A Fine Weekend of Rest, Relaxation, and Recovery!

YES! It is that time of the year! Blue Ridge Breakaway in 19 days!

 

The twin joys of raising a garden and puppies has certainly detracted from my riding time this year. It seems like every time I go to throw a leg over the saddle of my Salsa Fargo, I end up throwing a leg over a hoe or a dog leash. Be that as it may, I haven’t given up on observing those good folk out riding on two wheels. In fact this past weekend, the Navigator and I had a chance to do a lot of observing during our…

TRIP WRAP-UP AND OTHER ITEMS:

Some final thoughts on our recent sojourn around West Virginia and Virginia seem to be in order. The trip that started out headed to California was significantly shortened. What would have been about a 4600 mile trip in 16 days ended up being 960 miles over 11 days. A few final observations and I’ll move on…

• I was over packed regarding electronics. In my repertoire of electronic tools, I packed my Olympus Camedia C-8080 digital camera, my Sony camcorder, our Canon PowerShot camera, 2 tripods, chargers for each tool, a 1200 watt power inverter, a Garmin Nuvi 260 GPS unit, my new SPOT II, a Garmin Oregon 400T handheld GPS navigator, two cell phones, and one Dell laptop. The Olympus camera, Sony camcorder, tripods, and 1200 watt power inverter never saw the light of day. All images were taken with the Canon PowerShot and I was very pleased with its performance. The battery did not require a single charging. The SPOT II exceeded my expectations. It sent every “We’re o.k.” message that I attempted and it provides me with an ongoing map of our trip. One set of AA batteries powered the SPOT for the full trip. “Milli”, our Nuvi 260, performed wonderfully as she has previously. She was “spot on” (pardon the pun) in getting us to and from our intended locations. My most pleasant surprise was getting used to the Garmin Oregon 400T. I have had it for a little over a year and never had the opportunity to get accustomed to it. I made an effort this time and kept it on my side as we hiked in the various parks. While I always knew where we were on our hikes, it was comforting to see how accurate the Oregon unit was. I recall that, at one point, the Navigator told me I really didn’t need to tell her we were approaching another climb. The color screen is harder to see in the daylight than my former Magellan black and white screen but I was able to adapt. Even under heavy tree cover, the Oregon maintained its satellite connections. The laptop was essential to keeping up my blog posting but also, along with my Blackberry Storm II, meant I was more aware of work issues than I would have desired. I would see an email that piqued my curiosity and I just couldn’t let it go… (My ongoing weakness!) The cell phones… well, more on that later.
• Wet, rainy weather can be fun… for awhile! Our first 3 days of travel were literally spent inside the camper or inside a local public library. Overall it worked well as we enjoyed simply reading and relaxing. There was no TV coverage, no radio, and no cell phone coverage in that particular campsite. I appreciated that I could have a conversation with the Navigator and not have it interrupted by a ringing cell phone – something that happens way to frequently at home and happened once we were back in coverage areas on this trip. The wet weather also led to my biggest disappointment of the trip. We didn’t get to ride the Greenbrier Trail. I really wanted to have that experience but it wasn’t to be this go round. Perhaps this will plan the seed for a return trip later.
• We were overwhelmingly greeted in friendly and courteous ways by the people of the local communities we visited: The people of the Middle Appalachian mountains were exceedingly polite and pleasant to us throughout. I’ll always remember asking for a suggestion of a good local grocery store in Lewisberg, West Virginia. EVERYONE in line chimed in with a suggestion! The various Park staff members, business owners, public library staff, and just good folk all made our trip a very pleasant endeavor. (Note: we had one less than gregarious meeting that I’ve written about and that person wasn’t rude – just distracted or having a bad day.)
• Big brothers can be a problem: I made mention somewhere along the line of young families with pre-school age children beginning to fill the park in anticipation of the Memorial Day Weekend. Our last night in Hungry Mother State Park was enlivened by a toddler, who would simply not quit crying and go to sleep. If a parent was with him, he was quiet but once they tried to sit by their campfire, he would start screaming again.  Being that he was in a canvas pop-up beside us there wasn’t much to muffle his wailing as we sat by the campfire. The following morning, his mother informed us that they had just found out that the toddler’s older brother would wait until the parent left the camper and would then make scary faces and guttural sounds at his younger brother. This, of course, scared the toddler and he responded with his cries for his mother. She also informed us that “big brother” was in a bit of trouble…
• Living up to the title of this blog, which includes a reference to cycling adventures beyond the Great Smokies: Due to the dreary weather, I didn’t get to do as much riding as I desired. The aforementioned Greenbrier Trail was missed and the rainy weather at Douthat kept me from adding many miles to my log. I did enjoy getting out of the campground at Hungry Mother and could have added quite a few miles more had we stayed longer. It was good to see the bike lanes and “share the road” signs in Marion, Virginia.
• The BEST FEATURE of this trip was sharing it with the Navigator: We are lucky in that we are very compatible with similar interests. Our days and nights went quite smoothly throughout. We didn’t have competing interests in either desires for activities or duties to keep things running. At the end of the day, I’m always glad to go to bed with “my best friend!”

