda sorta in the middle of nowhere.  As it turns out, “the middle of nowhere” was just an hour and a half from the ORV rally, and Alan and I decided that a few days of down time at a bucket list campground would be an excellent way to end our Alaska expedition.  Little did we know we were in for a surprise ending.

Date(s) – September 18th – September 23rd

Total Miles Traveled to Date – 20,138 (Twenty thousand miles!  We hit that milestone on our way from the ORV rally at Pocahontas State Park to North Bend.)

Wildlife Sightings to Date – Between our stay at Pocahontas and our stay at North Bend, we only saw 3 turkeys and 1 great blue heron.  (Note to Cliff and Diane: We are NOT counting the North Bend vultures!)

So, our current count of wildlife sightings is: 1 fox; 4 feral horses; 3 loons; 2 ptarmigans; 10 ospreys; 101 dalmatians eagles (including 2 fledglings); 4 seagull chicks; 19 swans (including 2 fuzzy cygnets); 15 turkeys (including 5 half-grown young’uns); 9 sea lions; 33 seals; 17 sea otters; 1 river otter; 4 cow moose; 1 bull moose; 5 grizzly bears (including a sow with 2 cubs and the back end of one grizzly retreating into the brush); 8 black bears; 1 coyote; 1 snowshoe hare; 9 rabbits (including one cute little baby bunny and one very fast bunny that just managed to cross the road safely); several small herds of bison with at least 2 dozen young calves; 26 deer (including 3 fawns and 2 bucks with their racks covered in velvet); 9 mountain goats (including 3 tiny and adorable kids); 23 bighorn sheep; 62 elk (including 7 calves that hadn’t yet lost their spots and a number of bull elk with full racks covered in velvet); several small herds of pronghorn antelope (including 2 mamas with 3 newborn fawns between them); 24 great blue herons; dozens of American white pelicans; countless cormorants; at least a half dozen families of adult geese with goslings; and several dozen ducks (with lots of little ducklings).

Highlight(s) of the Day – Outdoors RV (ORV) is a small company in eastern Oregon that manufactures travel trailers and fifth wheels geared toward the outdoor enthusiasts of the Pacific Northwest and western Canada.  Consequently, there are relatively few ORV rigs to be found along the east coast.  Each year, an owners rally is held near the manufacturing plant in La Grande, Oregon.  The last time I checked attendance for that event, I think it was running at 60 to 80 people so, roughly, 30 to 40 rigs.  Because the rally in Oregon was out of reach for many ORV owners in the eastern half of the country, one ORV owner in Pennsylvania initiated an annual rally for east coast owners back in 2018.  Alan and I weren’t able to attend that inaugural rally, but we did attend the one held in New Hampshire in 2019.  There were six rigs at that rally (two of them from Texas) and eight at the 2020 rally.  Since the early days, the Outdoors RV Owners East Coast Rally has grown by leaps and bounds, and between 15 and 20 rigs made it to Pocahontas State Park in September.  Considering the fact that, until recently, the closest ORV dealer to the east coast was in Colorado, those rigs reflected a serious commitment to the ORV brand, and a number of states up and down the east coast were represented.  Wagon Masters Sharon and Dave did a fabulous job organizing the event, and a good time was had by all.  Cliff and Diane hosted an ice cream social at their campsite on Friday night, bringing with them fresh ice cream direct from the creamery at Penn State University.  (Yum!)  Sharon and Dave planned a huge pot luck dinner for Saturday night at one of the park’s pavilions which was a big hit with an extraordinary variety of good eats.  Alan and I are fans of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and grateful for the impressive work the young men of the organization have done in so many of our public parks.  There is a small, but excellent, CCC Museum on the grounds of Pocahontas State Park, and Cliff and Diane joined us on our visit to it.  Most enjoyable, however, was the chance to catch up with other ORV owners we’ve met along the way - Kathy & Gerry (we met them at an earlier rally) and Larry & Teri (you may remember that we met them in Alaska this summer when our respective ORV rigs ended up in adjacent campsites in Palmer).  We also had a chance to meet other ORV owners with whom we’ve only been in communication via our Outdoors RV Owners Forum on iRV2.com.  That would be Bob & Deb (from Pennsylvania) and Ken & Vicki (from South Carolina).  What a treat to visit with these folks, and meet other ORV owners whose paths we were crossing for the first time - a good time, indeed!  Apparently, since Alan and I didn’t organize the event (we hosted the 2020 rally), I had no misgivings in reference to not taking photos.  I don’t have a single pic from the rally to share.  Wow!  I guess I really was getting road weary!

