It Was a Washout

We had 225 miles to get to our next campground and a storm was in the forecast. Looking at the weather radar showed a spectrum of orange and red color spanning across several states. We wanted to get out ahead of it. One stop for fuel, then we successfully bee-lined it to our campground ahead of the rain. 

Amity Campground near West Point, Georgia is an Army Corp of Engineer (ACE) campground located on West Point Lake. The large man-made reservoir created by damming the Chattahoochee River provides an abundance of recreation that includes fishing, boating and camping. The ACE has several campgrounds along its shore. Driving in, we were impressed by how well it was laid out. A number of loop roads branched away from the main road to a variety of fingers along the shoreline where campsites were sparsely spaced in the timber, many with water access.  

We found our site and saw it had its pluses and minuses. It was technically a waterfront site at the end of a cul-de-sac but the shoreline was a steep 500 feet downhill. The paved parking pad was narrow so there was little room to set up our chairs on level ground and, like it or not, once we stepped out of our camper we were headed down the hill. The picnic table and fire ring were down at another level from the camper. There was a cleared path to walk to the water from our site, so other campers would walk through our site to get down to the lake. I was startled the first time someone came up behind me and said “just passing through”. We had one bar of LTE cell service and internet access was very slow, but things came in if we were patient. Besides the inconveniences, it was a beautiful shaded spot nestled in the tress with a lovely view.

The rain predicted for that afternoon somehow seemed go around us, but the threat remained and we stayed near our campsite. We took a short walk along the shoreline and saw a variety birds. We heard a loud screech from overhead. Grammi said it sounded like a bald eagle. We scanned the skies but we did not see an eagle. We saw an osprey. Maybe it was an osprey or a hawk. Nope, grammi was certain she heard an eagle.

The next day the sky remained gray and intermittent rain persisted throughout the day. A check of the radar showed the heavier rain to our south. Our plan to go to Columbus and explore the riverwalk was a no-go, as they were under the red color on my radar app. Another plan to go to the Roosevelt’s Little White House Historic Site was also scrapped. We tried to make the best of the day. At one point we saw a break in the clouds and took off on a walk around the campground, only to be forced to hurry back in the rain.

At the southern end of West Lake is the dam. It was a short ride in the truck to check it out. We drove over the narrow road crossing the top of the dam that holds back the Chattahoochee River creating the large reservoir. The water passes the dam through three generators creating hydroelectric power.

A break in the rain allowed us to walk around the dam and see the outflow. Observation decks and a walkway leading to the dam gave us a great view. Fishermen, clad in rain gear, stood along the walkway tending rods cast into the swift flowing water below. The ACE offers tours of the power plant but we didn’t inquire about the specifics and passed on it.

We drove into town. I don’t remember why, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. West Point and Lanett by all appearance seem like the same town. Only separated by a line painted across the street and a sign indicating the state line between Georgia and Alabama. What I didn’t see, although it may have been there, was a sign advising us we entered a different time zone. How people who live so close to the time zone line deal with that oddity is beyond me. The clocks on our phones were confused, one an hour off from the other. The light rain started to intensify, so we didn’t linger too long in town. We grabbed a togo lunch and went back to the camper.

We awoke the next morning to the sound of rain hitting the roof of the camper. No doubt the brunt of the storm that was lingering the past three days is finally upon us. The noise was loud enough to get us both out of bed a little earlier than we may of liked. I checked the weather apps and grammi went straight to Facebook where she saw stories about RVer’s being pummeled by baseball size hail and high winds overnight. We were relieved to learn the most severe weather was passing south of us. Still, we were in for a wet and stormy day.

Finally around three o’clock in the afternoon the rain let up. I opened the door and stepped outside. Across the campground people were doing the same thing, stepping out, looking up, squinting their eyes and stretching their arms. “It feels good to get out after being closed up all day”, I said to the guy parked next to us. “Yeah, you should try it with a bunch of kids”, was his reply. “No thanks”, I said. I know I counted a half dozen kids over there yesterday. I can’t say I felt sorry for the guy. 

We took a little drive. I wanted to fill up the truck for our travel day tomorrow. When we returned, we packed a small cooler and carried our chairs down to the water. We sat there in the sunshine for a couple of hours. It felt good. We watched people get out on their boats and inner tubes. We bird watched. We heard that screech again. “I hear the eagle” grammi said. This time when we looked up we saw not one, but two bald eagle flying together. It was a wonderful thing to see those magnificent birds. They flew across the lake and landed in the trees. “See there, I told you I heard an eagle”, grammi said proudly.

This is a beautiful area and we really like the campground, though we might pick a different site next time. We had plans to see much more than we were able to though. For us, it was a washout. We move ahead with our journey tomorrow. One problem with booking reservation out in advance is not having the option to stay a couple more days. We will have to make it a priority to return here soon.

So until next time…happy days and safe travels.