West Virginia (and some other states too)
New River Gorge National Park, West Virginia
Behind us is the New River Gorge Bridge - the longest single steel arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere.
After leaving Scott and Kristy's in Maine on October 5, 2022, we would pass through or stay in six states before reaching West Virginia, but I named this post "West Virginia" as a shout out to our friend Janie whom you will learn more about when I write about reaching West Virginia. We left Maine with three of us in LesThora. Our Grandson Jacob joined us for two nights, just to ride along with his grandparents before finding a bus station to head back to Maine where he is staying with friends he met when he was in Maine a year ago helping Scott with starting to build the house. Jacob is the second child of our oldest daughter Sheila and is quite the entrepreneur, having started his own business with recycling discarded pallets when he was 15, and then developing a variety of construction skills. Currently he is working online, like so many are today, so he can work from anywhere in the world. His home base is in Europe in the country of Cyprus where his parents live and where he keeps an apartment. While riding through five states with us he was "working" with the use of his phone a good deal of the time. We enjoyed his company, got to play a few games with him - the Dunning traditional get together activity. And I can't believe I didn't take a single picture of him while we were together! I will remedy that when we see him in California for Thanksgiving.
Kristy took this picture when we were in Maine and about to begin playing a game.
From Maine we drove through a small bit of New Hampshire and then Massachusetts before arriving in Connecticut to spend the night at a Harvest Host location.
Connecticut didn't welcome us with a sign, or at least I didn't see it.
It was pretty rainy on our first day out so we didn't really look for a campground. Instead we found a Harvest Host location in Plantsville, Connecticut . It was just a parking lot by a local store, but it proved very adequate for the night. There were some restaurants nearby so we had a very good Mexican dinner out. The reviews for the site said they had the cheapest gas around in the gas station next door so we filled up with gas the next day - that's a lot of gas in LesThora! Driving down the street gas was almost a dollar a gallon cheaper. I learned my lesson about trusting the reviews!
We found a KOA near Allentown to spend the night, our last one with Jacob. This was an especially nice spot out in the country with a creek right behind our campsite, a short trail up to a lookout and a nice country road to walk on in the morning. We played two rounds of mini golf with Jacob - the first time he'd ever played. Friday morning we took him to the bus station in Allentown where he would catch a bus back to New York, then make a connection to Boston and then another one to Portland, Maine and eventually back to Brunswick. As luck would have it one of his busses was late and he missed a connection so spent most of the night in a bus depot, but eventually got back to Brunswick where he was housesitting for a friend for the weekend. After leaving Jacob in Allentown we headed to Reading to visit my cousin Esther. We had visited Esther two years ago when we traveled around the country and didn't want to miss another opportunity to see her. My father was one of ten children so there were lots of cousins. I met many of them one time at a family reunion almost 50 years ago, but there were really only two we kept in any contact with. Bobby, the son of one of my father's younger sisters died several years ago, so the only one left that we are in touch with on my father's side is Esther, the son of my father's older sister Marie. All of my father's siblings stayed in Pennsylvania - he was the only one to move west to California where I was born. Esther and her husband Jerry came out to California often to spend time at Lake Tahoe, to visit San Francisco and to visit us. It was great to get to see Esther who is now 91, in good health and a great story teller. She has just put her home on the market and is preparing to move into a senior apartment.
Under a bridge on my early morning walk at the Allentown KOA.
She has never liked having her picture taken, and I was happy to get this one.
I would have preferred one of her standing with me to capture her six foot height, but I was thankful she agreed to this one.
After leaving Esther in Reading I found a Harvest Host down the road in Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. It turned out to be a delightful stop with a charming host and town and bridge with some history.
The town was actually first settled in the 1720s by Quakers. The first covered bridge across the Susquehanna River was built in 1814 -it was a mile long! On June 28, 1863 Union soldiers burned the bridge after a skirmish with Confederate soldiers forcing the Confederates westward to the battles at Gettysburg. Multiple bridges have been built since.
Half Nuts Popcorn Co., our campsite for the night.