The four nights we planned to stay at North Bend following the ORV rally represented the final campground stay of our Alaska expedition.  (We had just one more night to go before our arrival home, and that one was to be spent in the Cabela’s parking lot in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.)  We expected no company at North Bend, and figured we’d quietly finish out our trip on the shoreline of the John Kerr Reservoir by ourselves.  From the rally, Cliff and Diane were continuing on to visit family in North Carolina.  In a last minute decision, they decided to overnight at North Bend with us on their way south, leaving us with a surprising and delightful ending to our expedition.  Enjoying their company at the end of our trip was especially heartwarming since we had started our 2024 camping season with them back in May at Great Lake Sacandaga.  Fate must have been smiling when Cliff was booking their reservation, because the waterfront site right next to ours was available.  Sweet!  We were able to enjoy a lovely dinner on the shoreline with our friends as the sun set over the reservoir.  They left the next morning to continue their trip, leaving us all alone at the end of our little peninsula.  Sigh.  Our friendship with Cliff and Diane is one of those long-lasting relationships we’ve been blessed with through our RVing adventures.  Safe travels, friends.  I trust that we’ll be camping buddies again before too much time goes by.               

Lowlight(s) of the Day – Honestly, I think the only lowlight of these six days was the rain that moved into area around the North Bend Campground.  It prompted us to cut our visit there in half, staying only two nights instead of four.  Those extra days would have allowed us a chance to connect with Bob & Deb again, whose company we enjoyed at the rally and who had moved on to another campground on the same reservoir.  So disappointing – especially since North Bend had been on the bucket list for a number of years.

Campground(s) – Our one night layover at Kentucky Horse Park State Park worked out well.  We were familiar with this campground and its convenient location not far off the Interstate in Lexington from a previous trip.  Our preferred site – a long pull-through – was already booked, but I was able to snag site #3.  We had camped in site #1 previously, and I knew #3 would have the same lovely view out the big back window.  We paid $45.00 for a site with water and electric; a good dump station was available.  The site itself was only $40.00, and we did enjoy a senior discount, but the $6.00 reservation fee and another $6.00 in taxes (doesn’t that seem high?) brought the total to $45.00.  This campground is adjacent to the Kentucky Horse Park – an amazing and educational experience we highly recommend for anyone interested in horses.  Plus, the 12 mile Legacy Trail for walking or biking can be easily accessed right from the campground.  This time, we rolled in after the campground office had closed, and left early in the morning before it opened.  (No problem, since our site was bought and paid for via ReserveAmerica.)  The last time we stayed, we were poorly impressed by the front desk staff, but that wouldn’t keep us from staying here again when in the Lexington area.  The campground is too lovely to let a couple of bad actors ruin our stay.

Pocahontas State Park was an excellent choice for the rally, and it was just a short drive from Chesterfield.  That being said, it wasn’t an “Oh, wow!” park for us, and we probably won’t return.   We paid $44.00 per night for a water and electric site, including taxes and a $5.00 reservation fee, and there’s a good dump station.  Coincidentally, we ended up “next to” Larry and Teri again at this campsite (just like we did in Palmer, Alaska), separated only by a campground road.  Fate has an interesting sense of humor, doesn't it?

When I first came across North Bend Campground some years back, I knew I wanted to camp there.  An Army Corps of Engineers facility on the humongous John Kerr Reservoir with tons of waterfront sites, this campground definitely called my name.  Our stay at Pocahontas State Park set us up for a drive of only about an hour and a half to North Bend – an opportunity we couldn’t pass up, despite the fact that Alan and I were getting a bit road weary and were looking forward to getting home.  Sadly, the site I had identified as the one in which I would most like to camp was just a little too short for our rig.  Alan can put that trailer just about anywhere, but it was obvious that the site wasn’t going to be comfortable, even if he did manage to shoehorn us into it.  Instead, we chose site #161 – and an excellent choice it was!  This campground has a number of small peninsulas jutting out into the water, so your chances of having a wonderful view are pretty darn good.  North Bend seemed to be pretty quiet when we were there; as I mentioned, Cliff and Diane easily claimed the waterfront site next to us, which made our first evening at North Bend a special event.  We had no hookups (but drinking water and a dump station were available), but the cost of a waterfront site with a spectacular view was only $24.00 per night.  With Alan’s Senior Parks Pass, we paid just $12.00 per night – and no taxes or reservation fee.  It almost made me feel guilty.  Almost.  If North Bend wasn’t in the middle of nowhere, I’m sure we’d return in a heartbeat.  Despite its location, though, it will always be in the back of my mind.  If we should ever pass through that area again, you’ll find us back at North Bend. 