On to other items:

Tour of Discovery: Ride for the Republic: We’re down to 18 days until the kick off on this important tour being undertaken by our good friend Jim Artis and Florida teacher Rafael Giraldo. This tour will depart from Bar Harbor, Maine at the crack of dawn on June 14th and make its way along the 13 original colonies that formed America. 2670 miles later, it will end in Key West, Florida. If you haven’t been following the trip preparation, check it out at Cycling Experiences.  You can also see detailed information at Tour of Discovery: Ride for the Republic.

2010 Ride the Divide is approaching quickly. The race, which runs along the spine of the Rockies from Canada to Mexico, will begin in Banff, AB on June 10th. Our friend, Kent “the Mountain Turtle” Peterson, will be partaking of this adventure again. Kent will again be running the race on a single speed bike. You can join Kent on his “roll out” if you are in the Issaquah,Washington area on June 3rd when he begins his 7 day ride to the starting location. To get more details on this incredible journey, check out Tour Divide. Kent is one of 12 veterans signed up for this year’s race. A total of 46 racers are currently signed up to start. This 2745 mile single stage, self-supported race will likely not have 46 finishers.

The use of electronic technologies plays important roles in both of these races. SPOT will be present in both adventures enabling us, the viewing public, to share virtually in the trip. Jim Artis has put together quite the travelling power shop to manage his various charging needs. He has multiple posts on the evolution of the Power Box.

Our best to both of these intrepid adventurers!

Finally, my home community will be sponsoring the first annual Blue Ridge Breakaway on August 21st. This ride will have century, metric century, 40 miles and 24 mile routes. Cyclists interested in climbing will be particularly pleased with the opportunities to climb Soco Mountain, Water Rock Knob, the highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway and then descend back to the starting point. Registration is now open!

 

Until later,

- Zeke

DAYS 10/11 – TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE…

Day 10 (Tuesday) – What can I say? Just another day in the paradise that is Hungry Mother State Park. I should report that we were up early, that I completed a 30 mile ride in and around the park climbing every mountain I could find and that we then polished off the day with a 10 mile hike.

If I reported any of that, it would be a lie… Tuesday was apparently intended for being laid back. We did muster up the energy to enjoy a fine campfire breakfast of biscuits, scrambled eggs, and sausage preceded by coffee by the stream. Uh, I think I recall taking a nap. But wait, the Navigator and I pooled our energy and managed to leave the campground long enough to drive into nearby Marion, VA to explore the town. We also needed ice in order to keep our cool libations cool.

The town of Marion is quaint and, as seems typical of our mountain towns, has the central downtown area (always referred to as historic) and the strip malls where you can find the big box stores. For a small town, Marion sure has a lot of banks! Unfortunately, none of them are the one we use.

The most exciting moment of the ride came when I made a bad call on a left hand turn and we ended up on I-81 going south and out of town. 7 miles later we found a turnaround and proceeded back to pick up that ice and a little something for supper.

Next, we were forced to take a nap…

(Relevant cycling note for this post: Marion has a bike shop. Sorry, I didn’t stop and go in or check it out. I just know that it exists and it is named Dean’s Bikes  and Locksmith. I did note a Fuji sign in the window.)

It became apparent along about dusk that doing nothing is pretty energy exhausting and I realized that I had not moved myself from creek side long enough to eat a power bar. I became concerned about reaching my lactate thresholds through muscular inactivity. Before I could crash and burn from not doing enough, we took a short stroll along the lakeside and watched a young bride getting her picture made for her upcoming nuptials.

