The Royal Throne

A few weeks ago when I was camping at Pine Grove Furnace I noticed that the toilet seat was sliding all over the place!  I investigated and discovered that the nut had come off one of the bolts that holds it on.  Not only had the nut come off, the nut had vanished.  hmmmm…  I had no idea where it could have gone – the bathroom isn’t that big and I would have seen it.  I thought maybe it had never been there in the 1st place. 

My dad suggested that I take the other nut and go to Lowe’s and see if I could find a nut that would fit.  So today I headed over to the RV to get the nut and work on fixing the toilet seat. 

When I got to the RV I realized that not only was it not very hot, it was overcast and kinda rainy so it was cool and comfortable!  Even in the RV that had been closed up for 2 weeks!  I figured it would be hotter enough to fry eggs inside the RV the days I decided to do chores!

I went into the bathroom and unscrewed the nut. This of course involved attempting to bend my arm in a direction my wrist didn’t want to go.  I think I need a 3rd joint in between my wrist and my elbow for RV chores.  I had it almost off when I dropped it.  And it vanished.  One second I’d had it in my hand and the next  it was gone.  The washer was on the floor but the nut was gone.  Seriously?  Where’d it go?  I was baffled.  I got down on my hands and knees and crawled around looking under the toilet.  No nut.  I put my hand behind the toilet and discovered that there’s a “hidey hole” in the toilet – it’s not entirely solid between the outside and the bowl.  You can put your hand in and feel the unfinished side of the porcelain!  It’s very hard to describe, but I bet it’s designed that way to save weight.   I’m 99.9% sure that that’s where the other nut went.  It only makes sense.

I stuck my hand, as best as I could contort it, into the hidey hole and found one of the nuts!  A few more minutes of contorting myself and standing on my head on the toilet to get my hand into the hole and I had extracted a nut! I was excited thinking I might be able to get other nut out too and avoid the trip to Lowe’s.  The only problem was that there’s a conduit for one of the holding tank vents in the corner of the bathroom and try as I might I couldn’t get my arm in the hidey hole on the other side.  I looked at how the toilet was screwed to the floor – thinking all I’d need to do was tip it a little and the nut would roll out, but that wasn’t going to work so, I decided I needed something long and bendy, yet solid, to stick in there.  I thought for a minute and then remembered that I had some twist tie things that were exactly what I needed.  I also realized I could cover the end with some duct tape – sticky side out – in hopes of snagging the nut on the duct tape and extracting it.  I fished around in there for a few minutes and didn’t come with anything or feel like I’d come close so I gave up and went to Lowe’s.

I quickly located the part I needed at Lowe’s – they even had an open package that I could use to compare the nut I had to the nut I was purchasing.  They claimed to be “universal” but I was afraid that household universal and RV universal would be 2 different things.  They are not!  I got 2 different types – one with washers and one without and for less than $5 I was on my way back to the RV. 

Back at the RV I put the toilet seat back on and went to screw the nuts on.  I was being very careful not to drop the nut because I now knew it would vanish!  It took a lot more contorting and standing on my head and straddling the bowl, and wedging myself onto the floor in the bathroom to get both nuts screwed on, but I did it!  The toilet seat is now securely attached to the toilet and I have some spare parts in case it comes loose again! 

The royal throne is ready for use! :-)

All About the AT

Today the AT was king! We hiked about 8 miles, saw thru-hikers, eavesdropped on thru-hikers, visited the museum, met some historical figures, and got some trail magic! All we need now are trail names!

This morning, just as I was getting dressed, the freakin’ LP/CO2 detector went off.   The only pattern I can find here is that it goes off on Saturday mornings when I’m camping with Dad.  Makes no sense.  This time I was in the bathroom, not doing anything close to anything that might have set it off.  Guess I’ll take it in for them too look at.   Even though it’s baffling what’s setting it off it’s kinda good because the propane stuff and the the thought of the alarm going off was something that worried me – these false alarms are kinda like drills, now I greet the screeching the alarm with expletives and know exactly how to shut if off!

