A Night in the Car Wash

After leaving Florence Marina State Park, we crossed the state border back into Alabama.  Along the way we stopped in Auburn to check out the University.  Auburn was a nice surprise. It had lovey neighborhoods and a quaint main street dotted with college town restaurants.  We dropped in for a bbq lunch and then got back on the road.  

Our destination for the night was Cheaha State Park which is in the Talladega Mountains and boasts the highest point in the state at 2,407 ft.   

Cheaha Mountain -- the highpoint in Alabama a 2,407 ft

While it might have been the highpoint geographically, it wasn’t the highpoint of our trip!  That’s because we picked the wrong night to be there.  Otherwise it is a lovely park and, in the absence of major fog, has terrific 360 views.  But the night we arrived it was so cold, rainy and the wind was blowing as much as 30-40 mph.  We were one of two RVs in the campground.  

View West from the Cheaha Park Restaurant patio

Just as we were ready to make use of the microwave the electricity in the campground went out.  I had a moment of panic thinking we would freeze on top of the mountain but Lance reminded me that MerSea 2 is equipped with two heating systems.  We turned on the propane heat and it worked like a charm!  It was nice and toasty all night long.  But it felt like we were sleeping in a car wash as the rain bounced on the roof and the RV swayed in the wind.  When we awoke, the conditions had improved only marginally so we left prior to a planned hike and made our way to Marietta.