Isaac Creek Campground

     We broke camp Saturday morning, November 28, and got on the road at 10:15am. We drove south on U.S. Highway 43 to the small community of Grove Hill then turned east on U.S. 84. There was a rough patch of road on U.S. 43 south of the town of Linden for about 3 miles, but it eventually smoothed out. This route is all two lane U.S. highway with some occasional passing lanes on U.S. 84. After crossing the Alabama River on U.S. 84 we turned north on AL39 and travelled about 10 minutes to CR17.

     AL39 (aka Lena Landegger Hwy) took us past the large Alabama Cellulose plant, one of largest employers of the area and a subsidiary of Georgia Pacific. The gentleman we met while camping with his son at Foscue Creek (near Demopolis) is employed as a welder at this plant. We encountered numerous full log trucks enroute to the plant as we travelled. CR17 is a typical secondary road. It is narrower than the U.S. Highway or even a state road. It is in rougher shape with numerous patched potholes. The road winds and twists up and down some minor hills. We travelled for about 5 miles to then turn onto a smaller local road for about ¼ mile until we arrived at the entry road to the campground called Lock and Dam Road. This road was also narrow, winding and twisting with a couple of minor hills to climb and descend. After about 5 miles we arrived at the campground facility. The trip from Foscue to Isaac Creek took us about 2.5 hours and that included stopping one time for a breakfast biscuit prior to leaving Demopolis.

     Upon arrival to Isaac Creek we located the campground host to complete our check-in process. Although we had reservations and I had pre-registered the week before, we have learned the campground hosts are very conscientious about their duties and want campers to check-in prior to set up. So after a few minutes and locating the camp host on another site attending the pre-game Iron Bowl festivities, we got checked-in. It was a very minor delay and worthy of just being patient to get off on the right foot with the hosts, who can be very helpful with local information.

     In case you don’t know campground hosts are usually retired couples who regularly RV and travel around the country. In exchange for watching over the facilities, completing minor maintenance (cleaning restrooms, blowing off walkways, cleaning grills and fire circles), staffing the campground entrance station, and a few other projects depending on skill level, they camp for free. We have found that most of the hosts are from northern states (for me that’s any state north of Tennessee and usually plan their 3-4 month stay at a particular facility in conjunction with weather gradually working south for colder weather. During summer months some return home while others go to work at campgrounds in Oregon, Washington State, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas. We find that many hosts stay with one type of facility. For example state park hosts tend to stay with state parks and the COE or National Parks (NPS) hosts tend to stay with COE or NPS. The only drawback is to understand although the majority of these folks are fulltime RVers, they are from different states and different cultures. Most of the time they are just good folks, so be patient they are a really good information source and can serve as significant help if/when you experience a minor mechanical crisis with your rig. 

         Okay…back to the review of Isaac Creek. This is another Corp of Engineer (COE) campground. My grandparents camped a lot at COE facilities, and now I know why. So far we have camped at three different COE campgrounds.  All three have been clean and well maintained. The locations had absolutely beautiful views of major waterways and usually some pretty good fishing. The campgrounds have been designed and laid out with enough space between sites, some with small wooded buffers. Sites are level with poured concrete driving/backing pads and a large patio area composed of small pea gravel. Each site contains a large heavy duty picnic table, park type grill on a stand, lantern stand and a circle fire circle. The campgrounds are usually quiet. Our view from the camper door at Isaac Creek:

      We first visited Isaac Creek last July during a recon trip and located the sites we wanted to reserve along the river. As you can see we have a site with a beautiful view. When we arrived on Saturday all the sites, except for the one next to us to the north were taken. On Sunday, morning all campers broke camp and headed out. So from Sunday evening through our departure on Thursday morning, we had the strip along the river completely to ourselves. The wooded loop with most sites on the creek had only 5 sites occupied after Sunday afternoon.

     Saturday, when we arrived, you could tell we were in BAMA country as every site along the river had their BAMA game day flags flying and all campers including kids were outfitted in various Roll Tide clothing. Several game day parties were in what could only be described as a controlled full swing. We set up, I had my feet up and watching the game day countdown by 1:30pm. Many of the sites along the river had their tailgater dish up and running. Luckily, our camper antenna located channel 5 out of Mobile, Alabama so we were able to watch the game. Speaking of t.v. reception, we are able to pick up channel 3 (ABC) out of Pensacola, 5: Mobile, 35: Pensacola, MeTV, Cozi TV, and Get-TV.