We decided to take advantage of having 2 vehicles and do a longer one way hike!  This is a rare opportunity for me so I was excited!  Covering 8 trail miles in one day is the longest section I’ve hiked at once!  We parked the RV near the main area of the park, which is about a 1/2 mile from the campground, and drove the jeep up to the trailhead.  We walked back to the park, got the RV and went back for the jeep. 

As soon as we pulled into the trailhead parking area a thru hiker came up, heading north.   We chatted with him for few minutes and then he headed down the trail.  Dad saw him later heading out of the park.  A few other thru hikers passed us as we hiked, they were pretty much the only other traffic we saw on the trail the whole day!  Crazy since it was a lovely Saturday, I would have expected to see a lot more people!

There was a crazy amount of Mountain Laurel in full bloom at the higher elevations!  As we hiked it was almost a tunnel of laurel! I’m glad we were there when the laurel was in bloom, the trail wouldn't have been that interesting without the laurel! 

We continued down, down, down…sometimes it was almost flat, but then we’d go down more.  It wasn’t steep, or very rocky, so it was easy hiking. 

About 1/2 way we reached the Tom’s Run Shelter, a 3 sided structure for long distance hikers to stay overnight in.  There we chatted with a section hiker (an AT who plans to hike the whole trail, just not at once, I consider myself a “section hiker”, I just hike very small sections and I’ll probably never finish the whole trail.) who’s pack was about 55 lbs!  He had stuff bungee corded to the outside!  The purpose of his hike was to figure out what he could eliminate!

Very soon after the shelter we reached the official halfway point of the AT!  We were a little more than 1000 miles from Springer Mt in GA and a little over 1000 miles from Mt. Kathadin in ME.  So now I’ve been to the beginning of the trail, the middle of the trail, and possibly this summer I’ll be at the end of the trail.  So, I’ll be done right?  Oh yeah, there’s all those other miles! ;-)

We mostly blew through the rest of the 8 miles hike, continued down, down, down.  The last 1/4 mile it was getting really long – I was expecting the road to show up any time and it wasn’t coming.  Finally of course we reached the road. 

We walked back into the park and had lunch on the porch of the General Store.  There were a few thru hikers sitting around shooting the breeze so we kinda eavesdropped on their conversation while we ate.  After lunch we got some ice cream and engaged in our version of the thru hiker tradition. Since Pine Grover Furnace is so close to official halfway point, thru hikers traditionally eat (or attempt to eat) a half gallon of ice cream, in one sitting! You can tell that it’s thru hiker season because the flavor choices of the 1/2 gallons the store had were very limited!  We did not eat an entire half gallon, we settled for one scoop!

Up next was the AT Museum!  I think this is a new feature, something they are just getting off the ground.  It was one room, but it was filled with neat exhibits about the trail and some of the people who have made it what it is, along information about several of the 1st thru hikers.  They had the original sign from Kathadin, other trail signs, gear from the 1st thru hikers, even an original shelter! 

After we checked out the exhibits we walked down to a nearby picnic pavilion where they were having inductions into the AT Hall of Fame.  I'd never heard of the AT Hall of Fame before and had no idea how one got in.  I need to google this when I get home.  There were a handful of people sitting in the pavilion so we wandered in.  When we got there they were talking about the opening of the museum and we were a bit confused, but after a few minutes the real action started! 

One of the 1st, and more noteworthy, thru hikers was a woman named Grandma Gatewood.  She was an older woman – in her late 60s and 70s when she was hiking the AT in 1950’s – and she hiked in sneakers, usually Keds, and carried her duffel bag over her shoulder.   She died in the early 70s, but her granddaughter (or it might have been her daughter, she was introduced as Grandma Gatewood’s granddaughter, but she referred to Grandmas Gatewood as “Mama” and she told us she was 84…) was there and she read to us from Grandma Gatewood’s Diaries from her 2 thru hikes and her section hikes!  Lucy was a bit of a pistol herself and she did a great job telling Grandma Gatewood’s stories!  I need to learn more about the legendary Grandma Gatewood!

