A Magical Saturday in the Blue Ridge Mountains

 Vanlog, Blackwater Falls State Park

August 9, 2020

On Saturday the 8th, we had quite the day! First we drove to Babcock State Park to see the picturesque grist  mill over the Glade Creek. We were practically the only ones there and got some amazing photos in the early morning light. Then we drove to the New River Gorge Bridge overlook and to Lover’s Leap in Hawk’s Nest State Park.

Then we had a picnic and went swimming at Summersville Lake, where there were sheer rock drop offs that the more daring could dive from. 

Finally, we stopped at the Cranberry Glades area where there is a loop trail on a boardwalk through some interesting alpine like habitat. 

Then we had a long and bumpy drive with the last 11 miles on a gravel forest road to our Boondocking site in the Monongahela National Forest right along the Little River. So remote and private and beautiful! We cooked dinner, had a nice campfire, and s’mores before concluding this magical day. 

Where have I been?

 Vanlog, Blackwater Falls State Park

August 9, 2020

So one thing I learned about West Virginia is that their cell service sucks. When we last left off we had completed our second day at Harper’s Ferry. On Thursday, we encountered rain as we drove to Shenandoah NP. Rain ruins everything! We began to lag behind on solar so our lithium battery which runs our fridge started to decline. It’s also bad for the Skyline Drive views. We did squeeze in a hike in the park to these interesting columnar joints.

We stayed in the campground there and saw a bear cub crossing the road on our drive out on Friday morning. More rain and clouds and a long drive to southern WV where we stopped at pearl Buck’s birth home, Droop Mountain Battlefield, and the Falls of Hill Creek, three waterfalls on a boardwalk path before camping at Watoga State Park, where we had our first real showers. In vanlife a hot shower is a luxury! 

Saturday was our magical day. We had great weather, on the cooler side and sunny. We first went to Babcock State Park where they have this picturesque grist mill and no one was there! Then we went to the New River Gorge Bridge and Hawk’s Nest State Park for gorgeous views of the New River. Next we went picnicking and swimming at Summersville Lake. Finally, we stopped by the interesting habitat of the Cranberry Glades. 

Hiking in Harper's Ferry

Vanlog, Harper's Ferry, WV

August 5, 2020

We woke at 530 AM. Yes, this is vacation, but it's a special kind of vacation. It's what the girls like to call "vacationing with Brian." Actually, it was because we knew we had a very strenuous hike ahead of us and didn't want to do it in the heat of the August sun. Plus, we were told the parking lot fills up by 8:45 AM. But it was worth it to see views like this one. 

Once we crossed over the Shenandoah River to join the Appalachian Trail, we quickly found out that this trail meant business as we ascended over 1400 ft and it was steep right from the get go. After about a mile of vertical incline, we veered left on the orange trail and then the blue trail for an additional two miles. We startled a couple of deer along the way, neither of which was at all perturbed by our presence and just kept on grazing in the brush not too far off the trail. Brian had to go first because he was the one designated to break the thousands and thousands of spider webs along the trail, as we were definitely the first ones ont he trail this morning. In fact, when we finally arrived at Split Rock, we had the place and the incredible views of Harper's Ferry all to ourselves. 

Here are some of the views looking back down the river at the historic town of Harper's Ferry.

After sitting on the rocks to enjoy the view for a while, we retraced our steps back down for three miles until we reached the parking lot again. It was only 10 AM. We had already covered our "main" hike for the day and a total of six miles on the dot, according to the Garmin Jessica wears on her wrist. "If it wasn't recorded," she likes to say, "it didn't happen." As it turns out, we were in the River Access parking lot, so we walked along the Shenandoah River, amazed at the number of little shells on the shoreline. When we found a good spot, we soaked our tired feet and ankles in the water and relaxed a bit. 

After further rest and not knowing what to do with the rest of our day, we decided on yet another long hike. I mean, why not? It's only in the upper 80s today! So we hiked a mile to the historic town, then crossed over the railroad bridge, followed the C&O canal, and then head up the very steep hill to Maryland Heights, just opposite the Potomac River from Harper's Ferry. 

It was a steep climb that we had done before on a previous trip, but we knew the view would be worth it. And indeed it was! While we didn't have this view all to ourselves, it was still not overly crowded, being a weekday and all. Then we retraced our steps back to town and to the parking lot, adding at least another 5 miles to the 6 that we had this morning! 

Back at the van, we drove a short distance to the closed visitor center, where Jessica made a delicious lemon chicken recipe with potatoes for dinner and we ate at one of the picnic tables there. With our solar fully charged from today's sunshine, we drove back to Charles Town to the casino parking lot for another night of boondocking next to the railroad tracks. Maybe I forgot to mention that yesterday! Tomorrow: Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive. 