We bought some delicious popcorn for us and for a couple of gifts and enjoyed chatting with the host and owner of this business where the owner couple makes the popcorn in their house (to the right out of the picture) and a converted woodshed for a store front (to the right at the end of the awning. The popcorn was delicious, our site on the front lawn was level and quiet, except for some sirens in the night, and was right across the street from the Susquehanna River.
This is the bridge we crossed to get to Wrightsville.
In the background is the bridge the interstate highway uses and in between can be seen foundations of another bridge long gone.
After leaving Wrightsville we went in and out of Maryland - didn't manage to get a picture of a "Welcome to Maryland" sign. But we sure noticed the crazy Maryland drivers - just like we remembered them from two years ago - speed, cutting in and out of traffic. But we found a beautiful and quiet corner of Maryland to camp for the night at an Army Corps of Engineer Campground at Mill Run Recreation Area near Friendsville, Maryland. We were the only occupants of the campground that is free during the off season.
We saw our brightest and boldest fall colors so far here in the Alleghenys.
Neat cracked patterns in the dry mud of the lake bed.
At Mill Run Campground we were a short distance from West Virginia where we would join our friend Janie and her friend Debbie who were celebrating their 60th birthday together. Janie was a part of our church in Colfax over 20 years ago. I left to be pastor at Kings Beach United Methodist Church, and Janie who married Todd in the Colfax Methodist Church in 2003 eventually moved to the Seattle area. Janie was born 60 years ago in West Virginia and is always at least a little bit homesick for her home town. Two years ago when Janie found out we were taking a road trip, including time in Washington state, insisted that we camp at her church there and we had dinner with her and Todd that night. Janie's birthday was September 11, but she started celebrating about 6 months ago with various forms of celebration. About three weeks ago Janie messaged me to see if we were going to be going through West Virginia on this trip. It just so happened that she would be in West Virginia about the same time we would be. She was coming to visit friends and family, to make apple butter at her childhood church, Bailey United Methodist Church in Rosemont, and to celebrate her birthday one more time with a BBQ and her life long friend Debbie. Janie and Debbie were born 4 days a part in the same hospital, and since their mothers were best of friends the nurses put their bassinets side by side, and they've been friends ever since. It was pretty special to meet up with Janie and Todd from Seattle in West Virginia!
Debbie and Janie blowing out the candles together, Sunday, October 9,2022.
After attending worship, helping to sort apples for the apple butter making to take place on Monday and Tuesday, roasting hot dogs over the fire and sharing birthday cake we headed through the hills of West Virginia on our way to New River Gorge National Park. We would "camp" for the night in a WalMart parking lot near Sutton, West Virginia. This particular WalMart is situated in a pretty rural setting and our "campsite" on the end of the parking lot was next to beautiful fields and forest. We had a very peaceful night.
Looking at the moon through our kitchen window early Monday morning, October 10.
A fog rainbow - the first time I've ever seen one - didn't know they existed!
Looking into the river gorge from a board walk overlook.
Looking up at the bridge over the New River.
The New River is actually a very old river, but some how got named New River when it was newly discovered by Europeans.
Actually, the whole world/universe
"is a living thing like a human body... each part dependent on all the other parts."
Leaving West Virginia to enter Virginia.
Our primary destination in Virginia and North Carolina.
Two years ago we had only crossed this National Park Parkway, but this trip it was one of our chosen destinations.
The first viewpoint we stopped at on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Looking out at Buena Vista, Virginia 1500 feet below.
There were lots of colors on the parkway.
Another viewpoint.
Pretty colors and rocks.
One of the many bridges/tunnels.
I checked ahead of time - LesThora would fit through them all.
Coming out of the tunnel.
Another one.
Tuesday afternoon we found a KOA campground right off the Blue Ridge Parkway at Fancy Gap, Virginia. I had thought the one near Allentown was the best KOA we have stayed in, but this one was really nice too, and the service was very efficient and hospitable. I was hoping to get to a campsite with electricity and WiFi in time for a Zoom group at 3:00. When we pulled into the campground at 2:45 there was another camper in front of us so I thought we wouldn't make it to our campsite in time, but we did! We were backed in and plugged in by 2:50 and I was on Zoom at 3:01!
