PAULK PARK RV & TENT CAMPGROUND

We were so excited to go to Polk Park in Fitzgerald, Georgia. It looked like a charming small town with a small RV park. We chose a spot at the very end so we would have more space to set up our outdoor gear if we wanted to. Although it was still very hot, the weather was starting to cool slightly.

I’m not sure whether the place was truly disappointing or if my expectations were just too high, but when we arrived, it was a very different story. The park, which was supposed to be closed off for safety where the RVs were located, was actually very open to the public. We often didn’t feel safe because people were constantly driving through.

Although all of our belongings were inside our Gazelle Tandem Gazebo—and therefore not visible, including our generator—we still felt very exposed. Even though it was a small RV camp, there was only one other group there, and they had the last designated spot. Apparently, there was an additional spot beyond the one we chose that couldn’t be reserved through the website. So we ended up camping in an open field, very close to the only other people there. It felt awkward and uncomfortable.

There were supposed to be bathrooms, showers, and a laundry room, but there was no one there to check us in. In fact, there was never anyone there at all. We had to have packages delivered to a local CVS because we weren’t sure how deliveries would work. The location where we were staying didn’t even match the official address of the park, and again, there was no office.

There was a structure on-site, which we assumed contained the bathrooms, showers, and laundry facilities. However, when we entered the code, only two of the doors opened. Each led to a combined toilet and shower, both of which were filthy and had no hand soap or toilet paper. I was really surprised by how poorly the place was maintained.

I messaged the staff to let them know the bathrooms needed attention and that the third door would not open. We weren’t sure if it led to another bathroom, the laundry room, or if it was meant to remain locked. Right before we left, we discovered that the third door did, in fact, contain a washer and dryer.

I never saw any staff the entire time we were there. We even had to call the police twice due to people acting suspiciously and repeatedly driving through the campground.

Fitzgerald, Georgia, felt like a very depressed small town. Driving around, you could tell that at one time it had been beautiful, but many of the stores were empty, and there appeared to be a lot of poverty. I decided to look into the town’s history, as well as the person many places there seemed to be named after.

I learned that Fitzgerald had historically been a sundown town, which led me to learn what that meant. I also discovered that many places were named after Benjamin Harvey Hill, who I found out was known for helping to inaugurate Georgia’s Ku Klux Klan. Learning this made the town feel even more oppressive and unsettling.

We couldn’t wait to move on to our next stop, which was close enough that Herb was able to drive over and check it out the day before.