September 1-2, 2011 – Odds and Ends

On Thursday we had to come off the mountain for supplies so we made a day of it and went to Harrisonburg.   On our way back we stopped at a roadside stand and picked up some fresh corn and tomatoes – mmmmm – fresh tomato sandwiches…nothing like it – :-))).

As you know, we have limited cell service here and once we were near town we were able to hear our messages.  One of our messages delivered bad news – Andy’s friend’s wife passed away this week.   J.R. – you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.  :-((

 

Today, Friday, is just a hang out day for us.  It is cloudy with periods of rain so we are just doing odds and ends and watching all the people come in for the weekend.  I am currently at the lodge getting caught up with email and the blogs and hoping the weather clears up for a campfire evening.

We have two more days here in the park before we leave on Monday.  Hopefully we can get do more hikes – :-)))

Until next time, stay safe and enjoy today.

August 31, 2011 – CCC Building

We spent this morning and early afternoon doing things around the motorhome.  I cleaned, vacuumed, then did laundry.  The laundry facilities here are great – clean and cheap (Lynne, another great laundry place – :-))).  Andy emptied our gray tank and refilled our water tank – we want to be ready for the weekend and not have to move.

This afternoon, we went on a ranger led hike to one of the CCC outbuildings. We met at upper Hawksbill Trailhead and our ranger, Jennifer, took us across the road and on the horse trail towards Big Meadows:

 

Along the way, she explained many things about the CCC and the history of Shenandoah National Park.  Apparently after the projects were completed, all the CCC houses and buildings were torn down – they were not meant to be permanent.  So we have lost much of the cultural history.

But a couple of years ago, the park service did find one building that was not destroyed.  Can you guess what its use was?  Hint: it was located half-way between the Skyland Camp and the Big Meadows Camp.

Our group trying to guess:

The building:

It was used to store dynamite – how about that.   It was 6.5 miles away from either camp. 

So how come it was not found earlier?  It is well off the paths and trails and very hard to see from those trails.   Right now there is no direct path to the building – we had to dodge trees and branches and the ranger took us out a different way as to not make a path.  Very interesting.

The date at the doorstep – it is either 1934 or 1936 – hard to tell.

 

On our way back, we found this colorful mushroom – nature’s colors – WOW!  (It is a little blurry because of the low light conditions – sorry.)

Another wonderful campfire night.

August 30, 2011 – The AT in Shenandoah NP

Another beautiful day in Shenandoah National Park – :-)

We decided to do a little more hiking today.  We first took the Appalachian Trail south out of the campground:

   

And had some incredible views – how about those clouds in the valley:

 

 

Some neat rock formations:

Other views along the way:

A cemetery in the middle of nowhere – some of the headstones were dated 1917:

And the butterflies – oh my:

 

 

And we returned via the horse trail:

 

We did 3.3 miles – not bad for me – :-)).   What a wonderful walk!

I spent some time this afternoon doing some emails.  I get a data connection on my tablet for about 1 hour every afternoon.  It is slow and not enough to get on FB or the blog but enough to download the emails.  Uploading is a little trickier – not sure why.    So later this week, I will head over the lodge to upload the blog and do the rest of my emails.

We started the fire early since we have lots of firewood:

Our Dusty is really enjoying being outside – he loves watching the birds, the bugs, and the deer:

Life is Good – :-))

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.

August 27-28, 2011 – Hurricane and After

The rest of Saturday (27th), we hung out, read, and watched the wind and rain.  The wind stopped about 4 AM on Sunday morning and by 10 AM, the sun was peaking out from the clouds.   And this is what it looked like by 2 PM (this is the view from the lodge):

So today was our trip to the dump to empty tanks that should be emptied and fill those that should be filled.  Since the dump is about 1/2 mile from the campground, we needed to do a complete breakdown and then a complete setup.  Afterwards we walked to the lodge to make a few phone calls – one of the few places where there is Verizon cell service.

On our way back, look who dropped in for a bite to eat – LOL:

I know, I know – I said no more deer pictures but I just could not resist.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening enjoying the campfire – :-)).

Tomorrow we scheduled a tour to Herbert Hoover’s Rapidan Camp so stay tuned.