Family, Food, and Fun in Virginia

The gang's all here!

On the way to visit my brother, we had one night at another interesting Harvest Host site, Shenandoah Heritage Market in Harrisonburg, VA. When I went to make our reservation, I realized the market is closed on Sundays and, of course, that was the day we would be arriving. I checked in the area to see if there were any good alternatives, no love. So, I decided to call and see if they might be willing to let us come in on Sunday, 5/17, and shop Monday morning before we left. They very graciously agreed, so we had the whole place to ourselves Sunday evening. The grounds were lovely and the pups had plenty of room to explore.

Lovely landscaping at Shenandoah Heritage Market.

On Monday morning, I went into the market. What a fun place! It’s a collection of over 20 individual shops/vendors under one roof. A mini-mall of locally owned and operated businesses. They had antiques, custom furniture, handcrafted items, kitchen gadgets, gifts, home décor, a quilting shop, a café, baked goods, canned goods, western wear, toys, and Grandma’s Pantry, which was filled with bulk foodstuffs and a large selection of meats and cheeses. Pro tip: Grandma’s homemade fudge was excellent! It was no hardship spending the requisite $30 and I’m sure I managed to contribute a little extra to the local economy. Lol.

The variety of shops made this a fun stop.

We had a week scheduled to visit Tom and Kim and see their new home in Stephen’s City, VA. We’d originally reserved the full week at Candy Hill Campground in Winchester, VA about 15-20 minutes from Tom and Kim’s place. The private campground is large, nicely maintained, offers full hookups, and is really the only decent option in the area. Unfortunately, they take full advantage of that by charging a pretty penny to stay there and then nickel and diming guests for everything. They charge $10 per day/per person for visitors and they define visitor as anyone driving onto the property. I get it if visitors are using the pool or any of the amenities, but just coming by to say hi or pick us up, really? It didn’t set well with me, and yes, the policy was strictly enforced. If you call for an Uber, you have to meet them at the office or they won’t let them in without paying! That’s just nuts.

So, I was already not enthusiastic about the campground. Then Tom called just before we arrived to let us know that he’d talked to his HOA and they were ok with us parking in their driveway. Conundrum!  The temps were in the mid 90’s and we didn’t think we could keep the pups cool in the coach, but the weather was forecast to change and get significantly cooler on Thursday. Hmmmmmm. We decided to split the week and stay at Candy Hill for three nights and then moochdock at Tom’s the remaining four nights. It worked out brilliantly!

Nice campground, but the rules were a bit much.

The pups were very interested in the chickens. 

Riley on his couch with the air conditioning running full blast.
He doesn't look too stressed. 

The pups enjoyed the airconditioned coach while we had fun. We went with Tom and Kim to see the movie, The Sheep Detectives. (Two thumbs up!).  We did an Escape Room. (My first!) The premise was that you were hunting for a friend who went missing in a spooky cabin in the woods while searching for a cannibalistic serial killer. What could go wrong? Lol. Lots of fun puzzles to solve and we managed to “escape” with just a little bit of redirection from the host. I would totally do one again! FYI: Cameras were prohibited in the escape room, so no gory pics. But it definitely had a Dexter vibe. Lol.

We escaped The Cabin!!

We did the escape room on Wednesday in Winchester and then had dinner at the Water Street Kitchen. It started to sprinkle just as we entered the restaurant. We needed to feed the parking meter and Rog volunteered to do it. Let’s just say that what followed was a deluge of biblical proportions and by the time he got back to the restaurant he was soaked. On the up side, he took first place in the wet t-shirt contest. Lol. No pics, he was being a good sport about it, and I didn’t want to push my luck.

Old Town in Winchester, VA.
It was blue skies when we arrived, that didn't last long. Lol.  

Cheers!

The cool thing, pun intended, was that the storm broke the heat wave. It dropped thirty degrees in 24 hours – the highs went from the mid 90’s to the mid 60’s overnight. Which made it easy to keep the pups cool when we moved the rig to Tom’s driveway on Thursday. Keeping them dry was another matter. It pretty much rained from Wednesday afternoon right up until Sunday evening. There may have been short breaks, but it was steady just varying in intensity from misty wet air to I’m not going out there until this lets up. Ugh. We took advantage of any short break in the weather to take the pups walkies. Tom and Kim’s house is right across the street from the community center and there was a huge lawn behind it. We never did get a chance to property introduce Luna and Raney. Our plan was to take them on a long walk together to see how they did, but the weather just didn’t cooperate. Even the birds looked damp and unamused. Lol.

