Who knew that yesterday's Postcard would merge so perfectly with today! Who knew that when we all struck out yesterday morning for our Tuesday mountain adventure it would be a day not forgotten for a long time to come. Hold on to your ever-lovin' hippy britches for this Postcard!!
Like we often do when camping together, Cousin Rob and I like to scout out campgrounds for possible future trips. He suggested we drive over to Twin Rivers Campground in nearby Crumpler. Good online reviews and the fact that it sat right along the New River sounded like something we needed to see.
When we drove up, we saw an easy-up tent, a banner, and several ladies manning a table full of information. Something was up!
Like we often do when camping together, Cousin Rob and I like to scout out campgrounds for possible future trips. He suggested we drive over to Twin Rivers Campground in nearby Crumpler. Good online reviews and the fact that it sat right along the New River sounded like something we needed to see.
When we drove up, we saw an easy-up tent, a banner, and several ladies manning a table full of information. Something was up!
We had arrived at the annual High Country Bus Festival. Not knowing one single thing about this bus festival, I asked if it was converted school buses. The lady laughed and said it was VW buses. OH MY!! Rob and I immediately went into excitement overload.
We told the lady we wanted to check out the campground and she told us that we couldn't because of the festival. Talk about a let down!! But....she offered to let us ride around in one of their Gators so we could see the campsites AND the buses. So we grabbed our cameras, all three pooches, and piled in the cart for a ride back in time.
We told the lady we wanted to check out the campground and she told us that we couldn't because of the festival. Talk about a let down!! But....she offered to let us ride around in one of their Gators so we could see the campsites AND the buses. So we grabbed our cameras, all three pooches, and piled in the cart for a ride back in time.
I sure wish I had caught the name of the young lady who was our driver and tour guide....she was fantastic and gave us a running commentary of the campground and the festival. Let me show you my snapshots, then I will tell you a bit about this group and also give you a link to Rob's blog for another perspective.
Here's the Festival story:
High Country Bus Festival is held every summer during the last full weekend of July. During the hot summers it is great to get up in the mountains and cool off in the breezes. But it can get chilly at night, be sure to pack some warm clothes! What a great opportunity to come camping with old friends and new. Our location is right on the New River in Crumpler, North Carolina. There are many different types of sites to choose to camp. There is a large field on the river with some hook-ups. There are also some gorgeous remote sites in the primitive area if you do not like crowds.
Chris Slaymaker has been broadcasting from his VW bus for quite some time. Pirate Radio features an eclectic mix of (mostly) hippy music. Featured music will include live recordings of favorite bands at selected times of the day. The “mini-concerts” at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. every day will be groups like Traffic, Yes, Allman Brothers, Grand Funk Railroad, Little Feat, Roy Orbinson, New Grass Revival, Rolling Stones, ....etc. Grateful Dead will be at 6 p.m. every day. Tune in and enjoy!
The first High Country Bus Festival was held April 28th - April 30th at the Grandfather Mountain Campground. It was moved in 1997 to the last weekend in July and was a fixture on that weekend for over a decade. In year three they broke the 50 bus mark and by the 5th HCBF there were over 100 old transporters camped at the base of Grandfather Mountain.
In 2008, High Country Bus Festival was moved to Twin Rivers Family Campground in Crumpler, NC on the New River.
Now if you'd like to see the HCBF through Rob's eyes, then scoot over HERE.
When we get back home on Sunday, Splash will have a very special Story to tell you! Well, I hear Chef Rob getting breakfast ready, so it's time for this camping crew to get our day started. Thanks so much for dropping by this morning. Talk to you tomorrow!
When we get back home on Sunday, Splash will have a very special Story to tell you! Well, I hear Chef Rob getting breakfast ready, so it's time for this camping crew to get our day started. Thanks so much for dropping by this morning. Talk to you tomorrow!