     For Verizon service I have 2-3 bars and could access Facebook, AccuWeather, Goggle Maps, and my YouVersion Bible app. I limited my electronic use in order to conserve my data usage, so I wrote this draft while at the campground, but waited to post until we returned home. I was able to make phone calls and text while at the campground.

     The only con with this campground is its remote location. Although it is not a con for me as I like the isolated setting, it might be for others. The nearest town with a Walmart is Monroeville, Al, which is about a 40 minute drive one way. The nearest country store is about 15-20 minutes away in the little community of Finchburg. They have milk, bread, ice, fuel (including propane refill) at this store. Additionally, they have a small kitchen inside and make/sell typical southern country store fare like homemade cat-head sized biscuits filled with salt pork, fried chicken, tater logs, etc. Hours of operation is 5am - 6pm daily, but it is closed on Sunday as most everything is in this part of Alabama. The best thing is to just plan properly so you have no worries.

Our site on the Alabama River:

Wooded loop, sites on Isaac Creek:

Gazebo:

 Restroom in wooded loop:

Foggy early morning walk with Dakota, view of the dam.

     While at Isaac Creek the first week in December, we experienced temperatures of: average low was 58 and average high was 74. Winds were calm to slight breeze out of the northeast at 3-5mph. Nights and early morning were foggy with the fog burning off by 9am. 

     We ended up checking out a day early. We woke up Wednesday morning to no power. After checking the obvious breakers, I checked with the camp host who confirmed the power was out for the entire campground. We waited for 2 hours but no word on possible repairs. Storms were moving in with expected temperatures to fall to mid 30s together with not knowing when and if power would be restored, we decided to break camp and come home. 

     All in all we would return to this campground for future trips. Very relaxing and enjoyable camping experience. 

Propane refill, Laundry and Food Restock day

     Unless you have a very large camper/motor home that contains lots of storage space, if you are going to be on the road camping for more than a week, you’ll most likely need to do laundry and restock your perishables/food stores at some point. While many campgrounds have limited laundry facilities and that is always an option, so remember to pack some clothes detergent, I have found from time to time the laundry machines are down or busy. During our recent trip we burned through a propane tank in 5 days because of cold temperatures (average high was 50 and average low was 35 with a very brisk wind). We needed to refill one of our RV propane tanks before departing for the next leg of our journey to a very isolated location. We decided to do the almost 10 days of laundry that had accumulated as well as stop at the local Walmart and restock perishables and food stores before we departed the next day to our next destination which would be isolated.

     A Google search identified a couple of propane fill locations and two laundry mats. The Propane refill turned out to be a minor difficulty. The first time we attempted was on a Tuesday afternoon at 2pm. The place, Ferrell Gas was not open and the other place, Dowdle Gas, was out of business. We returned to Ferrell Gas on U.S. 80 just east of U.S. 43 on Wednesday morning with our empty tank. The guy working could not fill the tank (really?) and suggested we simply swap the tank for a Blue Rhino tank. As we have purchased this kind of swap before at Walmart for our home gas grill, I was familiar with the process. I was initially hesitant as I hated to give up my RV tank, but the guy assured me the tanks were the same. The swap cost $18.79, a little more than I have paid in the past. Upon return to the campsite I discovered the tanks were not the same. Our RV tank was 21.7 lbs while the Blue Rhino was only 15.7 lbs. Additionally the Rhino tank had a coat of spray paint over pretty sizable surface rust.

     I called Ferrell Gas to speak with the guy in order to return to pick up my tank and the phone was answered by the Carabelle, Florida Ferrell Gas location. I was told he was now at lunch and would return later. Four additional calls forwarded to different Ferrell Gas locations do not yield success. Apparently, the phone automatically kicks incoming calls to another business office.  I failed to make contact over the next 3 hours. I left messages at these other locations as well as being forwarded to the guy’s voice mail, none of which resulted in a returned call. Finally, about 4pm I called and reached the guy. I explained as it was late and the next day was a holiday, I would return Friday morning. I ask the guy to fill my tank and have it waiting. I told him I would pay the difference for the core charge on the Blue Rhino tank swap. He attempted to assure me the tanks were the same. I told him they were not and that I had set them side by side and saw where they were not the same. Finally, I explained to him in a very direct/blunt manner that I was the customer and these were my instructions. He agreed and I gave him my telephone number for any further issues.

