Roof of French Creek’s Office building
Our site — had the bathroom structure on one side, so we only had neighbors on the road side.
Since I haven’t posted in about three months (and didn’t start this blog until after six months into our trip), I have a lot of catching up to do with campground reviews. But I wanted to make sure I got this one in. We picked French Creek RV Park, right in the town of Custer, once we realized we couldn’t get decent 3G in the state park, and after we read some good reviews about it (and the mention of Friday night barbecues!).
Porch decorations
When we first drove in, we weren’t so sure — it’s a very small park, and sites a close together, and I like a bit more privacy. But we decided to give it a shot. We drove into the wrong park first — there are two right next to each other, then drove in and parked the wrong way, but finally got situated and hooked up. The website doesn’t say so (they’re working on it), but there is cable at every site, and WiFi is free. Both are the most quality and reliable we’ve had.
Rock, making fries: a Friday night barbecue staple
But the real thing that makes this park special is Rock, the manager. Gun totin’, barbecue throwin’ Rock, and his wife Diane. They made us feel right at home, and by the first night, Rock had shared with me his stash of what he called “whisky” — but it was clear — his moonshine, which hit me hard! We hung out on the porch of the office nearly every night, where aside from his official Friday night barbecues, there was almost always something else good cooking. One day he had harvested a bunch of rhubarb from the property, to which I was able to experiment with my first ever baked rhubarb item — a rhubarb-orange galette (which turned out pretty well I must say). Diane made a rhubarb upside down cake. I also got to try some rhubarb wine that guests Stephanie and Mike had purchased from the winery near town.
Rock and Diane, King and Queen of French Creek
We ended up extending our stay here, because the company was so great. We had just recently gotten our fishing poles and had barely managed to catch anything yet. Rick, who also works at French Creek, took Dennis out and showed him the ropes, and for the first time he came back with a bagful of fish!
Rick shows off his newly finished walking stick
More handiwork from Rick
Good times at this place, and lots of good people. In terms of all the practical stuff that should be in a review: like I said, everything worked excellently, and the sites were close together. Regardless of how close the other sites were, and how many people were hanging out with Rock on the porch, it was always quite and restful.
Friday night barbecue kicks off (half the neighborhood shows up too)
Friday night barbecue after dark
Talking around the table