Our new moochdock at Tom and Kim's house.

A houseful of unhappy purple martins.

Luna.
Maybe next time Raney will get to make friends.

While our grand plans for long walks and bike rides got rained out, I was thrilled to finally get in some pickleball! Tom and Kim play indoors in a church gymnasium from 6 to 8pm on Thursday evenings. Only five of us showed up, so we played pretty much non-stop for nearly two hours. Yay! The competition was fierce and so much fun. Oh, and check out Tom’s custom pickleball paddle! I loved it. That’s his girl, Luna.

Tom with his Luna paddle. Love it!

 

Pickleball Time!

On Friday, Rog pulled out the Traeger and smoked a pork butt for pulled pork sammies. I dedicated the day to trying to remove at least the top three layers of dog hair, drool, and general grime from the coach. I lost count of the number of laundry loads. I think Kim got tired of me monopolizing her machines and she dried and folded the last loads for me. Why doesn’t that ever happen at home?  Lol. Rog also installed the new “pup cam” that I’d ordered off of Amazon. As long as we have the Starlink up, we can monitor the coach temps and now we can spy on the pups too. We’ll know for certain who is hogging the couch (Riley). Lol.

Setting up the Puppy Spy Cam.

We had loads of fun just hanging out together. We introduced Tom and Kim to Shut the Box, a fun dice game and Mille Bornes, a racing card game and they taught us how to play Left, Right, Center. They love games and Kim always has a jigsaw puzzle going. She completed two puzzles in just the time we were there. Very impressive.

Luna is a master of just hanging out. Lol.

We had dinner at Hank and Liane’s (Kim’s youngest daughter) on Saturday. They have two girls, Abi and Ali and live less than two miles from Tom and Kim. I’m sure that being within spitting distance of two grandkids had nothing to do with Tom and Kim’s decision to move from Pennsylvania to Stephen’s City, VA. Nope, nothing at all. Lol.

Lasagna dinner at Hank and Liane's.

Sunday was our last day, and Kim pulled out all the stops (as usual) and hosted a fantastic family BBQ. I think the total headcount was 14. Kim’s brother, Steve, and his wife, Wendy, came. Of course, Hank, Liane, Abi, and Ali were there. Kim’s oldest daughter, Jen, and her husband, Justin, came from Maryland along with their two kids, Eden and Evan. The cousins had a blast playing games and chasing each other around the back yard. (How did I forget how loud little kids are?) Lol.

Game time with the kids.

 

The cousins: Abi holding Evan, Ali and Eden in the chair.

The adults enjoyed playing games too, although there was a little less screaming (maybe). Lol. Kim made several new converts to Shut the Box. I learned how to play Rummikub (Steve was an excellent coach), while the kids (big and little) kept the PlayStation busy. Tom was in charge of the grill, and there was so much food! Hamburgers, hotdogs, homemade potato salad, baked beans, buffalo cheese dip, all kinds of munchies, four kinds of pies and brownies too. And for those that know me, yes, I did my “one job” and supplied the deviled eggs. Lol. Kudos to Jen for herding the cats and making sure we had some group pics. 

Tom on grill duty.

L to R (or tall to short): Justin, Tom, Steve, Hank, Teddi,
Jen, Roger, Abi, Wendy, Kim, Liane, Ali, Eden, and Evan.

Thank you Tom and Kim for a wonderful visit!!

We had a truly lovely visit and were sad to pack up for an early departure on Monday morning. My fridge and freezer are full, my laundry is done, and the rig was clean for at least five minutes. Lol. Guess it’s time to hit the road. Our next stop was a state park in Delaware where we made a big mistake. What? You’ll have to wait to find out. 😊

Underground Kayaking and New River Gorge National Park

The Red River Gorge Underground Crystal Kayak Tour was fabulous!

Our destination on Tuesday, 5/12, was another Harvest Host site, The Mill@ Slate Creek near Mt. Sterling, KY. We arrived at The Mill, a small family farm, in the early afternoon and got set up in a great spot next to the barn.  From the products available, we picked up some amazing pork chops, home cured bacon, a pork butt, ground pork, beer cheese and baked goods too. My freezer is now stuffed. Lol.