     Friday morning I called at about 9:30am and got forwarded to the Dothan, Alabama office. Nope, not doing this again. I drove to the facility and met with the guy. He retrieved my tank. It was still unfilled....big surprise. I asked if there was another propane refill station in the area. What do you know there was one at the Alabama Co-Op Farmer’s Supply….right next door. I paid the core charge, $28.00 (really?) and loaded up.  I went next door where a very helpful man filled my RV tank and charged me $11.39. I could have done this Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning…had I known. So, all this to say I don’t recommend using Ferrell Gas company, especially the one in Demopolis, Alabama.

     Friday morning with our propane situation finally resolved, we then focused on laundry. It has been almost a lifetime since I used a commercial laundry mat. We located a great little local place on U.S.80 in Demopolis called Suds. They had three different sized commercial washers, 1 top loading and 2 front loader types, and 2 different sizes of commercial dryers. Since I had  almost ten days of laundry I selected the largest front loader. The female manager of Suds was patient and helpful with me as I navigated my first time use of a front loader. We spent 1 hour and 45 minutes at the laundry and left with a clean, folded load ready to check off the next task.

     After a 30 minute stop at Walmart with my list, we completed the restock task. Milk, bread and fruit were now resupplied for the next leg of our journey. We returned to the campsite for a well-deserved nap after lunch and then dinner at The Red Barn in Demopolis. Please see a review on this fabulous meal experience.  

The Red Barn Restaurant Review

     We hardly ever eat out while camping because we usually camp in remote locations. Additionally, we usually camp with our group from church and mealtime is good fellowship time. There were a couple of factors for us deciding to eat out on Friday night, November 27. First, we cooked all our meals thus far on this trip. Second, we were departing Saturday morning for the next leg of our journey to a very isolated location. Third, we met an interesting character Tuesday afternoon who gave us a great tip of a soul food café located inside of a local grocery store and he was adamant that The Red Barn served the best steaks, fried fish, and quail in Alabama. After discovering he was dead right about the soul food place, we wanted to give The Red Barn a try. The restaurant is only open at night, opening at 5pm daily except for Sunday. Here is a photo of the outside of the place.

As you can see it is an old barn turned into a restaurant. I wished I could have taken some photos of inside as the décor was rustic and contained many small farming and timbering hand tools as well as paintings of the local countryside, the lighting was low and I would not have wanted to interfere with other people as they intimately dined in this wonderful restaurant. 

     The inside was divided into small rooms containing about 5-6 tables for an intimate dining setting. We were seated at a handmade pine plank table with the traditional red checkered table cloth. Service was swift and friendly. After reviewing the menu and placing our drink order of sweet tea (what else?), we explained we were travelling from Florida and then inquired about the older gentleman we met on Tuesday. His name we were told was Roger. Apparently, he works part-time, does some maintenance and helps out on busy nights in the kitchen. After our tea arrived Roger came out of the kitchen and walked to our table. With a big million dollar smile he laughed and said, “I remember y’all, I’m so glad y’all came back to eat wit us, you won’t be disappointed.” He asked about our experience at the soul food café and we thanked him for the suggestion as the food was delightful.

     I ordered the grilled Rainbow Trout with baked potato and salad from the salad bar. Buddy, in typical Buddy fashion, requested a special order (not on the menu). He order fried quail and fried oysters with steamed winter veggies, wild rice and gravy, and a salad from the salad bar. The waitress did not hesitate and said, “Shore we kin do that!” After a short wait in which we observed family after family arriving to eat, our order arrived. Here are photos of our meals.

     My trout was fresh and grilled just right. Many people overcook fish, but not this restaurant. The trout was accompanied by two hefty lemon wedges and a special melted butter/citrus cream mixture for topping the fish. The baked potato side could have been a meal by itself. It was smothered in butter, cheddar cheese, real bacon bits, and topped with a generous amount of sour cream. Buddy’s quail, most likely farm raised due to the size, was tender and satisfying. His fried oysters were cooked perfectly using fresh grease. They were lightly breaded and still moist on the inside, as fried oysters should be. Buddy reported that the sides were also delicious.

     I give The Red Barn a 5 out of 5 stars and definitely recommend dining there if you are in the Demopolis area.