The next speaker was Gene Espy.  He was one of the 1st thru hikers and hiked at the same time as Earl Schaffer, the 1st thru hiker. I had never heard of him until today!  I had a hard time understanding him but he told some great tales of the early days of the AT!  He is also the only living member of AT Hall of Fame! He’s written a book, that I think I need to read!  He was very entertaining and I’m looking forward to learning more about him!

I’m so glad we were here to listen to those two historical AT figures speak!  What a treat!  We’d sat and listened to them for 2 hours and it was time to move a bit so we walked down the AT towards the lake and day use area of the park.  Compared to the quiet of the picnic pavilion area the lake area was crowded!  People everywhere!

As we were walking along the paved AT/Bike Trail, one of the thru hikers we met last night at the Ranger Program, Diesel, approached us.  He’d set up some Trail Magic and offered us some! We didn’t need any snacks at the time so we thanked him and moved on, but it was fun to be included in the hiker community and offered Trail Magic! 

After checking out the lake area we walked back to where I’d parked the RV and drove up the mountain to get the jeep.  Back at the campground Dad called Mom (I have cell signal which I’m using to text, hadn’t occurred to me the I could make a phone call if I wanted to!), and I took a shower, then Dad took a walk to the shower house. After we got cleaned up we made dinner and enjoyed a walk around the campground.  Dad has built another fire, we gotta use up the wood he bought, and I’m about to finish my blogging before dark!

The battery on the computer is dying, so it must be time to finish this up!  Tomorrow we are both driving home and I think we are getting an early start since he has a 5 hour drive and I have weekend chores to do! 

Pine Grove Furnace State Park: 6.9.12

Pine Grove Furnace State Park

This morning Claudia was off to work – last day of school for her and she had to pack up all her stuff for the summer! Olivia, being a teenager, is rarely up before noon so I was on my own.  After breakfast and a quick walk around the neighborhood I was off to WalMart for a quick resupply before heading across the state to Pine Grove Furnace State Park. 

Pine Grove Furnace is the halfway point of the Appalachian Trail so I wanted to visit and hike some of the trail. This is where the hikers, having completed half the trail, take the “Half Gallon Challenge” and attempt to eat a half gallon of ice cream in one sitting.  Most succeed.  At the last minute my dad decided to join me so he could try out some of his camping gear.  He’s been reading a lot of AT hiker’s memoirs and wants to try “real” camping.  

Central PA is lovely!  Rolling hills, farms, quaint little towns, roads going every which way and every town and intersection is very confusing if you are the least bit unsure where you are going!  Right out of Shrewsbury I  got off route and encounter a sign warning of a 10ft clearance up ahead.  I was pretty sure I’m under 10ft, but just barely, I decided not to risk it and turned around (it’s a good thing I have such a small RV – anything bigger and I wouldn’t have been able to turn around).   I don’t currently have a GPS, I have google maps on my iPhone, which works great but it sometimes requires 2 hands and it’s hard to use while driving. 

Back on route I soon came to another 10 ft Clearance sign!  This time there was another road I could take.  There was a “Sleepy’s” Mattress Store truck in front of me and he was surprised by the sign and went down the other road so I followed him.   Luckily my side road lead me to the road I wanted to be on and I didn’t see any more low clearance signs!  I’ve now decided that encountering a Semi coming the other direction is a good sign! :-)

I stopped for lunch at Codorus State Park near Hanover.  It’s a beautiful park on a huge lake! They have boat rentals, a big pool, a campground and lots of picnic tables.  The park was mostly deserted today too!  I found a picnic table and had lunch and took a quick walk near the lake before heading on down the road. 

Getting through Hanover was easy navigation wise, but not so easy because it was full of traffic! ugh! 

Once outside of Hanover the road  got hilly and with a 55 mph speed limit and the windows open it was kinda like driving my own roller coaster!

Soon I came to the turn off to go to the park!  Once I got to the park I had more navigation difficulties – I’d passed 2 day use areas, but no campground. I turned around and went back to the 1st day use area and found a board with a map! The campground was just a hair down the road from where I’d turned around!  agh!  I took a map and headed back to the campground, which I found easily!  

