Wednesday, August 28 Through Friday, August 30, 2019
When first impressions are negative, everything from then on is tainted by the original assessment. So it goes with the Concrete/Grandy Creek KOA.
Campers coming to this campground for the first time will find a “ranger station” with closed access gates. When an attendant is not in the ranger station, campers must signal through a radio intercom. In our case, a grumpy attendant responded. It takes the attendant five minutes or so to show up at which point he or she will check-in the arriving camper in and provide them with a gate access code. Not the reception we are accustomed to.
Arriving at the campsite without an escort, the curbside/roadside orientation became noticeable. The curbside was more exposed to the road than the roadside. Less privacy. All the campsites on the left hand side of the road were like our site. All the sites across the road had the roadside of their rigs exposed. Curbside was private.
An exploratory walk through the park provided an overview of the park’s features. Surprise and then disappointment on finding the park store. Doors were locked and no employees anywhere. This has never happened before at a KOA. The bathhouse in the park store was filthy. The other bathhouse, the one with a laundromat, also needed cleaning. It was as if nobody was working in this park on a Wednesday afternoon.
The picture makes the dog park look nicer than it was. Messy. Weeds everywhere. Piles of poop.
We have stayed in KOA parks that have usable and unusable free WIFI. We declined to pay for WIFI.
On a more positive note, Grandy Creek was scenic. It can be soothing to sit on a bench and watching the stream flow by.
A laundromat in Concrete advertised on the back of the park map. We stopped by with laundry and found that roughly half of their washers were out of commission. We returned to the KOA and did our laundry there. The KOA laundry was more than adequate for the task.
Another business in Concrete, the Lone Star Restaurant & Watering Hole, also advertised on the backside of the KOA park map. Lunch here was marvelous. Food was good. Service excellent. Prices moderate.
Nothing satisfies like a happy tummy.
Hope to see you on the road ahead!