October 24-25, 2015 Rapidan Camp

Our journey today was a ranger led tour of Rapidan Camp, Herbert Hoover’s get away when he was president.  We took this tour in 2011 and here is a link that will tell you a little more details on the camp and its history:

2011 Rapidan Camp Visit

We enjoy doing repeat tours in the National Parks because each Ranger has a different perspective.  In 2011, we learned a lot about the camp and the buildings.  Today, Ranger Ginny told us about Herbert Hoover’s life and his contributions.

Most people equate Herbert Hoover with the 1929 crash and the Great Depression.  That was only four years of his life and he lived to be 90.

Here is more information about him:

• He was a graduate of the first class of Stanford University.
• He was internationally known for humanitarian relief efforts in war-time Belgium.
• He was the first leader of the United States Food Administration where he inspired Americans to observe "Meatless Mondays" and "Wheatless Wednesdays"-- to substitute fish and vegetables for beef and bread-- and to dig backyard War Gardens.
• He was the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s where he promoted partnerships between government and business.  He met with many businesses in order to standardized items such as tires and tools – “economic modernization.”
• He made a fortune in mining and was the first of two Presidents to give his salary to his staff and charity.  (President Kennedy was the other – he donated all his paychecks to charity.)
• He wrote over 25 books including one titled The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson and another called The Principles of Mining.

 

Ranger Ginny is a history and social studies teacher. She became interested in Herbert Hoover’s life when she found only a small paragraph about him in the student books.  She felt there had to be more about him and went on a quest to find out.  When I asked about a book about him, she told me that there was really no one book.  However any recently published books give a better perspective of him. 

 

The tour is 2.5 hours long, cost $10.00, and reservations must be made by phone or online (that is new as of September 2015).  We started out in a van from the visitor center and traveled 6 miles to Rapidan Camp via a dirt road.  During the trip down, we learned about Hoover life up thru his presidency and the history of the camp and on the way back we learned of his life after the presidency.

The road:

The camp originally consisted of 13 buildings.  When the Park Service took it over, the buildings had not been maintained for many years.  They decided to keep three buildings that were in better shape, bring them up to code, and open to the public.  Two of the buildings are open to the public via the tours or the hosts that live in the third building.

The “Prime Minister’s House:

Hoover’s greatest passion was fishing. The property is located right by the joining of two rivers that form Rappahannock River – famous for its trout.

The “Brown House” where the President and First Lady lived:

Lou Hoover loved the smell of campfires.  Since the summers here can be hot and humid and lighting a fire inside would be too hot, this fireplace was built in the center of the camp and a fire was always burning when she was in camp.  There are stories that the President cooked at the fireplace a few occasions and served many heads of state and guests.

More information can be found here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapidan_Camp

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/hoover_camp_rapidan.html

The third building houses the camp host.  We were able to talk to them about the position and the duties.  It really sounds like a lot of fun –

We arrived back at the Visitor Center, had a great lunch at the Wayside and saw this little gal on the way home.

Another wonderful day in Shenandoah National Park.

October 25th

Today started out cold, foggy, and rainy so I did laundry.  They have a nice little laundry, clean and reasonable priced, near the shower area and I was able to use most of the washers and dryers –  

This afternoon, we went to the lodge to use their internet – Very slow today – Bummer.

Just hanging out this evening.  The sun has come out but it is about 15 degrees colder than yesterday – Brrrr.

 

We have had a great week and great weather here in Shenandoah National Park and tomorrow we will continue our journey.  Our plans are to be in Cumberland Gap National Park by Tuesday/Wednesday so stay tuned and enjoy today.

August 29, 2011 – Herbert Hoover’s Rapidan Camp

This morning we made our way to the visitor center where we took the guided tour to Herbert Hoover’s Rapidan Camp.

Did you know that Herbert Hoover was the first president that came from west of the Mississippi?  Many of the other presidents would go back to their homes for a weekend retreat but in Herbert Hoover’s case, he did not have a place to do that.  So Rapidan Camp was constructed.  Here is more information:

 

 

President Hoover and his wife, Lou, used this “retreat” many times during his presidency.  Roosevelt only used it once and then built the now famous “Camp David”.  However, from 1933 until the Park Service took it over, many dignitaries and former presidents used the camp.  When Al Gore stayed in the 1990’s, he recommended that the camp be opened for all visitors to enjoy.   So of the original thirteen buildings constructed, three have been updated, restored and are included in the tour.

So come along with me and I will give you the shortened version – :-):

Our group and tour guide, Sally, took us through the personal side of Herbert and Lou Hoover:

 

There are numerous signs and pictures throughout the camp describing what it looked like and what happened there:

This is the Prime Minister’s Cabin that is like a mini-museum:

The front and back of “The Brown House” – it was beautiful inside.  We could not take pictures but the ones above are very close to what it looked like.

Can you imagine coming out here in the morning with your cup of coffee and enjoying the views, the sound of the rivers, and the sounds of nature. Here are the views from the porch:

 

 

 

This fireplace was amazing – I can just imagine sitting in front of this with a roaring fire and roasting marshmallows – :-)

In the center of the picture below is a fountain that is gravity feed by one of the streams.  The inflow is still working but the outflow is not.  Sally told us that they found out that the out flow feed 3 small pools before emptying into one of the other streams.  However they have not yet found the outflow pipes.   

 

Lou also had many gardens and pathways in this area.  You can see one of the pathways in the lower left in the above photo.

One of the original fire hydrants – still working:

The last restored building:

We did not go in this building because it is for the volunteers who help take care of the camp.   AND…they are always looking for volunteers to help.  Hmmmm, something to consider – especially seeing the above back porch.   I could spend a week or two here – :-))).

After our tour, we loaded into the van and began our 6 mile journey back up the mountain to the visitor center.  On the way down this morning, we did see a small black bear thru the woods but none on the return trip.   Sally did tell us that there is a mother and four (yep, that is correct, four) cubs in the Big Meadows area.   Very interesting!

What a wonderful tour and I highly recommend it if you are in the area – it is free.

Since we are staying here another week, we made a wood run this afternoon.  Andy went to chopping but a storm came rolling in so – :-((  no campfire tonight.   Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

Stay tuned.