Dad was here waiting, but I think he’d just gotten here!  I quickly backed into my site and he started setting up the tent.  An hour later we were ready to explore a bit.  RV camping is so much easier – just put it in park. 

I cooked my 1st meal in my RV!  All the other times I’ve been camping I’ve brought leftovers from the week and microwaved them, tonight though, I was making scrambled eggs!  I know, a culinary challenge! LOL!  I also prepared a salad for both of us and then cooked my eggs – using almost every piece of kitchen gear I have!  They turned out just like eggs at home!  We also sautéed up some garlic scapes – a garlic like plant I got at the CSA this week and they were yummy too, gave the eggs a nice garlicky flavor. 

After dinner we went to the evening program at the campground amphitheater – 10 Things You Didn’t Know About the AT.  We knew almost all of the 10 things, but they had 3 Thru-Hikers who were passing through the park to answer questions so that was fun! I know one of them has a Trail Journal so I’ll look him up when I get home.  (Here’s a link to Diesel’s Trail Journal)

Since it was finally dark Dad made a fire – he’d been wanting to try out his cotton ball and Vaseline fire starters he made after our “almost spent the night on Mt. Rainier” event from 2010.   He got a good fire going and I’m sitting here on my computer!

The campground has quieted down so it must be bedtime!

Amory Acres

Having an RV makes visiting family and being there for important milestones so easy!  My cousin Olivia was graduating from high school and I wanted to be there to see it so I packed up the RV and headed north to PA!  She and my aunt live in New Freedom PA which is right on the border with Maryland, just north of Baltimore.  This meant that I’d get 2 more states on my “Places I’ve been in my RV map” too!  I looked at the map and saw that there were a few state parks that looked interesting in Central PA so I decided to make a weekend of it!

In order to get to PA in time I left school a few hours early to drive up.  I didn’t make the best routing decisions but, I arrived in time for dinner before the big event!

I’d been planning to park in my aunt’s driveway, however I was worried that it wasn’t level so I stopped to check out the WalMart and see if I could stay there if need be.  It was a nice WalMart with a huge parking parking lot!  I was ready to do my 1st solo WalMart experience!  However, when I arrived at Claudia’s house I discovered that her driveway was level enough and just stayed there!  It was great to be staying with my aunt and my cousin, but still having my own space and not getting in their way! I’m now dubbing their house “Amory Acres” so it sounds like a campground.

After a quick pizza dinner and change of clothes Claudia and I were off to the school.  As we were arriving the storm clouds were gathering and we saw one flash of lightning and the rain was beginning…this meant that the ceremony was moved into the gym!  boo.  The storm passed very quickly and if we’d waited 20 mins we could have had it outside! 

The ceremony itself was rather boring but we cheered and videoed and snapped pictures (that all turned out crappy because of the horrible gym lighting) when it was Olivia’s turn to get her diploma!  Sadly, I did not get a picture of her with the True Value Hardware Sign that hanging right above the graduates heads!  (I’m guessing True Value sponsor's one of the schools sports teams.) 

After the ceremony we headed back to Claudia and Olivia’s for cake, champagne and presents.  My uncle Roger, Olivia’s dad, was there too and that was a treat since I don’t get to see him much!  We had a great time laughing and hanging out!

Crabtree Falls & Loft Mountain

One of the great things about RVing is that if you don’t like where you are you can just leave!  And that’s exactly what we did this morning! Yokum’s Vacationland, despite being a character building experience, just wasn’t cutting it for us, so we left!

Last night we decided we would drive to Crabtree Falls, which is in the George Washington Forest in Virginia.  But 1st we had to get out of West Virginia!  We went out 33 to Harrisonburg, which meant that we had to go over 3 mountain passes!  Dad and I had a brief discussion about driving in the mountains and I learned a few things – namely it’s ok for the RPMS to go higher either going up or down.  Between figuring out how to get the van to downshift while I’m going up, (and go faster than 40 mph!) and learning how the transmission works when I downshift going down, driving the mountains was actually fun!  I didn’t feel like I was fighting the van!