I was reminded of the “circle of life” on this little foray along the paths of Hungry Mother. On the edge of the woods, was this young bride to be with so much of her life and expectations in front of her and walking, not 75’ away, was an elderly woman, who was obviously cognitively and physically impaired being led slow step by slow step along the path by her care-giver. Who knows what life this elder woman has led and if it met expectations held by her when she was the young bride to be’s age.

Following a supper of rubbed and grilled pork chops, grilled fresh asparagus, and rice, I think we took another nap followed by getting up and going to bed…

Day 11 (Wednesday) – The day started early when a friend called to make a camper inquiry. Actually, the day had started much earlier when I kept hearing a car driving around the area at 3:30 a.m. Knowing that this shouldn’t be happening, my curious brain wouldn’t let me sleep so I climbed from the comfort and warmth of the bed to glance outside. Sure enough, a car pulled in beside us with its parking lights on and I could see a flashlight making its way through the trees to the next campsite. If something untoward was going on, I couldn’t discover what it was so I turned back in with hopes of getting back to sleep.

During our early morning stroll we discovered that the young mother of the group near us had become sick during the night and the car beside us was being used to transport her to get some relief. Fortunately, it was nothing serious we were told by her husband.

Being somewhat disgusted with our lack of activity yesterday, the Navigator determined that we would be more proactive in meeting the day today. So, breakfast behind us, we headed out for a hike and to pay for our final night’s stay in Hungry Mother.

We chose the Lake Shore Trail as our beginning point and began moving. This trail is 5.7 miles long and is very aptly named. The first 40% of the trail, as we took it, is relatively flat and runs alongside the lake. After crossing below the dam, we headed into the woods and began climbing above the lake. The Navigator took lots of photos of differing plants that we observed along the trail. We enjoyed seeing how many we could name.

The trail is wide and mostly packed. It is used by hikers, runners, and cyclists although we saw only 2 runners and 1 mountain biker on our circle around the lake. We heard but did not see a Pileated Woodpecker drumming in the woods. Several Canadian Geese and Mallards were out feeding and sunning as we traversed the trail.

The trail makes several turns away from the lake and back into typical Appalachian wooded coves. The Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron are still in bloom and made for some pretty sights. We also noted a least 4 different types of ferns including a Bear Claw fern.

(Bear Claw Fern) 

After 2 hours of hiking, we returned to our campsite to find that two more of our neighbors have moved on. As I write, there are only 3 sets of campers in this campground although this is likely to change as the end of day comes upon us. It will certainly change tomorrow as the Memorial Day weekend crowd gets an early start.

6:00 p.m. EDT update:

The weekend crowd is arriving early. Young families with pre-school children are finding their way into the park getting ready for the weekend. The sites alongside us and the creek are now filled.

After lunch and some recovery time from the morning hike, I headed out on the Fuji to get in a few more miles before we pack it in for this trip. My warm-up consisted of a short ride up the valley beyond the park as described in yesterday’s post.

(One of the fields along my warm up ride) 

The Camp Host had encouraged me to climb the hill to Campground C saying it was pretty steep. So, I checked it out and, in fact, it was steep but short. For the effort, I did get to view the tent campground. All of the sites in this campground are up in the air on pedestals.

 

(Campground C lets campers experience the highs of camping!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(High water camping just outside of the campground. Notes blocks under wheels!)

My main interest in riding today was to go beyond the Park boundaries up the mountain. I did so for approximately 3 miles at an average grade around 11%. Throughout the climb, road signs warned truckers to turn around! I did so at, according to the sign, the last possible turnaround. I hate to think what was beyond that next curve!

A quick descent down the mountain brought me back to the Park offices and beyond. I extended my ride an additional 3 miles out into a country road I had spotted earlier. This turned out to be a connector to the road going up the next valley.

My return trip to the Park was punctuated with the most traffic I’ve seen this week. I stopped just above the spillway to grab a couple of images of the lake from that perspective.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(My trusty Fuji CCR3 overlooking the spillway)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Sun setting on the spillway)

My final ride in Hungry Mother was pleasant and about the right length given the hike this morning. We’ve been blessed with good weather while here and, as is hopefully clear in my posts, this is an excellent place to visit and rest. We have a final campfire in us and a few more moments of quiet by the creek side before this part of the trip is over.