The Mill@Slate Creek, another excellent Harvest Host spot.

So we did a thing. On travel days, we usually don’t make any other plans, but we had one shot at this and decided to go for it. Our campsite was about 45 minutes away from the Red River Gorge where they offer the Gorge Underground Crystal Kayak Tour. The kayak tour is in a flooded limestone mine using clear Lexan kayaks fitted with LED lights. It just looked soooo cool! 

We had a group of eight, with two guides and a photographer. Full disclosure, most of these pictures aren’t mine. Lol. I tried really, really hard, but it was so dark that very few of my pictures turned out. But for just $10, I got over 30 digital prints from their photographer. What a deal!

And yes, even with the sign they still let me in. Lol. 

Fun photo op outside the entrance to the mine.

We got our gear and our guide, McKenzie started off with the usual safety briefing and then led us deeper into the mine. McKenzie told us some of the history, they mined limestone here that was used for the Kentucky turnpike. Over the years they hit the aquifer not once, not twice, but twelve times! When the mine closed and they stopped pumping the water out, it slowly filled up until it was possible to kayak through the tunnels. The depth ranges from a few feet up to 30 feet deep.

Safety briefing first. 

They “crystal” kayaks were so fun, but they certainly had a very different feel than our cushy inflatable Sea Eagle. We had a choice of tandem or single, and decided to each get our own kayak. The water was so clear you can see several feet down, but it was also cold. Even in the summer, the average temperature in the mine is only 52°F to 55°F. So, I had zero interest in swimming! Lol.

We've got our "crystal" kayaks. 

The mine was a bit of a maze, but the guides kept us from wandering too far. The history and geology were interesting, but I really liked the fish. Lol. The mine was stocked with four different kinds of trout. With no natural predators and a free lunch (no natural food source, so the staff feed them) they’ve grown into some monster trout. They are also very interested in the boats since they associate the kayaks with dinnertime. Lol.

Here fishy, fishy. Lol.

Monster trout.

The limestone mine, the LED lights, the clear water, the crystal kayaks, and gorgeous fishies all combined to make this a truly memorable experience. Certainly, a unique tour and one I’d highly recommend.

McKenzie instructs our group of underground adventurers.  

Notice, I'm ignoring the group in favor of the fishies. Lol. 

We left the next morning, Wednesday, 5/13, for Little Beaver State Park in West Virginia. This would be our basecamp to visit New River Gorge National Park. The campground was forested and we had four days scheduled to explore. The pups enjoyed hanging out between our forays into the park.

My pretty camping girl, and...

...our handsome boy.

Campfire time.

New River, which is, ironically, one of the oldest rivers in the world, cuts deeply through the Appalachian Plateau. The National Park spans over 70,000 acres and protects 53 miles of the river in West Virginia. New River originates in North Carolina, flows for 320 miles through Virginia and into West Virginia where it becomes a tributary of the Kanawha River.

The New River.

This part of the New River was mostly inaccessible for centuries. Then, in 1873, the railroad arrived. From 1873 to the 1950’s the region was a powerhouse, producing highly sought after "smokeless coal" that fueled American industries. At one time, the New River Gorge and its surrounding valleys had over 60 active coal mines, some spaced just a half mile apart. The high-quality bituminous coal extracted here burned hot with less smoke and was highly desired by the Navy, railroads, steel mills, and auto industry. You can see the railroad tracks running along the river. We didn’t get a chance to visit the Thurmond Historic District, a railroad ghost town. There is a restored 1910-era train station that serves as a museum, park visitor center, and an Amtrak train stop. Yes, the railroad is still active with trains making daily trips along the river.

The railroad follows the course of the river.

By the time the final mine closed down in 1965, the once bustling towns were mostly abandoned.  Tourism became the new economic driver. As the land recovered, people came to experience one of the nation’s premier stretches of whitewater. To preserve the area, New River Gorge National River was established in 1978 and then redesignated as a National Park in 2020. Several outfitters operate on the river, but the temps were mostly in 50’s and 60’s during our visit – way too chilly for me to want to go whitewater rafting.

Whitewater!