Going up the last mountain I got behind a pick-up truck that was moving really slow!  I got stuck back there the whole way down!  When we were finally at the bottom I had an opportunity to pass him (on a 2 lane highway, so I had to go in the lane for the opposing traffic) and I decided go for it.  I floored the accelerator and the RV just took off!  I was amazed!  Usually it does 0-60 in about 20 minutes. 

I had another opportunity today to test the van’s ability to move quickly under pressure.  When we were heading up the mountain to get to Crabtree Falls we came to a train crossing.  There was a train coming, but it was moving really slow and it was partially hidden by a parked train on the tracks in front.  The lights weren’t flashing and the barriers weren’t down.  Dad went through.  Then I looked up and the lights were flashing, maybe…the lights weren’t facing me so I wasn’t sure if they were for me or something else.  I decided to go for it and started across the tracks.  At the same instant the barriers started coming down!  The train was picking up speed! And blowing it’s horn at me! OH SH*******t!!!  I gunned it and shot across the tracks faster than I though possible.  I think the barrier may have clipped the back of my RV, but we couldn’t really see any damage.   I almost had to change my pants after that. 

Of course Crabtree Falls wasn’t an original idea on Memorial Day weekend.  The parking lot was full and there was no place for me to park!  Just as we were wondering what to do a truck pulled out of a spot that I could back into!  Dad ran up there and started directing me in.  It was hard because I really didn’t know where I was heading, just following his directions.  He directed me right and for the 1st time I backed the RV into a spot between 2 parked cars!  He quickly found an illegal place to park and after lunch in the back of Roxy we headed up to the falls. 

Mom went to the base of the falls and Dad and I made the trek all the way to the top – 1.7 up hill!  We figure it was at least 1,000 feet of elevation gain (and loss).  Took us about 2 hours to get up and back and it was hot!  We hadn’t brought water with us so we were very thirsty when we got back to the parking lot!

We decided to go up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and find an overlook to enjoy some birthday cake! The Blue Ridge Parkway is very nice!  Less populated than Shenandoah and the mountains seem bigger and wilder! 

I’d decided I’d try and see if I could get a site at Loft Mountain in Shenandoah – if I couldn’t I’d drive home.   We pulled into the entrance station at Rockfish Gap at 5:20 and the sign said that Loft Mountain had vacancy – it was the only lodging option in the park that did! The ranger told me there were about 30 sites and that he didn’t think they’d all fill up (I agreed, I figured most folks got reservations for the whole weekend and not many people would be looking for something Sun night).  We drove up Skyline Drive 25 miles to the campground and when we got here there were 5 sites left.  All but one in the “generator free” area.  I drove around trying to locate the open sites and while I was doing that at least 2 of the campsites were snatched up.  I pulled into the one available one that was empty.  It’s a nice pull through with a HUGE tent/picnic table area, but it’s not level. 

Dad and I were trying to level it and the leaders of the Boy Scout Troop at the campsites across the way saw us and all came over to help!  We finally attempted to use the root that was growing under the pavement to bring the tire up but it didn’t work.  The leveling blocks aren’t high enough.  I ended up just turning off the fridge. 

By the time I went to pay for the site there was a sign up that said “campground full”! 

Mom and Dad stayed for dinner – we ate cold stuff since we couldn’t run the generator – and then the headed home.  They decided that it was easier to just go home, even though it was a 3 hour drive that they started at 8:00 pm. 

I took a lovely walk through the campground, found about 6 other empty sites.  As well as several reserved sites that looked empty – like the people never came! 

Loft Mountain is a lovely campground!  Great big sites, many more level than the one I’m in! There’s a nice a breeze blowing! The Boy Scouts across the way are settling in – the leaders are all really nice and I think they’ve adopted a thru-hiker to hang with them and eat their leftovers!  I can even get intermittent cell phone/data coverage!  After I walked through the campground I went and stood where I’d had signal and every time the signal would drop off I’d walk to a new spot a few feet away to try again.   I was mostly successful!