We’ve heard the calling of home the last two days. Actually, we’ve missed our dogs and cats more than having a great desire to return home. It’s time to make the short journey south to home. This will give us some time to ease back into the normal routine before having to return to work next week.

While this wasn’t the trip we planned, it has turned out to be enjoyable and relaxing, which is something both of us needed. The Navigator and I continue to enjoy each other’s company more than that of other situations and living together full time in a 26’ x 8’ camper can either highlight your strengths or highlight your weaknesses. Fortunately, after 27.5 years, we’re still working with the strengths!

So, tomorrow’s daybreak will have us packing and doing those things necessary to load up and head home. In all likelihood, there will be no post tomorrow as we travel home and resettle. For those of you that have read this “travelogue” of our adventure, I thank you and hope that you’ve found it interesting! Your visits are deeply appreciated!

Until later,

Zeke

DAY 9 – THE LIGHT SHINES ON THE MOTHER!

Monday arrived right on schedule and our second week of travel began amidst the tall trees and rhododendron covered banks of Hungry Mother State Park. After enjoying a restful night of sleep, we enjoyed our morning coffee while sitting alongside the banks of Hungry Mother Creek. A small stream that moves at a slow pace, the creek is nevertheless chock full of life. Birds of numerous persuasions are constantly in and out of the water bathing themselves and seemingly enjoying a frolic in the water.

As we finished our morning breakfast of yogurt, banana, and coffee, the sun topped the mountain ridge and bathed the campsite in light bringing greater clarity to the clear waters of the creek. Our companion pair of Mallards made their morning visit and then moved on down the creek to the lake proper.

I had to telecommute to work for a couple of hours as I had done last week. This time, however, the Verizon 3G network was readily available at our campsite and I was able to connect to the company servers and do my duties while sitting by the creek. Let’s talk about a great view out of the office window!

Following completion of my work requirements, it was time to pay for an additional night’s stay and this was my opportunity to get in a ride. I headed down to the campground office and made it official that we would be staying at least another night. After some wrangling with the computer, we were checked in again and I headed out on my morning ride.

I pedaled out of the park back toward Marion, VA. and the bike lanes that we had encountered upon our arrival. The park itself doesn’t include that many miles of roads so leaving the park was the best alternative to get in some miles. The first couple of miles were along the shore of the lake and was an easy warm-up.

(The placid waters of the lake at Hungry Mother State Park) 

After exiting the park boundary, I came upon my first climb of the day. It turned out to be approximately 1 mile in length with a peak grade of 11%. The bike lane was much appreciated as this turned out to be a fairly busy state road. The drivers passing me by were courteous and gave me some additional space even though I was in the bike lane. I rode for 4 miles out to the local hospital before turning around and heading back to the campsite.

Once back in the park, I planned to explore some of the park’s roads but my keen navigation sense only ended up retracing my steps to our campsite. I did however keep going beyond the campground and found that I could ride to the end of the state maintained portion of the road for approximately 1.5 more miles. The road here is alongside banks full of ferns and rhododendron on the eastern side with open fields and meadows to the west. Some private housing exists here and it varied from relatively poverty appearing to high-dollar homes.

While I was riding…

The Navigator had stayed behind at the campsite in order to read. She thought she heard me returning from my ride but was quite surprised when a warm snout appeared on her left arm. She was warmly greeted by A.J., a Golden Retriever.

(AJ, the Golden Retriever, gets a rub down from the Navigator) 

As it turns out, AJ is a well-known, not always appreciated, visitor to the campground. His home is up the road from the campground and he has been making his visits to Campground B for years according to one of our fellow campers. AJ enjoyed a good nap, a snack, and another nap with the Navigator before moving downstream to some more campers. He made a return visit later in the evening but was spotted under our picnic table by the camp hosts and shooed home. They reported that AJ has been known to spend a day or so at a given campsite if not sent packing. While his presence with us was in no way an irritant, the hosts indicated that other campers often feel less than accommodating to AJ and register their complaints about him frequently. It’s hard to imagine anyone complaining about this laid back dog…

A nice hike was in order… 

Hiking trails and mountain biking trails are plentiful in this park. The Navigator and I headed out for a short trip along Lakeshore Trail with a return to the camp office and store along the way. The trail is well maintained and quite wide so there appears to be ample room for both hikers and cyclists. Horses are not allowed on these trails. Tire tracks in the low lying wet parts of the trail attested to the recent presence of mountain bikers. The broken bits and pieces of shale covering the trail would not work well with my skinny tired Fuji.

