Time to Move

As much as we loved North Bend Park, we still need to get all the way up to Canada and back before the snow hits. But believe me, we will NOT see any of that stuff. We were actually on the road at 10:30 onto Rte 58 (a red road) and we pulled into Appomattox at 1:15. Did I mention I love red roads?? Our CG (campground) is really a mobile home park with pull-thru sites for temporary camping. No personality here. Tasha was first at the door, but in this spot, she needs to wear her harness and leash. She let me put it on, and followed me out the door, but immediately wanted to go under the coach. This is where she usually wriggles out of the harness, so I had to coerce her into following me. She was not a happy camper and ended up back in the coach with a treat for trying. The weather front that flooded Tennessee is headed our way tonight, so we dropped everything and drove the two miles to the Appomattox Courthouse National Park with Sarah, the snake. There were a few raised eyebrows when we asked if it would be OK to take a photo of her on the handrailing before the actual table where Lee surrendered to Grant. The hills of Virginia are absolutely spectacular. I could live here, if I had to, that is... Now, I am not one for remembering dates and battles, but I love buildings where historical events actually happened. I imagine those people really there, running their hand up the banister, and I touch it too, 'connecting', if you will, myself with the past. I imagine cooking over a pot-bellied stove, digging the garden, sewing by candlelight. Over the years, I have realized that I am not afraid of hard labor. I love washing dishes outside under the trees, and cleaning our (maybe) 10 square foot floor on my hands and knees. Sometimes you can do a better job that way. But I feel the satisfaction of a job well done when doing it with my own hands. Perhaps I have more of a connection than I realize with the past?

Exploring Again

We decided to take the boat to the beach for launching. It was a cloudless day, calm and many boats were out fishing. We paddled all the way over to the dam with a small breeze at our back passing many serious fishermen. We made it far enough for me to take a picture, then, of course, the wind picked up again, and we had to paddle hard back to the beach. It is so much fun, either going down a river or floating around on a lake. And Gary and I work together really well, which makes it always pleasurable. I am still the navigator and give the directions shouting "left,left! only a couple of times. After lunch we headed off to the Liberty Hill Nature Trail we had seen yesterday. I had picked up a map in the visitors center yesterday, so we were pepared. Here's a pic of Gary in his hiking gear. We ended up down by the river, which was pretty high and swift due to recent rain, wound around an old graveyard, past some huge rocks and back into the sunshine. It was a private walk where we met no one else, and only the song birds and crunching leaves made any sound. Can you determine what these footprints belong to? Heading back over the dam, we noticed tons of boats in a cove and a long line of people on the bank near a tent. Apparently the loudspeaker we heard when coming out of the woods belonged to a fishing tournament and the fish were getting weighed. Either that or they were giving out free food! We noticed a bunch of boat trailers near our park going out, so apparently this was the reason. Back for our last campfire and Tasha's last foray into the woods, for we have no plans to stay at a natural park until Pennsylvania. She will have to go out on a leash - just wait till I tell her that!

A Dark, Dark Tale

We have been so lucky with the weather! It just keeps getting warmer and sunnier. Today we went to the Kerr Dam Visitor Center to find out about one of the many dams used on the Roanoke River and it's tributaries. The US Army Corps or Engineers manages the lake and dam. The dam is 2,785 long & 144 feet tall. The power station generates an average of 426,749,000 kilowatt hours per year. The cement used to build the dam would lay a sidewalk 3 feet wide, 4 " deep from here to San Francisco! We drove down Route 4 past the rolling hills, little white farm houses and green fragrant trees and tall grasses waving in the breeze. Should we stop and put the top down? What a prefect day. But we were nearly out of gas, and crossed over into North Carolina stopping at a little gas station with ice cream and fried pork rinds. Guess which of us got which. The drive back was just as picturesque except we noticed a turnoff to Liberty Hill Nature Walk. Gotta do that! Arriving back home, we grilled some ribs then stoked up the campfire. The stars were coming out, so we took a walk to the point where we could look across the lake. Very romantic. And I saw a shooting star! There was no moon, so it was very dark. So what better thing to do than visit a graveyard? Getting close to the gravesite (in the dark, remember) I heard a rustling in the trees. My flashlite beam caught two little green eyes. Then they disappeared. We went on a little further; a little more rustling to the left of us, and the flashlight beam followed a little red fox sneaking through the trees. Cute little guy. On our right was the marker for the memorial chapel built by George Land in memory of his daughter, May who died in 1895 at the age of nine. Her grave and her grandparents share the plot surrounded by a little wrought iron fence. There is also a tombstone of a Confederate soldier, (AJ Dunn) and an infant, Lucy Cliborne. In the late 1800's the average life expectancy was between 33 and 47. Flu, pneumonia, small pox, cholera, typhoid fever and other diseases would claim young and old. We walked back to a dying campfire and bid the stars goodnight.