Trolley Turner

Trolley Turner is a delightful campground run by Georgette and Boris. Boris was born in Croatia and came to the United States in fourth grade, not knowing a word of English. After several investment properties, they found themselves here in Enigma, Georgia.

Boris's passion is wood turning. He collects downed trees and turns them into bowls, cremation urns, mallets, meat tenderizers, and such.

Wanting to see and experience new places, I found this gem through Harvest Hosts. A guest arrives at 4 pm for the live wood turning demonstration, buys something, and then can stay overnight for free. Of course, it was 97 degrees today, so I decided that boondocking tonight would not be ideal. Being able to plug in means I can run my main AC all night and sleep much better.

The campground is very clean and tidy. Boris and his coworker were shirtless when I arrived, hauling scrap wood and debri to the wood pile. Because it was so hot, we delayed the wood turning demonstration by a few hours. I walked around, watched the chickens, took some pictures, made a drink, and ate some Buffalo mozzarella for dinner.

Georgette stopped by the van and gave me some fresh eggs from their chickens.

Another family from St Pete joined with me for the demo tonight. We watched Boris show us how to make a mallet, and we each participated. He used Florida red wood from a tree that was downed during Hurricane Ian. As he worked, wood shavings flew everywhere, pelting our skin. Skylar, a 10 year old girl, wore a face shield. I took a piece of cedar and made 6 dark notches carved in the wood. The cedar smelled really nice. Now I have a mallet... that Boris says will be in the Smithsonian one day when I am famous. Hopefully, not because i defended myself with it and caused someone's demise. It does seem like a handy weapon. Boris also made a bowl, and we were later able to purchase a bowl that he made months ago and has had time to cure. The bowl that he turned today was very heavy because of all the water still in the wood. When the carving dries out, it changes form, is reshaped, and lightens considerably.

After a hot, sticky day, I went to the bathhouse for a shower. About 30 seconds into the shower, already soaking wet, I realized that I had forgotten to bring a towel with me. I tried shaking like a dog, but that didn't do anything. I ended up drying off with my shirt. It is a new shirt that has never been washed before, so it isn't very absorbant. Anyway, I'm clean and cool and too tired to make a salad in my new salad bowl. Another lesson in adaptability and making do with what I have on hand. Here's to another adventure. Not much is definitively planned yet, just a few vague ideas (meeting up with my daughter and grandson and celebrating my son in law's birthday, hiking some falls, Smoky Mountains National Park, downtown Gatlinburg, Clingman's Dome) ... and lots of spontaneity.Læs mere