was an interesting one. Last Monday we packed up the tent and headed to the Shenandoah Mountains National Park where we were to meet some friends for a few night of camping.
We took an extra day and pitched our tent along the way at Greenbrier State Forest in WV. This was the same place we camped on our way home for out Hostel trip back in May. Same campground, same campsite, ate at the same diner. The purpose of this side trip was to be able to visit Green Bank WV. home to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. It is a couple of hours off the expressway but well worth the trip. I don’t pretend to understand much of what I heard but the little that I was able to comprehend was truly remarkable.
We left the site in awe and wonder. We headed to the National Park, crossed about 5 mountains on the way. Ah, mountain roads, huge trucks, fog, a little rain, at one point a plane passed over and we both ducked – really we were that high. But the pink mountain laurel was in full bloom – well worth the trade offs. It was an exhausting journey.
Thanks to the senior pass we were once again admitted to the National Park fee free. Now the Shenandoah National Park is a long one. The road is 105 miles from north to south, not many turn offs. We got to the campground found our reserved site and decided to look for another one. We happened to meet our friends at the sign in booth so we searched together for those two perfect sites. Sites found, tents pitches, dining canopy in place we headed for a ranger lead program in the evening. Oh yea, there were pesky nats everywhere. Seem like they might need to import some more bats. These little critters did not give up – under the hat brim, in the ears, in the eyes, in the hair…. Luckily when the sun went down so did they, for the most part.
The second day we did another ranger lead hike along part of the AT. It was good. By chance Jerry just happened to wear his AT shirt so the ranger gladly let Jerry talk a lot about his experience. I happened to remember that it was the summer solstice so we kept our eyes out for hikers – rumor has it that that day is celebrated as ‘hike naked day’ by some. All the hikers we saw were fully dressed and loaded with their packs. The day was a hot one so the afternoon we spent in the AC of the van enjoying the scenic views.
The next day we decided to look for water. Having a fly fisherman with us proved interesting. So the park is on a ridge top - but the water isn’t. After a bit of searching outside the park we ended up at Shenandoah River State Park. What a great place! The river was beautiful – wide, clear, clean and shallow enough to walk across it (if you’re a little taller than I am). We sat in the shade on the river bank and watch our friend show off his fly fishing skills. The fish were fairly quiet until the sun moved down a little in the sky then the catch mounted to four. Turns out that there was a heat advisory that day in the park that day so they were advising everyone who wanted to hike to stay on the AT since it is pretty level there in the park. Guess it was a good day to wet a line instead.
Rain/storms were predicted that night so our friends had sense enough to pack up and head out in the evening. We on the other hand decided to take our chances. The night sky did not reveal the Milky Way to us as it did the night before and about 4:30 the wind kicked up. Realizing that we could pack up and get an early start or go back to sleep and maybe be packing up in the rain we decided to see how quickly we could get thing broken down. We pretty much have this down to a science so we were pulling out of the campground in less than 30 minutes. It was a safe non eventful trip home – the best kind. So ended another wonderful road trip. Good friends, out in the woods, learning something along the way.
Sunday evening we went to be part of ‘the nuns on the bus tour’ event in Cincinnati. You can google that if you do not know what that is and are interested. It was a good experience. I was hoping to see more people there that we know – but we’ll take what we can get. Basis message – come on folks (politicians) what we need is ‘reasonable revenue for responsible programs’.
As an aside one of the speakers was talking about meeting Martin Sheen and although this was not a Vatican bashing event by any means she quoted Martin Sheen as saying that ‘the trouble with the Vatican is that it is the only nation in the world without children’. Interesting point. Thought it deserved a mention.
While at the event we met an AT hiker, evident by his AT shirt and duct-taped shoes. He is a section hiker but is also involved with the AT Conservatory. He is also an author and composer of classical music. So he has composed a piece of music from his experience on the AT. It is due to be released next year. Should be interesting.
More and more I’m realizing how in so many little (and not so little) ways the AT has touched our lives. Conversations/connections/experiences/future plans/appreciation of people, nature, events…… Thanks Jerry for having the courage and craziness to do it all and for letting me tag along.
No comments:
Post a Comment