The park is spread out along those 53 miles of river and has multiple Visitor Centers. We stopped first at Sandstone Visitor Center on Thursday, 5/14. It’s at the southern end of the park, close to Sandstone Falls, which are the largest waterfalls on New River. While the drop is only 10 to 25-feet, the falls are 1500 feet wide and mark the transition of the New River from broad bottomlands to a narrow, rugged mountain gorge.

Sandstone Falls.

We learned at the visitor’s center that the iconic New River Gorge Bridge was actually 43 miles away at the other end of the park. Mini road trip! We opted for a loop drive, heading north on narrow, winding two-lane country roads and returning on the highway. The countryside is really beautiful. The deciduous forests remind me a lot of where I grew up in Pennsylvania.

New River Gorge Bridge.

The Canyon Rim Visitor Center was near the bridge and we stopped there and walked to the bridge overlook. The bridge is 3,030 feet long and 876 feet high. It is one of highest bridges in the US and it is the longest single-span arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere. It also reduced the 40 minute drive down winding mountain roads to cross the gorge to less than a minute. Please note there were two overlooks, and we did the optional 148 stairs down to the lower overlook (and the mandatory 148 stairs back up). After all the steps on the cave tour, my calves barely complained. Lol.

I don't think the lower overlook changed the perspective that much.
Not sure the stairs were worth it. Lol.

 

Cardinal and Tulip Tree in bloom outside the visitor's center.

On our last day, Saturday, 5/16, it warmed up to 77 lovely degrees. Rog and I drove to Grandview, another one of the park’s highlights. The overlook showcases a spectacular horseshoe bend in the river. Rog and I did the Castle Rock hike at Grandview. The trail weaves through groves of trees and rhododendron along a towering rock wall. The wall is predominately sandstone, shale, and limestone and in one section you can see a coal seam running along the base of the cliff. It was a fun hike, with lots of rocks to scrabble over and peek-a-boo views of the river far below.

Grandview overlook really is.

The trail was steep and rocky (and fun!).

The castle rock wall.

Rog checking out the coal seam.

Coal anyone?

Trail buddies. A skink and a millipede.

Peek-a-boo river views.

In the afternoon, we took the pups for a hike along Glade Creek, a popular 5.6-mile trail that follows an old abandoned railroad grade. Of course, with Riley slowing down (ok, that sounded like a good excuse) we only hiked a mile or so. But the pups had a blast playing in the creek. Riley did his “croc-a-dog” impersonation, going in all the way up to his chin. Raney is a bit more cautious, but she loved exploring and was happy to dance in and out of the water along the shallow edge of the creek. The trail was gorgeous, running through forest along the creek with views of small waterfalls

Glade Creek.

Riley and Rog on the trail.

Riley is back in his happy place. 

My bookends, posing for a picture, and...

...what I usually see. Lol.

Small waterfalls create deep pools, where the trout (and fishermen) hang out.  

Their comfort zones in the water differ a bit. 

There are two trailheads for Glade Creek and we picked the one that happened to be down a very long, very steep, very narrow gravel/dirt road. On the way out, Rog braked suddenly to avoid running over a snake that nearly spanned the width of the road. He wasn’t sure if it was alive, so I hopped out of the car to see. It wasn’t moving, but it didn’t look squished either. I tossed a piece of gravel and it moved. Ok, dude, you need to get out of the road. Tossing handfuls of gravel at him only seemed to piss him off, instead of moving to the side he started to curl up in the middle of road. I found a stick and tried poking him in the tail, move along dude. That only got me more attitude. The stick was rotten and broke, so I found another and it also fell apart. Now what. The snake was pissed and I was frustrated and nobody was going anywhere. Finally, a guy pulls up behind us. He gets out and I explain the situation. He finds a (not rotten) stick with a little fork at the end and picks up our unhappy friend and tosses him into the brush at the side of the road. Problem solved in about 30 seconds. I just needed a better stick. Oh, and according to the Seek app that I told you about, he was a Grey Rat Snake. Charming guy. Lol.

Snakey attitude.

Not all heroes wear capes.

That was enough excitement for one day. We went back to camp to prepare for our departure the next morning. We’re headed to Virginia to visit my brother, Tom, and his wife, Kim. We have a week of family fun ahead!