The Jones Family, JCO Campground at Lee Baysden Pond, and the Juniper Creek Adventures
Bare with me this is a long one....Many of you have asked who we are, how we got started, and what we do? Well, we are the Jones family. Tyler, Tessa, Beckham, and Atley. Tyler and I are locals from the Richlands and Back Swamp communities of North Carolina. We are high school sweethearts. (Insert Mushy "Awe" here) We dated eight years before getting married in October 2013. We also have two dogs at home Chester and Pilot. (Our First lab and lake mascot Remi passed in 2021) We also have a lake kitty, who adopted us in 2023, named "Tail." Beckham named her. (I mean it could be worse right?)
We started our marriage living in a older park model camper. We ripped out the kitchenette to make room for an oversized couch and chair, built on a covered porch that ran the length of the camper, and made a home for the next seven and a half years. Mind you the plan was only a year camper living and to build our dream home ourselves. But dreams change, life happens, and desires change slightly. That little camper, I referred to as my tiny house, taught us so many life lessons. Love does grow in tiny houses. You have no where to retreat but the yard if you have a disagreement. We learned about a more minimalist lifestyle that helped us achieve some of our dreams in the later years by being financially prepared because we lived so simply. One of our dreams was when we build our house we will move our camper to the water. We originally fell in love with the Cape Fear River. We went boating, fishing, and even skiing/tubing often. We had a particular spot that we went to every time we drove by to check out our future lot, talk to neighbors, dream, and pray over that land we wanted. Little did we know all those years praying that we would be put into a position to purchase a little slice of heaven 100x better than what we thought we wanted. That's how God works you know?
Our First Real Estate Adventures
In 2015, Tyler was working as a technician for Jerry's Garage and Rod Shop. After almost nine years he was burned out and decided to retire with no real plans. A home in our community (a horrible ugly, overgrown, drug house) went up for foreclosure. We looked it up and met with a real estate agent, placed a bid, and bought it all within a week! Real estate world around here is fast paced and a whirlwind if you are not prepared!! With the purchase of our first rental home a new adventure began. It also put a hold on our dream home because we spent all our saved funds on this new business. We will be honest in the fact that we had no idea what we were doing. Tyler has a plethora of skills and YouTube was our best friend. That first trip to Lowes with our "master list" of supplies, thinking we were going to purchase everything we needed in one trip, was an absolute joke. It lead to me having a mental breakdown, eating a snickers bar, in a bath tub display. A moment never to be forgotten and laughed about always. That's the moments you don't see on HGTV; thinking we are Chip and Joanna Gaines. It took us almost a year to complete the full transformation of the property. Before it was fully finished a second property came up for sale in the community. I thought Tyler was crazy for wanting a second project/rental before we could finish the first. But we purchased it and rented it, shortly before the first. After that we end up with six rentals in total, over the next four years. We learned more about business, more skills, and lessons of many variations.
In 2018, Hurricane Florence was devastating for many in Eastern North Carolina. The Cape Fear River area we loved so much and Chinquapin community were some of the hardest hit areas locally by catastrophic flood levels. Just before Florence hit we had our foundation laid and had written the Bible scripture, Matthew 7:25, into the base of our home. It was a powerful verse in the forthcoming of the Hurricane. Tyler had been engineering a Sawmill to use to build our dream home for quite awhile. We volunteered in our community to help clear downed trees and help our neighbors. The downed trees we eventually used to make beams and siding for our home, lake cabins, signs and more. The lot on the Cape Fear we once dreamed of was some 20ft+ plus underwater. Making us question whether that was truly our dream lot or not? Check out the orginal Sawmill video, lots of upgrades have been made now.
Our Family Grows and JCO Begins
In 2019, we welcomed the birth of Baby boy Beckham. Who came a month early due to some high risk issues. When Beckham was just 11 months old, Tyler discovered that the Lee Baysden Pond and land was up for sale. At this time we are beginning to get into the height of Covid-19. I was an independent hairstylist and the government had shut us down for 8 weeks. Toilet paper was something folks fought over at the grocery stores. The world was just insane and every one had lost their minds! Including Tyler who wanted to buy the old pond. Do you see a pattern here? I did not take him seriously but by this point in our marriage I know I should never discredit his dreams, thoughts, or abilities. He will only prove me or anyone else wrong. Only days after discovering it was for sale, he met with the real estate agent and proceeded with the contracts. Again, here we are in the whirlwind of documents and information. I tell everyone I was absolutely furious at first over "how are we going to do this?" "How are we going to afford this?" "What are we going to do??" In reality it is a much bigger dream and blessing than we prayed and could have imagined to have. We dreamed for a small lot on the river and God put us in a position to purchase a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a whole lake just minutes from home. But blessings also come with hardships. For example, A child is a blessing but it is not easy parenting and raising that blessing. Growth is not comfortable nor easy.
