Sunday, September 16, 2012

The Great Northern Redneck Adventure–Chapter 6– Staying at the “Best little Redneck RV Park”

As the day’s last light continued to fade, we continued northward along Coeur D’Alene River Road, going deeper into the forest and farther from a dependable cellular signal, hoping that the Google Maps GPS Navigator would lead us to the RV Park. 

Along the way we saw at least two other RV Parks, nice affairs, mostly converted farms, the barns still standing as part of the whimsy of the properties and wondered if the one we were being taken to by the GPS would be as nice. 

Would it be aside the river like the ones we’d passed?  What were we going to find? 

The Allstays App didn’t really have much in the way of photographs of the Park and RVParkReviews.com wasn’t much better, though it did give more positive reviews of this park than the other two we’d passed. 

More than once, we thought we’d reached our destination when we started seeing TTs parked out along the river’s shore, only to find that it was privately owned land where someone had setup a permanent fishing camp Smile

Soon, we crossed over Coeur D’Alene River on a narrow one lane bridge and found ourselves plowing yet deeper into the forest along the old River Road, along the west shore, still having not found the RV Park…. Was it lost much like the city of Atlantis?

Finally, when we thought the GPS had taken us to yet another incorrectly placed marker on Google’s Maps, we found the “Country Lane RV Resort & B’n’B. 

The Farm-based campgrounds we’d passed before gave us a false expectation of what we’d find when we finally located Country Lane. An RV Park with a Bar and Grill was definitely not something we’d expected, though there were subtle hints dropped in the reviews Smile with tongue out.

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After circling the main amalgamation of structures that made up the main building, which I think consisted of a pole barn, a mobile home, and several trailers that had been mated together in a permanent fashion to make a rather clean and tidy business, I finally found the main entrance in and parked the truck to inquire as to getting a space for the night. 

After walking up to the bar, and chatting with the proprietor for a bit, I learned that there was actually two sections to the park. 

The main full hook up loop, which needed some TLC, circled the main bar/office/b’n’b/grill/store/bathroom building.  The second section was across the road from the Bar & Grill (which was serving Prime Rib that night, sadly, we were still full), was laid out along side the river, but only had water and electric hook ups. 

We opted for the partial hookups and basically had our pick of the sites, aside from one that a regular had put a reservation on that was supposed to show up sometime that weekend. 

Picking the one closest to the bridge across the pond that separated the tent camping area from the river-side RV sites, we settled in and borrowed one of the steel patio tables and chairs, along with a firepit to setup for the evening relaxations. 

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Given how close the sites were together in this section of the park, it wouldn’t have been as enjoyable had we arrived during the peak of fishing season or tourist season, but it was perfect for that time of September when the only folks there were a few seasonal residents and one couple that bought a hookup site to tent camp in a few sites down from us. 

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Not long after we finished getting settled in, night fell in a thick blanket upon us.  As deep in the woods as we were, the only light came from the park’s lighting and the camper itself.   The woods were a dense and impenetrable black, the only hint of how close we were to the river coming from the gurgling of the water as it traveled over and through the rocks ten feet below the invisible sheer edge across from us. 

Undaunted, mainly because our neighbors were still setting up camp with the common sounds of kids waiting for their parents, air mattress pumps, and the very faint melodies of country music drifting from their pickup, we through on our sweats and jackets and light up the evening blazed and a couple of Pinar Del Rio Cigars. 

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We were having such a good time, listening to the raucous camp outing going on across the pond from us and to the family with kids that I decided to make a little “Fireside chat” video to mark the evening.

 

Eventually, sleepiness began to set in on the both of us and soon it became time to douse the fire, hit the showers and call it a night. 

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