From a hurricane to Harper's Ferry

Vanlog, Hollywood Inn and Casino at Charles Town Races, Charles Town, WV

August 4, 2020

After the passing of Tropical Storm Isaais, which did not hit us too badly, the sun came out and there was a cool breeze. We left Lancaster around 4 PM for the two-hour drive to Harper's Ferry, WV, arriving shortly after six. We parked at the historic train station and walked along the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers in this amazingly scenic historic town. The town once harbored an armory and was a strategic rail junction during the Civil War. In 1859, John Brown organized a raid on the town, hoping that his little band of rebels would incite the surrounding slaves to join in an uprising against the town. Making the critical mistake of allowing a train to pass and sound the alarm, Federal troops under the direction of Robert E Lee came to quell the rebellion. John Brown and his men made their last stand in a firehouse at the end of the town. He was captured, tried, and hanged in nearby Charles Town for treason. Stonewall Jackson and John Wilkes Booth were both present at the hanging. 

We cooked a nice meal consisting of shrimp and summer squash in the van and then ate our dinners on the bench overlooking the view above of the old railroad bridge. Then we drove to nearby Charles Town and boondocked in the parking lot of the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races. 

Down the shore

Vanlog, Rehoboth Beach, DE

Got a late start this morning, waking around 8 AM. After breakfast, we walked behind our campsite and over the dunes to the beach. We set up our beach chairs and waded in the water. It felt cold at first, but it was really warm once you were in it for a while. The surf was a little rough and it felt good when the waves crashed against your legs. Dad didn't wade in too far---only about ot his knees. Despite the cool breeze and sun being behind the clouds, he didn't sit out very long wither ont he beach, preferring to head back to the campsite and sit in the van. I left the beach around 10:15 and we abandoned our lovely campsite. We saw some more horses around the beach as we were on our drive out. 

We then headed south for about 1 hr 15 min to the southern (Virginia) part of Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, where they have a historic lighthouse and where we also saw a band of wild horses running along the edge of the water. 

Then we stopped at a NASA facility on Wollop's Island, where they had a visitor's center, gift shop, and some films explaining how they use sound rockets and old aircraft and weather balloons to send scientific experiments into near space and the upper atmosphere. 

Finally, we drove up the coast through Ocean City MD, Fenwick Island, Bethany Beach, Dewey, and Rehoboth Beach. In Rehoboth, we parked on the street and walked the boardwalk just after it stopped raining and saw a beautiful half rainbow over the ocean, got some frozen custard from Kohr Bros, and bought Rachel some saltwater taffy. Then we ate at the local Cracker Barrel and boondocked in their parking lot overnight. 

One last hurrah

Vanlog, Assateague Island National Seashore

Dad came down to Lancaster today and we left at 8:30 for one last summer trip before the school year starts next week. We drove five hours down to the Maryland entrance to Assateague Island National Seashore. It was after 2 PM when we arrived, checked out the visitor's center, watched a film, and found our campsite. By the time we arrived there were some storm clouds in the distance. However, later in the afternoon, it cleared up and was a pleasant 92 degrees! We saw both wild horses and deer from the campground roads and walked up and down the beach before sunset.

Assateague is pretty cool. This is our campsite--ocean side. The beach is just over the dune behind our parking spot, an easy walk. Hopefully we will get up in time for a nice sunrise photo. 

We had some hamburger, potatoes, carrots, and onions for dinner. Dad sure looks like a happy #vanlifer. After it got dark, we made a campfire and had some s'mores.

Glamping in style the #vanlife way! Father and son, pals forever. 

Back to (un)civilization

Vanlog, Ridgefield, CT

How about them Phillies last night? Ninth-inning comeback and walk-off Bryce Harper grand slam! 2-0 since they hired Charlie Manuel as their hitting coach.

Wake-up call at 7:30 AM. We slept well in the pier parking lot and woke to the sound of a light rain and seagulls. It was foggy in the morning. We drove a short ways to the Portland Breakwater Lighthouse (aka "Bug Light"), where we had our breakfast. Jessica made herself an omelette in the van and I had cereal and yogurt. This small but quaint lighthouse was built in 1875 and its  unique architecture was inspired by the Choragic monument near the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. 

The skies cleared as we drove an hour south on Rt 95 to Portsmouth, NH. We parked in a metered lot and then walked around Prescott Park for a little over an hour. 

Well, that's pretty much it for our Maine vacation. It was back to reality as soon as I hit the highway again. What should've been a four-hour drive to our college friend Krissy in Ridgefield, CT turned into a 5 1/2-hr ordeal. Friday traffic around Boston, rush hour traffic in Hartford, and more traffic, traffic, traffic. This is the absolute worst kind of driving--stop and go, on the brakes, shifting lanes, going at a crawl, making no progress at all. I am convinced there are just too many people in the world, especially on the East coast. IAnd what's the deal with people merging from the exit ramps and thinking that they have the right of way? 

Anyway, we arrived safely in Ridgefield to visit our old college friend. Shoutout to Krissy's mom, always the quintessential host and homemaker, made us a delicious meal with chicken ont he grill, grilled veggies and tomatoes, and popovers. This is just a small part of her immaculate garden here. 

We'll have an early breakfast with Krissy tomorrow, enjoy our hot showers, and then it's another 4-hr drive (or will this one also take 5 1/2 hrs?) to home and the conclusion of another vantastic vacation!