Hungry Mother has a very nice beach area. Most of the park’s amenities don’t seem to be open yet as their season is not officially here as yet. However, we did get a feel for what is available and this clearly would be a destination park rather than a stop-over location.

(The beach is ready for some customers…) 

While at the campground offices, we were treated to a former employee getting to tear down his former offices! The old check-in and camp offices have been replaced by a newer much larger facility so the old one had to go…

(Memories reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes) 

I proffered my help to the dozer operator but he just grinned at me and kept going! It was a similar rejection as the one that I received in Douthat State Park by the employee, who was grooming the sand at the beach area of Watoga Lake with his Ford tractor. Some guys get all the great jobs!

Just prior to a supper of baked potato, salad, and steak grilled by the campfire, I tried to do my best Jim Artis impression and put “finger to keyboard” in order to get a blog posted. Jim is very dedicated to his readers and, while staying with us recently, made sure to keep fresh material available. So, here’s to you Jim!

(Updating gr8smokieszeke by campfire!) 

Our night ended after some roasted marshmallows, watching a young small mouth bass in the creek feed, enjoying the drumming of a Pileated Woodpecker, and enjoying the sounds of other birds as night fell. I believe that we have found our premier campsite on this trip.

Until later,

- Zeke

DAY 7/8 – CLOSING OUT THE FAIRY STONE

Following our mid-trip stop for clean laundry in Stuart, VA, we located the local Super Wal-Mart and stocked up on supplies for our next day or so. We’ve been trying to shop in smaller amounts and more frequently than we usually would for a camping trip. Moving from place to place every 3 days has let us enjoy seeing folks from different places – noticing the differences and the similarities. The Navigator and I have both been struck with the friendliness of the people we’ve met in each of our stops. This goes beyond the various park staff and extends to the casual bump of a grocery cart in an isle or stopping at a local hardware store to ask for directions. We’ve yet to run into anyone out and out rude.

(The Navigator contacts father and sisters while doing laundry)

As we returned to Fairy Stone State Park for our last evening, the rain ceased and the skies began to clear. Even though we were under heavy tree cover, the rays of the setting sun were very much welcome. Our site was on a sort of promontory and we enjoyed just sitting and watching the various squirrels and birds as they went about their day. We took a short hike and walked right upon a doe before seeing her. She glanced at us for a moment and then bounded off into the underbrush.

Our second day here was much more enjoyable than our first as it was much quieter following the departure of our previous night’s neighbors. The camp host informed us that the party of 15 or so had been part of a larger church group that was supposed to be down in the group shelter but the shelter’s accommodation limit had been reached. The Camp Ranger made the executive decision to move the remaining group members to the campground where they behaved as if, well, they were a group. Ah well, the irritation of the night only served to help me appreciate the relative solitude of the following day.

DAY 8 Begins With A Move…

Feeling that we had pretty much gained our maximum enjoyment of the Fairy Stone Park, we loaded up first thing this morning, our 8th day on the road, and headed toward Hungry Mother State Park in southwestern Virginia. Hungry Mother is routinely listed as one of the top campgrounds in America and we didn’t know whether they could accept “walk-ins” or not. We decided to risk it knowing that most families with school age children would be departing today and also knowing that next weekend (Memorial Day Weekend) will be the first really big camping weekend of the year.

Our route took us across The Crooked Highway beginning with Jeb Stuart Highway just outside of Stuart, VA. This two lane road crosses over some serious mountain roads. We had one long stretch of highway that I would easily estimate at 4 miles and I’ll bet it had an average gradient of 9%. Our F150 was down to 30 mph as we reached the summit. It would be one heck of a training climb for the Wood-Man!

Reaching the summit brings you to Lovers Leap. An incredible vista of Virginia land is spread out for you to see. I made sure to get an image but the skies were still so grey that much of the magnificence of the view is lost in the image.

(The view from Lovers’ Leap on Virginia’s Crooked Highway)

Our arrival at Hungry Mother SP occurred mid-afternoon. We were greeted in Marion Virginia, the entrance to Hungry Mother, with bike lanes leading into the park. We were fortunate in that we guessed correctly that sites would be available and were able to secure a site in what the Ranger told me was the prettiest campground of the 3 in the park.