I’m looking forward to a nice night in my kind of campground!  :-)

Crabtree Falls 5.27.12

Loft Mt Summit 5.28.12

Reconnoitering

This morning started around 6:30 when I finally woke up for good (I’d woken up about 5 because I was cold, but went back to sleep) and started getting ready since Mom and Dad had promised they’d be here early.   After my shower I was standing in the aisle in my towel and suddenly the LP/CO2 detector started going off! Many of you will remember that I had this same problem in Shenandoah National Park on my 1st real trip out.  This time however, I wasn’t running the heater or in my sleeping bag! I had no idea what was causing it to go off! I turned the hot water heater off, that was the only propane appliance I was using.  Then I quickly unlocked the door and threw it open.   It was then that I realized I was only wearing a towel.  And was now kinda standing out in the open in the campground wearing just a towel.  I then realized that I should go turn off the propane.  This involved leaving the RV, wearing only a towel, and walking around to the propane turn off switch.  Then since the alarm was still going I opened the back door to the RV.  A minute or so after I opened the back door the alarm shut itself off.  I waited a few minutes and turned the propane back on, turned the water heater back on and then closed the door to get dressed.   I even closed the whole RV up so I could make coffee – thinking I might be able to make it go off again and try and see why it’s randomly going off.  Of course, it didn’t go off.  I’m not sure what the problem is, my dad’s guess is that the towel, like the sleeping bag, was throwing dust into the sensors and made it think it needed to go off.  If there was a real problem with the propane it would be going off all the time and it’s not. 

It was almost 9 before Mom and Dad got here and we went off exploring. The whole point of this weekend was to check out some of the National Forest Service campgrounds and the roads in to get to them to see if I could drive Roxy down there.  There were some great sounding campgrounds but all them were down gravel/dirt Forest Service Roads which could be fine or they could do damage to the RV because the RV has less ground clearance than an SUV!

We first checked out Seneca Shadows campground, right around the corner from Yokum’s.  Very nice sites, some even had electricity!  WOW! That campground went straight to the “stay here next time” list!

Next we headed down a forest service road to Spruce Knob Overlook, the highest point in West Virginia!  There’s a nice observation tower and picnic area at the top!  It was kinda hazy so the views weren’t so great, but it was nice.  After lunch at the picnic area we headed deep into the forest to find the Spruce Knob Lake Campground.  This was the campground that I really wanted to find out about, it’s deep in the woods and looked very nice, but it’s almost all dirt roads to get in.  Turns out the road in is just fine for Roxy and there are lots of trails in the area.  After checking out the campground we walked around Spruce Knob Lake – about a mile or so, all flat – nice quick walk. 

We’d decided to make a loop and go back up another forest service road.  In this section of the forest they had “dispersed” camping.  Dispersed camping is car camping but out in the wilderness, not in a campground.  It sounded like a great idea on paper.  In reality though the campsites are along the road and they are fairly close to each other and you don’t have the security of a campground.  Maybe in some places I would enjoy it, but not here. 

We came out of the forest at 2:00 and realized that it would be really easy to go up to Canaan Valley today and come back through Dolly Sods, which had been the plan for tomorrow.  Since the cabin is so dreadful, Mom and Dad didn’t want to go back a second before they had to and if we finished everything today then we could leave tomorrow AM and go somewhere better.  So off to Canaan Valley we went. 

We went up to Blackwater Falls State Park and saw the falls and checked out the lodge and such.  When we got there we went to drive through the campground and see what it was like.  I guess since it’s a holiday weekend they had an attendant stopping cars as they came in and my dad explained to him that we were simply “reconnoitering”.  This kid had never heard the word and asked my dad to repeat it and explain it because he was “a wordsmith” and enjoyed words.  So dad explained that it meant to “check things out” and that it was kinda like “reconnaissance”.  The kid knew what reconnaissance was and told us to explore all we wanted! I figured he only let us in because we confused him with big words!

