Self-Exile, Waiting & Watching

Location: McKinney Campground (COE); Acworth, Georgia (about 30 miles northwest of Atlanta)

Waiting on news of my A/C replacement and watching the weather forecast. Today is day four of my four day stay in this campground. Like the last one, it is a heavily wooded campground. It reminds me of some of the campgrounds in Oregon near the Columbia River. Although I count the Columbia as the best river I've seen, some of the campgrounds feel like a rain forest with very little sunshine making its way to the ground. In my case here though, I guess that is the trade off to get cooler temperatures. The daytime highs around here are running around 80* which is very tolerable. 

Tomorrow is moving day and I'll be heading about 2 hours northeast of here to Old Federal Campground which is another COE campground. I've learned that the COE campgrounds in north Georgia are changing to a joint operation with some of the local cities/counties. The Corp is assuring everyone that the senior discount pass will still be accepted. After seeing what happened to the TVA campgrounds after they contracted with a concessionaire, I'm doubtful if the pass will be accepted after a few years. I have a feeling that COE camping will be changing for the worse in the years to come. Oh well.

My A/C is still producing cool air about 5* cooler than the outside temperatures. I hope that continues until it is replaced. The good news is, I received confirmation from my mobile RV (A/C) tech down near Mobile, Alabama that my A/C replacement under warranty had been approved by Coleman-Mach. Now we wait until the replacement unit is sent to him. Time estimates range from one week to 3 months. My guess is 2 weeks based on the information and vibes I got from the Coleman warranty tech. I guess we will see. Until then, I have reservations at COE campgrounds here in North Georgia thru October 1st. Two of those campsites are out in the open and I'm gambling the weather stays relatively cool or I'll be baking inside of Liberty. You have to make reservations a couple of weeks in advance because most of the campgrounds around here are booked up on every weekend. A lot of people reserve spots for every weekend of the summer and than cancel them, if need be, based on how their plans change. It's a game they play and we have to play it too by waiting for them to cancel and then swooping in to make our reservations. Games People Play,,,, extra points if you remember the singer/writer. 

I've only done a little exploring while I've been here. I drove up to the dam site and visitor's center. The visitors center was so-so and the overlook view of the dam/powerhouse could be much better if the Corp did a little clearing of some trees. The best thing I've done over the last three days was have a meal at Waffle House. I had a big hankering (southern term) for a big breakfast at dinner time. No place better for that than Waffle House and they didn't disappoint. It was very good. Now it's plumb sad that the big thing over three days is Waffle House. I think maybe this heavy forest is bringing me down.

I'll post a couple of pictures to finish up. 

My campsite here at McKinney. It's a nice site and it may sound crazy, but I'm getting tired of all the trees and shade. 

This is the best view of dam/powerhouse. It is from the overlook above the visitors center. From what I could see it is a nice dam and powerhouse. It looked as if only one turbine was in operations. You can tell how deep the lake is in front of the dam by the height of the spillway by the gates.

I wish the Corps would take more interest in creating a nice viewing place of the dam. 

A different kind of "thinking bench". At least a different kind of thinking. This bench has a great view from above the visitors center. It is a memorial bench, dedicated to a long-serving Corp volunteer. There is no back-story provided, but I'm guessing this was her favorite spot, at least that is the feeling I got when I stood next to it. I did not sit down. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe, I'll Cya down the road.