Til the Last Hemlock Dies: Mountain Lake Lodge and White Rocks Campground

After I hiked the War Spur Trail, Carole and I drove to take a look at a National Forest facility called White Rocks Campground. It's a pretty nice spot deep in the forest. Unfortunately, there's a lot of clear-cutting going on in the formerly mature hardwood forests around it, totally wrecking some of the scenery and the illusion that our National Forests are a haven for peace and tranquility. But the campground itself and the forest immediately surrounding it remains unaffected.

We were both surprised that there was only one family camping in the entire place. There are no hookups for RVs, but the place does have a dump station and there are water sources placed around the campground. Also, it has several bath houses where there are flush toilets, and sinks, but no showers. I wish I'd taken a photo of the inside of the bathhouse because it had some clever decorations inside, including sinks made from galvanized tubs. Also, it charges an amazingly low price of $4 for overnight stays! There was a spot for a campground host that was conspicuously vacant. Not sure why no one would want to host the campground.

After that we headed back the way we came because Carole wanted to visit Mountain Lake Lodge where one of her favorite movies was filmed ("Dirty Dancing"). I had been past the lodge many times, but had never stopped there to walk around the grounds, which are impressive, I must admit. It's an old-style turn-of-the-century (19th/20th Century, of course) lodge that has a lot of the charm one thinks of when considering those old places. At some point I want to stay a couple of nights there, which we may do in a few years. Time will tell.