The Legend of Hungry Mother Legend has it that when the Native Americans destroyed several settlements on the New River south of the park, Molly Marley and her small child were among the survivors taken to the raiders’ base north of the park. They eventually escaped, wandering through the wilderness eating berries. Molly finally collapsed, and her child wandered down a creek until the child found help. The only words the child could utter were "Hungry Mother." The search party arrived at the foot of the mountain where Molly collapsed to find the child's mother dead. Today that mountain is Molly’s Knob, and the stream is Hungry Mother Creek. (Courtesy of Virginia State Parks literature: 2010)

We found our way to the cleverly named Campground B and secured a site alongside a bucolic creek. We’ve again been welcomed by a committee of Mallard ducks. This particular pair seem to be habituated to people and came right on up into the campsite. We were treated to a welcoming bath by the female of the pair as she spent a good 30 minutes cleaning all of her feathers and doing a pretty impressive “water dance.” The male of the pair stood by stoically keeping an eye on his lady love. (I’ve been told that Mallards mate for life. I wasn’t able to confirm this before posting today.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Glad you’re here! Did you bring supper?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The Navigator enjoys our latest campsite in Hungry Mother SP)

Tomorrow, after working for a few hours, I hope to get in some bike time as this campground appears to have lots of good ride-worthy roads. I’ve seen more cyclists today than I have in the entire time we’ve been on the road. The sun is shining as I post this at 6:00 p.m. EDT. It may be time to start a fire or maybe even take a nap. Whew, life is tough…

Until later,

- Zeke

DAY 6 – TRAVEL DAY IS UPON US

HE was upon us again. Our peaceful slumber came to a quick and resolute halt as the piercing call of the Sleep Destroying Night Intruder arrived on schedule at 5:00 a.m. Yes, the Nefarious Neutralizer of Sweet Travel Dreams was making his presence known again. I felt the Navigator vibrating beside me as she tried to crawl further under the covers to escape the ear shattering call of our dreaded early morning visitor. (Turns out she was just laughing at the ongoing visit of our “friend”) Was he on the table outside my window? Surely, he had not infiltrated the confines of the Hobbi itself. Lord knows it seemed like it. Fortunately, after some 15 minutes of revelry, he must have felt satisfied and went in search of other sleeping campers, perhaps some late sleepers down by the lake.

After managing a few more winks of sleep, we arose to enjoy the morning coffee. I had a quick conversation with Neighbor Ken, who remarked “Man, that is a persistent Whip-poor-will!” Ken, too, was impressed by our early morning visitor’s amazing consistency at showing up at 5:00 a.m.

Packing up and heading out…

Post coffee, the ritual of packing up and getting things ready for travel commenced. The Navigator and I have become pretty efficient at this as we both gravitate to our separate duties. She handles more of the inside and I handle more of the outside activities. The day was pretty again and we hated to leave but there was no more room in the Park.

(Zeke prepares to connect the Hobbi to the F150) 

Our travel plans took us to yet another Virginia State Park – Fairy Stone near Ferrum, VA. After a brief stop in Clifton Forge, we headed down US 220 through Iron Gate, VA, which must own some kind of record for number of churches in a straight line. We counted 7 separate churches within a 2 mile length of highway. Numerous denominations were present, some of which I didn’t recognize (Church of the Bretheren?).

Our route took us through yet more beautiful Virginia and the city of Roanoke. We arrived in Fairy Stone around 3:30 p.m. and quickly discovered that this park campground is a series of back-ins that have been carved into the mountainside. We did locate an isolated pull through with water and power. No other campers were in sight. We thought we had landed in a great place for peace and quiet.

(The Navigator catches her breath after Fairy Stone setup) 

We enjoyed a nice hike around the Lake Shore Trail and got a quick peek at the lake that exists within this park. We were greeted by the welcoming committee near the cabin section.

(A quacking good time appeared to await us at this point!) 

The Family that travels together…

…makes life miserable for those around them. I should know by now that when in search of peace and quiet, state parks are not generally good choices on weekends. This lesson was relearned when a family of 500 (actually 15) and 3 yapping dogs moved in beside us as dusk fell. Suffice it to say that it was a long night spent inside the Hobbi. Even the camp host had no luck quieting this group down.