The pretty pond at Fancy Gap/ Blue Ridge Parkway KOA.
Another view of the pond.
Our campsite - not big, but very private and nice.
I have seen similar "Weather Rocks" before, but never ones that said you could kick the rock if not happy with the weather. The weather was perfect the day we were there.
A bridge on Wednesday morning.
Entering North Carolina on the Parkway.
A very sweet pond I walked around along the parkway.
Another view of the pond.
And still another view.
Some Turkey Vultures in a tree across the road from the pond.
The colors before us driving down the parkway in North Carolina.
I think the best fall colors we have seen were in North Carolina on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The Brinegar Cabin.
It's claim to fame is that the Brinegar family inhabited and worked on a 125 acre farm here for nearly 60 years. We just happened to be passing by during the 1 1/2 hour window it was open on Wednesday.
A bend on the road as seen through the window.
But a little way down the road the clouds descended, or we ascended into them.
Taking a break, hoping the fog will clear.
I presume there was a view out there somewhere.
A temporary break in the clouds/fog.
We weren't sure how far we would stay on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but when the clouds/fog proved pretty relentless we decided to head to lower ground in North Carolina on our way to eventually reach DisneyWorld in Florida by October 16 where we had reservations for Disney's campground, Fort Wilderness. We found a beautiful campground at Lake Norman State Park, not far from Charlotte, North Carolina.
An island in Lake Norman not far from our campsite.
Part of the Lake Side Trail I walked on the morning of Thursday, October 13.
A young buck who crossed my path.
Some fall colors on Lake Norman.
South Carolina
I missed getting a picture of the welcome sign.
Rob has been a long time follower of NASCAR racing so we made a stop at this museum in Darlington, South Carolina.
The museum is at the Darlington Raceway, nicknamed "The Lady in Black."
Our resting place for the night on Thursday night was a Harvest Host in Timmonsville, South Carolina.
Our host was very friendly and had lots of wonderful fresh produce for us to buy at Ellerbe Vegetable Farm. He is the youngest of 16 children, now living in the house he grew up in, the only one of the children to continue farming as his father had done. All of the surrounding houses were those of his siblings.
One of the cotton fields we passed as we drove through South Carolina.
South Carolina was the first state we saw cotton in. It is interesting how when we cross a state line we almost instantly see a difference in the natural and/or planted vegetation growing there. One thing that has been pretty constant though is the presence of corn fields. We have seen corn growing in every single state we have been in with the exception of Nevada, though it is more predominant is some states than others.
We went a little out of our way to visit Congaree National Park, and we're glad we did.
On the outside wall of the visitor center.
We didn't see any mosquitos while we were there - glad we didn't visit in the summer.
We walked a 2 1/2 mile boardwalk trail next to the visitor center.
The trail kept us out of the swamp lands and mud.
This was a very interesting and different place - an area that historically has provided protection for Native Americans, escaped enslaved persons, and moonshiners. I wouldn't follow anyone into this area that appears pretty inhospitable to me!
Palmettos growing below the boardwalk trail.
An old growth Loblolly Pine Tree.
Congaree National Park is home to the tallest trees on the East Coast of the United States, and to America's Largest Old Growth Forest. Of course being from California I think of Old Growth Forests as the Redwood forests of the north coast of California. The Old Growth tees at Congaree are not as big as the Redwood trees, but they are impressive just the same, and I am grateful for this National Park that is preserving a small portion of these original forests.
Trees growing out of the roots of a fallen tree.
Some "knees," of Cyprus trees.
They look like saplings or stumps, but they are neither.
They grow up from the roots of the trees.
A Ranger at Congaree said their purpose is not fully understood, but scientists think they provide stability for the trees that are rooted in very wet soil. Another source said they provide oxygen for the root system.
Some Cyprus knees up close.
Some pretty Ladies' Tresses growing in the swamp.
From North Carolina we would drive into Georgia.
Our only stop in Georgia was at a Cracker Barrel restaurant where we would park for the night.
Cracker Barrel's are very friendly to RVers passing through with parking spots designated for us.