In 2020 shortly after purchase we started Juniper Creek Outfitters and Guide Service. Juniper Creek, is the small Creek, that is on the Juniper run, by our home in Back Swamp Community. Tyler started the guide service first, by hosting small game hunts, on family property. Some of his first clients were Scott Tabor (our friend and taxidermist at Troublesome Creek Taxidermy) and his military buddies. Hunts then moved to the Lee Baysden Pond for duck season. Juniper Creek Outfitters and Guide Service hosted guided hunts for duck, deer, dove, and turkey for two years. The 22 acre lake had not been managed by the previous owner who had it around twenty-ish years after Mr. Lee Baysden. (If you dont know the history of Mr. Lee Baysden that will be another Blog) We had beaver trappers and turtle trappers out. We've had beaver dams busted and NC biologist out. We've done fish studies and created a JCO Pro Fishing Staff, who's purpose is to help us in pond management. Tagging fish, and watching overall health of the water and wildlife that inhabit here.
Tyler had camped with his family growing up and had always dreamed of owning a campground. In 2021 we hosted our first campers via Hipcamp. We've slowly cleared more campsites and added features/amenities to the campsites. We are driven by our mission to get more people outside and believe connecting with nature is essential to a happy and healthy human life. We started with five RV sites and just four tent sites. We've now expanded to nine RV sites with electric and water hookups, septic station, all waterfront views. There are eight primitive and spacious Tent sites with firepits, picnic tables, and waterfront access. These sites have amazing sunset views across the lake!
With Tyler's Sawmill, in 2022, we created our first A-frame Couples Glamping Cabin. It is crafted out of rough cut poplar sawn from downed and storm damaged trees. The A-frame cabin is complete with AC/heat, Queen bed, mini refrigerator, microwave, seasonal decor, Couples canoe, and much more sitting on the banks of the historic Lee Baysden Pond. I have collaborated with other (most are woman owned) businesses for add-on extras such as Chocolate covered strawberries, wine, charcuterie boxes, photography packages, Roses, and more to make your stay even more memorable. As of March 2024, the Floating Cabin is available for rent as well. We are also listed with both cabins on Airbnb as guest favorites and superhosts.
In 2021 we moved out of our little camper into the home Tyler built for us. It's still a continuous project but made with huge exposed timber beams, all wood siding, 2 story porches, and features our 1920's Claw Foot Tub!
In June 2023 we welcomed Baby girl, Atley who was also born a month early and was due July 4th. (We have an awesome July 4th celebration for the community and campers but had to postpone this year) She came into the world fast and furious as my water broke at the campground, checking in our last guests of the day. We almost didn't make it to Wilmington in time. It's quite a funny story looking back. Atley was also a high risk pregnancy with several scares and extended hospital stays. In August 2023, I officially announced that I was leaving the hairstylist world as I pursued the dream of homeschooling Beckham, being more involved with my family and the growing campground business. Remember how I said growth isn't comfortable? 2023 was the year of changing, learning, and growth for all of us.
A New Beginning
As you may notice in our social media accounts and our new sign at the lake we are re-branding to JCO Campground at Lee Baysden Pond. We are pausing the hunt and guide portion of the business as we focus and grow the camping and cabins. This is our passion. Hosting guests to enjoy the great outdoors with family and friends. The furry ones too! Spending quality time in todays fast paced digital age is important. The excitement of a young child catching their first fish or the laughter heard from around the campfires. We've met so many wonderful and interesting people over the last few years. We've made new friends through our guests and business collaborations and we can't wait to invite YOU into the JCO Family!
Stay tuned, as we grow and announce
our kids fishing tournaments and holiday events along with some concerts and new events! Thank you for your love and support. We would love to hear from you and for you to follow us and subscribe.
The Floating Cabin
You two make it so memorable love the hour talks that Daniel and Tyler had . Can’t wait to see you this year
What a blessing. Still going to come out and visit, probably next week now. Looking forward to camping there.