Fortunately, this morning’s rain (Day 7), sent them packing. I guess being inside a wet tent with 20 of your closest family members isn’t as much fun as it might first appear. I did note that the yapping Poodle wasn’t welcomed into the family’s waiting arms…

So, on this mid-trip day, I sit in a laundromat in Stuart, VA writing this entry and somewhat helping the Navigator with washing and drying clothes. I’m contemplating how to fix our electric jack, where to head to next, and rejoicing in 3G speed!

Until later,

- Zeke

DAY 5 – LET THERE BE LIGHT!

Day 5 of Zeke and the Navigator’s multi-state camping tour pleasantly arrived under bright blue skies. After 4 straight days of rain and dreary skies, we thoroughly enjoyed our morning coffee, bagel with cream cheese, and a banana as we prepped for the day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky as we surveyed what little bit of the sky we could see above the narrow mountain valley of Beaverdam Campground.

Our first order of business was to decide to stay or to go. We’ve been committing to only one night at a time so that we would have the maximum flexibility in our trip planning. We already had the information that the campground was booked solid beginning Friday so the decision was really whether to risk staying and having to travel to another campground and hope for a site on Friday or hit the road today and be more certain of finding a place to stay for the weekend.

We very much wanted to enjoy some sunshine so we opted to stay at Douthat State Park one more night and take our chances on finding an open spot elsewhere on Friday. After our morning intake of caffeine, we hurried down to the camp office to secure our spot for the night and to also try to get a cell signal to check in with the Navigator’s father. Reception was very poor for some reason and this prompted us to head down to Clifton Forge where we knew from yesterday’s visit that strong Verizon signal existed.

Given the beauty of the day and lack of riding that I’ve been doing, the Navigator suggested that I ride my Fuji CCR3 to Clifton Forge and meet her at the Krogers where we needed to shop and turn in some DVDs. She also offered to grab a couple of images on the way as proof that I really did ride at least once on this trip!

(Zeke on Douthat State Park road) 

The ride to Krogers encompassed 10 miles. Shortly after leaving the Park’s boundary, we came upon a paving project that had reduced the road down to one lane of travel and you had to follow the “pilot car” in order to get to where you were going. I tried to keep up with traffic once we began moving but only managed to stay on the bumper ahead of me for a couple of miles. Fortunately, there was no one behind me so I wasn’t impeding traffic. The paving materials appears to be some kind of thin concrete and stone slurry. It was definitely not the inches of asphalt that I’m used to seeing at home.

After leaving Douthat State Park Road, you immediately go under I-64 and into the town of Clifton Forge. The road at this point is dual lane in both directions with businesses on each side. There is one short climb up to the Krogers store.

(A bike lane runs along this section of Clifton Forge highway) 

It was warm and I had definitely worked up a good sweat on the run to Krogers. The Navigator was waiting on me and properly documented my unnoticed arrival at Krogers. There were no balloons and festive crowds awaiting me and, even better, Floyd Landis had made no assertions that I was a doper. At least, I’m guessing that’s why there were no assembled national press members at Krogers waiting on me to smoothly unclip.

(Note that I don’t leave home without my Road-ID) 

After cooling down and posting my blog report and checking email, we did our grocery shopping for the next few days and rented our final DVD from Krogers. To our list of watched movies, we’ll now add Old Dogs. I’m not yet sure where it falls on my movie critic’s list. Definitely above Nine but well below Brothers. I’d say it is solidly in the middle of the pack.

Back to the Park we go…

After loading up with supplies to get us to Sunday, we returned to our peaceful campsite to find that the neighbors beside us were greeting the attendant members of their family reunion this weekend. The noise level had definitely increased given that there are 8 grandchildren in this reunion between the ages of 18 months and 5 years. I had enjoyed my conversation with Ken, the patriarch of the family, yesterday. He and his wife were the first campers to arrive. Ken had unloaded bicycle after bicycle from his camper getting ready for the kids to appear. He also had his own 2 bikes purchased at Kitty Hawk Bikes in Kitty Hawk, NC.

The Navigator and I enjoyed our final campfire at Douthat State Park with a meal of grilled hamburgers and slaw. Just prior to the meal, we hiked down to Douthat Lake and experience a nice change in the available light as dusk began to fall.