They would of course like us to spend money in their restaurant and store. The only thing we bought was two bottles of Birch Beer, a Pennsylvania soda that is similar to Root Beer. I don't remember when I was first introduced to Birch Beer, but I'm sure it was connected to my Pennsylvania raised father. When we were in Pennsylvania and Maryland two years ago we had some, and though I rarely drink soda, I do like Birch Beer so we went out of our way a bit in Pennsylvania this trip to find a source for a few bottles in Lancaster County. I was surprised to find it on the shelves of the Cracker Barrel Store. I wonder if Cracker Barrels in other parts of the country also sell it?
Florida has the fanciest welcome sign we have seen.
A sign at a rest area we stopped at soon after crossing into Florida,
reminding me of one of the reasons Florida does not attract me as a place to live in.
I admit it, I'm really not fond of any snakes, but where I have lived all my life there is only one venomous snake - the Rattlesnake. There have been times in my life when I realized I was so afraid of encountering a rattlesnake that I let my fear of them limit my activities. Some limits are reasonable - like not crawling around in the brush and tall grass as a child during snake season. As a child we were cautioned about where we could play on our country property, especially in the summer. But during the winter we felt free to roam everywhere and one notable Christmas vacation when I was 12 or 13, after making forts in the manzanita brush, I got a case of poison oak so bad I couldn't return to school after vacation for a week or more. From that experience I learned to recognize the leafless stems of poison oak during its dormant season. There is plenty of the irritating plant oil on the stems, not just on the "leaves of three."
I have also learned how to live in rattlesnake country and I am cautious when hiking to watch where I am walking, to avoid going off trail, especially in heavy vegetation and to not put my hands where I can't see, like on rocks above me. In all my years of hiking over hundreds and hundreds of miles I have only encountered rattlesnakes 3 times and each time the snakes left me alone, and I left them alone. I have learned to live in rattlesnake country, but not in country that contains multiple kinds of venomous snakes, like the southern states of the U.S. At Lake Norman State Park in North Carolina there were interpretive signs at the Visitor Center warning about the three venomous snakes there: Copper Heads, Cotton Mouths and Rattlesnakes. What surprised me was that Rattlesnake bites were the only ones the signs considered a "medical emergency." But still that didn't stop me from being even more on the look out for snakes than I usually am, and in Florida you add Coral Snakes to the mix, and they freak me out. When Scott and family lived in Gulf Breeze, Florida 9 year old Alex discovered a snake on his bedroom floor and alerted his mother. Kristy recognized it as a Coral Snake, put a bowl over it and called animal control. The person who answered the phone tried to assure Kristy that it could not be a Coral Snake, but when she insisted that it was they agreed to send an animal control officer. When the officer arrived, feeling certain that it was a case of mistaken snake identity, she casually removed the bowl, but jumped back when she realized it was indeed a Coral Snake, The officer apprehended the snake and no one was injured. Scott and Kristy speculated that it must have gotten in the house during a remodel project when there were openings to the outside world. 9 year old Alex who had developed a habit of sleeping on the floor returned to sleeping in a bed after that.
A park on our way, near St. Augustine, Florida, where we stopped for lunch.
This location commemorates a location where a treaty, that was later broken, was signed between the United States and leaders of the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes in 1823. This location was also near where Osceola, a Seminole, was captured in 1837 and died from illness during his captivity. Osceola was the name of a town in Nebraska we had camped in, and we have noticed that name on maps of many other towns in other states.
A sign on the beautiful boardwalk trail at Treaty Park.
Another great welcome to Florida!
Next chapter of my blog: DisneyWorld and beyond.
And from Angel Island State Park:
Two pictures of the kitties sent to me by daughter Erin. At first they looked like the same picture, but then I laughed when I saw the difference with Elsie looking at the camera in the first picture and Straus in the second. If one knows the personality of these two it is easy to know the order the pictures were taken and that a third picture would most likely only show one cat as Straus would have left as soon as he realized his picture was being taken.
Elsie looking straight at the camers.
Now Straus's turn, just before he bolted I'm sure.
I guess he and my cousin Esther have something in common.
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