Last time I’d been out there I’d found a dirt road that looked like fun to drive and it took you back to the main road so we decided to try it.  Dad loves a good “off roading" opportunity so we took off!  There was a sign at the beginning of the road that warning of rough road and suggested 4W drive only!  We had 4W drive so we had no worries.  The road quickly went from paved to dirt and from dirt to great big potholes and then to boulders in the road!  At one point dad hit something with the bottom of the car!  Yikes!  Mom was getting a bit a freaked out.  And then we came to the river.  The river went over the road, or the road went through the river, not sure.  Dad forged ahead.  But when we got into the river it seemed a bit deeper than it looked – and there were huge sharp boulders downstream.  Dad and I both opened out doors to see how deep the water was and it wasn’t up the to the running board yet, but we still decided it would be best to turn around.  So he backed out of the river and then up the steep hill a bit until he had a place to turn around and we went back through the park!

The one restaurant in the area that I’d been too and knew was good was Big John’s Family Fixins’ – a pizza place in Canaan Valley.  We’d decided we’d eat there when we were in Canaan Valley so we had dinner there!  This worked out great because we weren’t sure how the fettuccine alfredo Mom and Dad had brought to cook was turn out in the substandard kitchen at the cabin.  We had 2 pizzas and they were yummy!  And as an added bonus I had cell signal in Canaan Valley and could check email and Facebook!

Soon we were on our way back to the dreaded cabin by way of Dolly Sods Wilderness Area.  I’d discovered this road when I came to Canaan Valley a few years ago and wanted to share it with dad.  Turns out I’d only discovered the tip of the iceberg and the best was waiting to be discovered!  Since I had the benefit of a map this time I was able to see that there was a viewpoint a little ways down a different road from where we were going to turn off to go back to the cabin.  When we went down that road we saw a sign for a campground down there!  So we went to the overlook – there were 2 short trails that lead to viewpoints.  As we were walking out I realized we were due west of Petersburg and that I just might have a signal on my phone.  Sure enough I not only had a signal, but I had 3G! So I was standing on the mountain top enjoying the view & checking Facebook!  YAY!  

There were scattered thunderstorms in the area and as we were heading back to the car there was a loud clap of thunder!  The cloud was small though so it wasn’t going to do much! In fact I was looking east hoping to see rainbows because the clouds were so few the sun kept peeking out.

We continued down the road and Dolly Sods began to show herself to us! Dolly Sods is an amazing area!  It’s like tundra, almost alpine, but yet still in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains! You could see for miles! There was a mix of trees and low growing shrubs!  It was a very cool area and I’m very excited about coming back to explore!  The campground is small, I’m thinking I need to come one day in the summer and get there early on a week day.  Despite it being very remote the Dolly Sods area is very popular, as evidenced by all the cars parked at every trailhead!

It was about 8:00 when we made our way back to the cabin.  When we got there we discovered that the folks next door had commandeered our picnic table! We’d planned to use the picnic table to plan our escape tomorrow.  I did notice that they had beer and suggested that maybe being drunk would help make the cabin look like a better place to stay.  The folks next door, all young college/mid-20s, also had tents set up and said that some of their group was sleeping out there.  I suggested that they could keep the picnic table if my dad could sleep in one of the tents! We decided to move the table from inside out so we could all sit outside!

We made a plan to leave Yokum’s a day early and drive back to VA early tomorrow AM.  We are going to explore a little of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesboro and Mom and Dad will likely go back to Williamsburg and I will either drive home or drive partway home and stay at Wal-Mart or something tomorrow night. 

When Mom and Dad brought me back to Roxy the folks next door were sitting outside of their camper watching TV with the truck parked right in front and the country music blasting from the truck speakers! I peeked out the window and it appears that they are watching the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. 