Folks had settled in for the night as I made my last walk around the campground. Very tired children were no where to be seen as they had run out of energy slightly earlier while adults, moving at a much slower pace, were sitting around their campfires enjoying each other’s company and low volume conversations.

The Navigator and I climbed into our bed with good books to read. It wasn’t long until dreaming had replaced reading. The quiet sounds of the forest critters and the smell of smoldering campfires made for a great backdrop for sleep – truly restful sleep. 

…Until HE arrived…

More later,

- Zeke

DAYS 3/4 – In Search of “enLIGHTenment”

Our move from Watoga State Park in West Virginia across the mountains to Douthat State Park was made with the hope of finding sunshine. We left Watoga under light mist as the heavier rains had subsided allowing the Greenbrier River to begin dropping its water level along the banks. “Milli”, our Garmin Nuvi 260, took us back through Marlinton for one final “look see” and across West Va. 39 into Virginia. The two lane mountain road traversed the Allegheny Mountains and Back Creek Mountain taking us through Warm Springs. The trip to Douthat was short in distance but long in time relative to distance travelled. This was due to the many turns and switchbacks we experienced. I recall thinking that on one specific turn on the Virginia side of the mountain, I could probably reach out and wipe clean the rear lights on the trailer from my driver’s seat in the truck!

Arrival in Douthat…

Our arrival in Douthat was under gray skies with heavy clouds but, fortunately, no falling precipitation. This was a nice break from the almost constant rain we’ve experienced since Sunday. The Park is situated around a beautiful lake. Hiking and mountain biking trails abound. The main road that runs through the park is narrow with no shoulders so I am not sure what to expect on my road bike.

 

(A 3 mile hike around the lake abounds with beautiful images)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Even under grey skies, a beautiful mountain lake!)

We enjoyed a nice and easy hike around the lake and back to our site at Beaverdam Campground. This particular campground, one of 3 in the park, was only partially full of campers on a Tuesday evening. Just as we were ending our walk, the clouds apparently reached their capacity to hold water and it began to rain again.

After a quick trip into neighboring Clifton Forge, Va. and a Krogers store for supplies, we grilled a couple of steaks and began our viewing of DVD’s rented at Krogers. All of the rain has certainly provided the opportunity to catch up on some movies.

The first visit of an extremely happy Whip-poor-will awakened us around 4:00 a.m. We shared his joy for the first 10 minutes of lyrical song. 38.74 minutes later, we were less than enthralled with his visit. Eventually, our fine feathered friend moved on to other sites and we drifted off to sleep again.

The sun continues to hide…

Day 4 was indistinguishable from Day 3 weather wise. We continued under rainy looking skies but again no falling precip to start the day. The overnight rain had ended about the time of the arrival of the Whip-poor-will. After breakfast of bagels and bananas, we headed back to Clifton Forge to turn in DVD’s and discover aspects of the local town. We were also in search of internet and cell phone connectivity.

Once out of the park, Verizon service became available and we spent 45 minutes in a Hardee’s parking lot as I posted blog entries and downloaded email. Navigator Kathy was able to connect with sisters and father.

Clifton Forge is a railroad town and its history is abundantly clear in the local architecture. The houses, built on the sides of the mountain, overlook multiple train lines running to the east of town. We spotted a couple of coffee houses and I saw two cyclists in town. The dreary weather has apparently run the cyclists of the area to ground.

As evening fell, some holes in the cloud cover opened up and we could see glimmers of blue sky. The lack of rain also allowed us to enjoy our first campfire of the trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The Navigator warms up by the evening fire!)

(Zeke the Scribe considering the day’s events)

Day 4 Ends Quietly…

After enjoying a fine meal of grilled chicken and baked potatoes, we napped and watched yet two more movies, (Brothers and Men Who Stared at Goats). Along with these two flicks, we’ve now watched Blind Side, Nine, The Proposal, and Couples Retreat. I told you it has been raining A LOT! Were I a movie critic, I’d list them as follows in descending order of excellence.

• Blind Side
• Brothers
• The Proposal
• Couples Retreat
• Men Who Stared At Goats
• Nine

So, Day 4 ends with hopes for improving weather. A decision will need to be made in the morning as to whether to continue the search for “enLIGHTenment” or to hold where we are. We already know that the campground is fully reserved beginning Friday so, at the very latest, Friday will be a travel day.

Until later,

-Zeke