A RV campground stuck in the 80s sits in rural Gibson county Indiana.
There’s a giant green bass, tall as the registration building, in mid fight with a hook and line along with a fishing lure attached to a huge fishing pole. More odd plaster statues on the property pop out of over growth, like a rooster sitting in the back of a pickup truck. Or a Goofy like dog causally perched on a bench, ready for a photo opportunity with its arm out.
When you first pull in you’ll see a sign saying Weather Rock and attached to it at the bottom is a chain with a rock hanging. You’re supposed to be able to determine the weather based on what the rock looks like. Like if it’s wet, then it’s a rainy day. Or if it’s swinging, it’s a windy day. Seems pretty silly and more like a dad joke to me. Maybe it’s just a sign of simpler times.
Heading into the campground
The gravel horse shoe drive goes past some house trailers. Then up to the registration building. You’ll pass a very worn out miniature golf course as well. On the other side is a play ground with what could be described as found play ground equipment. There’s a McDonald’s Hamburglar character that looks like it’s a cage to put your kids in.
The play ground equipment is actually something that the owner seems pretty proud of. According to the official Weather Rock Campground website, “the playground includes a 1954 roundabout merry go round from the Sunset Drive inn as well as the first McDonalds spiral slide in our area.” http://weatherrockcampground.com/amenities.html
It’s mentioned on the website that there’s also a swimming pool on the property. It’s closed for the 2018 season so they can work on some of the buildings and roofing. It seems at the point that we visited, no more has been done to the property and the pool has been closed since.
Further back is another mobile home sitting on its own.
There’s a large giraffe statue in front of the covered porch looking into a window, along with other animals roaming the front yard. This is where I presumed the owner lived. He seemed..eccentric? Maybe he’s got a great sense of humor and is young at heart.
When we were there exploring not a single person was out. There were RVs parked, but it seemed more like a place to live cheaply than a camping family vacation.
This place just gave me this vibe like I had stepped into a alternate reality where people were supposed to be there but weren’t. As we were walking around, it was like either everyone all up and left or were frozen in place inside their RVs. It was summer and the middle of the day. Granted it was very hot. This place was so worn out and broke down I can’t blame anyone for hiding in their RVs. There was literally nothing to do.
I decided to do some digging on the owner.
Who is he and what happened to let it go like this? One of the best places to start looking someone or something up is on Facebook. There’s a page for Weather Rock Campground with about 120 likes. In the reviews it looks like someone named Rick left a review talking about new picnic tables. Was this the owner? I went to his page and he has a YouTube channel.
He goes by Hillbilly Rick. Oh boy.
He’s smiling in one video and talking about the playground, how he got the things he has on the property and how he got them to their home. Rick looks like a Santa Clause with a long white beard and rosy cheeks. He has a story attached to every item he’s collected over the years and there’s no reason to not be proud of it.
I haven’t been back since the pandemic started. Hopefully things have gotten into better shape since then, but I also really enjoyed my tour of the grounds in that alternate world that one hot July. Something tells me Hillbilly Rick is doing just fine.