Laugh(s) of the Day – I have a story to share.  It’s something we’ve never had happen before in our more than 80,000 miles of traveling with an RV.  To tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure whether I should call it a highlight or a lowlight.  Since we all ended up having a good laugh about it, I figured I’d just stick it here.

Regular readers know Alan and I love Army Corps of Engineers (COE) campgrounds.  They’re usually well-designed and well-maintained, and always on a body of water, be it a lake or river.  Right up our alley.  North Bend was no exception and, from what I could tell, it had all the makings of an excellent example of the COE’s attention to detail.

After Cliff and Diane decided to overnight with us at North Bend, we agreed that we’d leave Pocahontas State Park on Sunday afternoon.  They pulled out about a half hour before Alan and I did, and we expected them to be settled into their campsite by the time we arrived.

We plugged North Bend into our RV-specific GPS, and pointed the truck to the southwest.  As we were getting close, “Zoe” (our GPS unit) told us to turn on a (very) small gravel road.  Oh, boy, that doesn’t look good.  Checking with Cliff and Diane, we were told no worries, come ahead.  The road went back to pavement after a short while.  Okay.  And, by the way, did you guys see the dilapidated old house with more than a dozen vultures hanging out on the roof and the lawn?  Yup, we did.  (The tune from “Deliverance” came to mind.)  Back on pavement, Alan and I were getting close to the gatehouse at the entrance to North Bend.  This time it was Cliff and Diane who reached out to us.  The staff member at the gate (who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty) told them there was no way we’d fit our rigs in the sites we booked.  The turnaround down on that little peninsula was so small he could barely turn his Jeep around.  Seriously?  This is the Army Corps of Engineers we’re talking about.  If Recreation.gov says those sites will take 35’ rigs, then both of ours will fit with no problem.  (For the record, both Alan and Cliff are super-experienced when it comes to trailers, so I’m not surprised that neither of them accepted the staff member’s comment at face value.)  Cliff said he was going down to check it out.  The staff member said there’s no way you’ll be able to turn around down there.  Better leave your rig at the top of the peninsula and walk down.  Cliff told him he could back up hay wagons for miles, and he was going down to check out the site.  Cliff and Diane had already headed out on their reconnaissance mission by the time we rolled up to the gate.  Cliff had suggested that we wait there, just in case we wouldn’t fit.  The staff member had promised to assign us other sites, and that way we could just bring their new site tag with us.  No problem, we’ll wait.  So, what did Cliff say when he called back?  “C’mon down!  No problem at all!”  Okay, then.  When we told the staff member at the gate that Cliff said we’d fit without any trouble, he was definitely skeptical.  When we arrived at our site, I think Cliff’s comment was that you could practically turn a tractor trailer around here.  Thinking back to the (forever nameless) staff member’s comment that he could barely turn his Jeep around down there, we all figured one of two things.  Either (1) he got our peninsula mixed up with another one where we really wouldn’t have fit or (2) he shouldn’t have a driver’s license. 

Pics(s) of the Day

Kentucky Horse Park State Park - Site #3

Yup, a hydroplane.  You never know what you'll see traveling down the Interstate.

Almost heaven - West Virginia

Pocahontas State Park - Site #105

A small museum on the grounds of Pocahontas State Park

Excellent exhibits!

Who knew?!

North Bend on the John Kerr Reservoir - Site #161

Like Cliff said, you could practically turn a tractor trailer around down there.

Diane, Cliff, Alan and me - enjoying an evening meal at the water's edge

Followed by a stunning sunset over the reservoir

There we are, all alone on our peninsula the next day.

Up Next – Once we left North Bend, Alan and I had a two day drive home.  At that point, it was hard to believe that our Alaska adventure was winding down to its conclusion.  “Would we do this again?”  Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets - and stay tuned for the answer!