I was amazed at how well Roxy blocked the sound – standing outside you could hear the music loud and clear, inside you could barely hear it!  And with the fan going on the AC unit, I can’t hear a thing!  And I have the blackout shades pulled down so I can’t see them and they can’t see me! I might as well be anywhere! :-) 

West Virginia 5.26.12

National Lampoon’s Redneck Vacation

I’d decided that I wanted to check out some of the National Forest Service Campgrounds in West Virginia and Memorial Day looked like the perfect time to do it.  I’d found a few campgrounds that looked good but I was unsure of the road in – most are down unpaved Forest Service Roads.  I didn’t want to make a reservation and then get all the way out here and not be able to get down the road or worse damage my baby trying to drive over boulders and such.  

The solution was for mom and dad to come with me, we could camp someplace and go exploring in the Jeep.  Great Plan!

One glitch.  Mom and Dad’s RV is in the shop.  Somehow water got under the fiberglass and a whole side of the RV needs to be replaced. 

No problem, there are lots of cabins for rent in the area where I was looking.  Mom and Dad would rent a cabin and we’d find a legal place for me to park.  By this time I couldn’t get a reservation at my preferred campground – they did have “1st come 1st served” sites but that felt risky to me since I wouldn’t be able to get there until after 6:30 on Friday night. 

Mom found Yokum’s Vacationland located right at the base of Seneca Rocks! They had cabins AND a campground!  The campground didn’t take reservations, but they said they’d never turned anyone away. 

Mom and Dad arrived early and checked into their cabin and then secured me a site with electric! YAY!

Dad left a message for me on my phone and told me where the campground was and where the site was.  The sites aren’t numbered or anything – they just left a chair indicating the site was taken.  Dad told me that my site was next to a trailer and there was a guy with a goatee.  Hmmm..not very helpful directions. 

I left school just before 3 and headed out!  Even with holiday traffic 66 wasn’t a bad drive!  There was traffic till Haymarket, then it was open!  I drove the same way I’d come when I went to Canaan Valley and when we met Russell and Amy here 3 years ago. 

There’s a nice scenic overlook just outside of Moorefield and I pulled off there for dinner.  There’s a huge parking area and I pulled away from the other 5 cars that were there. I fired up the generator and heated my leftovers!  The spot had excellent cell coverage so I was able to check email and Facebook one last time before heading into the wilderness. 

I arrived at Seneca Rocks about 6:30 and went to the campground.  It was def rustic! Basically a big field with a few electrical posts scattered here and there.   Most of the folks in there had trailers so I was thinking I’d have a hard time finding my spot.  I quickly saw a site with a chair on it though and headed that way.  I backed right in and was attempting to get the RV level when Mom and Dad pulled up.  They’d been watching from the porch of the cabin and saw me drive by. 

As we were leveling we saw the guy in the trailer, the guy with the goatee.  His goatee went practically to his navel.  I’m not even kidding.  I’ll try to get a covert picture of it.  It was so long and frizzy he had pony tail holders on it! It was a serious goatee!

It took quite a few attempts to get Roxy level.  We finally put the back driver side tires in the hole and then raised the front driver side tire up on blocks and the bubble is almost in the circle on the level. 

After Roxy was level and plugged in we headed out to check out the General Store and go to Mom and Dad’s cabin.  From the store you can get a great view of Seneca Rocks and at sunset you even get Alpenglow, just like at Yosemite!

Mom and Dad’s cabin is a sight to see.  I had low expectorations and it was even worse than I expected.  Honestly I’m surprised there aren’t raccoons living in the oven.  It was musty and everything in it was used beyond it’s life expectancy. The furnishings looked like they’d been drug in from the curb where someone had put them out for the trash! It was musty and not at all welcoming or comfortable.  I’m soooooo freaking glad I have Roxy.  Note to self: If Roxy is broken, DO NOT agree to sleep anywhere else, and if you do bring the aero bed!

Back at the campground my neighbors are having a HUGE bonfire.  Just a few feet from both my propane tank and theirs.  Lots of folks looked like they were out partying.  I went right in my RV and pulled the shades and fired up the AC.  It’s like my own little bubble! I can’t hear anything other than the fan on the AC!  This is not so much the “camping” experience that my other weekends have been!

Tomorrow we are going out exploring!  Mom and Dad have promised to be here early, just so they can escape the cabin!