Mount Jackson, VA

     We've been extremely fortunate to be able to squeeze in a few more days here at Shenandoah Valley Campground.  There is history all around us with multiple Civil War campaigns happening within a few miles of us.  I don't remember fully understanding the death and violence that occurred during those battles when we studied them in school.  So in order to fully appreciate the intensity and the barbarity of war, you must go to the battlefields and read what happened here.  But first we had to do some sightseeing and first on the list was a visit to Shenandoah Caverns.  These caverns, just a short drive from the campground, are the only caverns in Virginia accessible by elevator.  What a great feature to conquer about a 90 foot drop into the cavern.

 The cavern features a comfortable gravel path, and the only obstacles encountered during the 1 mile guided tour, were occasional low ceilings.  Then there were the numerous strips of bacon hanging from the ceiling that beckoned you to reach out and touch.  But touching is forbidden by VA law, and the oils from your hand would eventually kill the living Stalactites and Stalagmites.

This is actually a pool of water about 4 inches deep, reflecting the formations overhead.  The cavern does a very nice job lighting the formations making some of them quite dramatic.  I didn't realize that light promotes the formation of algae, so as we leave each section, the lights are turned off behind us.  As an added treat, our tour guide turned the lights off completely, and believe me it was as dark as you imagine it would be.  Not some place you'd want to be without a good flashlight.  I couldn't imagine 2 twelve year old boys discovering the cavern by climbing down into the cavern by rope, carrying candles, about 90 years ago.

       

     The next day we ventured over to the Shenandoah National Park.  We entered at the north end of the park, up by Front Royal, and purchased our  Senior Pass for $10, good for a lifetime.  I've been waiting 62 years to buy one of those!  It was a beautiful day, with temps in the low 70's. The Park runs along the length of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and features the Skyline Drive cutting a magnificent path through the mountains.  We had hoped to follow the fall colors south as we left NY, but it seems the peak colors occurred in Shenandoah last week.  There were still plenty of leaves, but the colors seemed muted as compared to the fantastic colors we experienced at Chateaugay Lake in NY 2 weeks ago.  The forests of Shenandoah consist of numerous hardwoods such as oak, hickory and chestnuts, and one report accurately described them as "all the colors of a spice drawer-paprika, ginger, clove, sage, chili powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Of course, Shenandoah is amazing any time of year, and a peaceful drive through the Park is always good for the soul.
       We stopped and toured one of the campsites quite accessible by Big Red, so perhaps, next year, we'll be spending a few days here.  The Park Rangers all agreed that the black bears were active this time of year, but we didn't spot any this journey.  Perhaps later on this week we'll return to tour the southern end.

     Yesterday we visited New Market, VA, and the New Market Battlefield.  This particular site is unique because of the role the Cadets of the Virginia Military Institute played.  After being activated, the Cadets of VMI marched nearly 35 miles in two days, and stood in reserve to assist the Confederates Army in forcing the Union Army out of the Shenandoah Valley.  As the Cadets, which numbered about 247, advanced across the muddy field on the Bushong Farm, several cadets lost their shoes, and the field later became known as the "Field of Lost Shoes."

     The Cadets were successful in their charge against the enemy.  Although 10 Cadets lost their lives that day,  they were successful in capturing a Union artillery piece.  Forty years later, all the Cadets were awarded the Virginia Medal for Valor.  Since 1887, the VMI Cadets remember the fallen on New Market Day, and the names of the fallen are read aloud.

     Today we moved south to Charlottesville, and will be visiting numerous historic sites in the area.  

Going to See America 2017 Has Begun

     On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, Debbie and I closed up the camp at Chateaugay Lake, which is now our new full-time residence, and headed southbound fleeing an Arctic blast coming stgraight at us.

 But first we need to fill in some of the gaps since my last writings.  Debbie and I were successful in our efforts to sell the Thompson Rd residence, where we had raised our family since 1987.  To say the least, this past summer has been nothing more than a blur, as we dealt with fickle buyers, unscrupulous real estate agents, and camp renovations.

   






      On September 7th, our great friends from Texas, Randy and Retha, arrived.  We had been trying unsuccessfully for a couple of years to get them to stop by, and after much cajoling, we got them to stop.

     As promised, we gathered them up, and headed them down to NYC via Amtrak, for a 2 day whirlwind tour to include the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, a Broadway show, the 9/11 Memorial Museum, dinner in Little Italy, and a meeting with Donald Trump at Trump Towers.  Did I mention that the average daily temperature was 98!!!  I thought we were all going to die.  No taxi rides....walking and the subway.  Retha got her first glance of what hell must be like.
     The 9/11 Memorial Museum was quite impressive, and needs to be visited again.

We probably enjoyed that the most because it was one of the few air conditioned activities we had!  Did I mention it was hot!!!Randy and Retha seemed to enjoy Beautiful, The Carol King Story, also.  Coming out of the theater, we met with a Law Enforcement Bagpipe Band, forming up to march into Times Square as a prelude to the 9/11 Remembrance the following morning.  Times Square was packed with onlookers, who went wild as the NYPD cleared traffic allowing the marching formations to pass through.  It was a very moving experience.
     

















     Over the course of the next few weeks, Debbie and I completed the sale of the house, packed up a 2400 sq ft house, and moved it into a 700 sq ft camp.  We didn't realize just how exhausted we were until we realized that our weather window was closing rapidly around us, and we needed to get south in very short notice.  On Sunday, Oct 23rd, we were enjoying weather in the mid 60's.  On Monday it was going to drop into the 30's.  But Tuesday night we were going to be looking at 18 degrees, much too cold for Big Red.

On Sunday we made a decision to close up the camp, get Big Red packed, and get south to avoid the cold weather coming at us.  Tuesday morning, right on schedule, we closed and locked all the doors and officially started our journey for 2017.
      After pushing down the road a little over 450 miles, we settled into the Jonestown-Hershey KOA. We have stayed here previously, and it's extremely convenient when traveling N/S on I-81 through PA.  As we settled in for the evening, Debbie finished up dinner which had been cooking all day in a crock pot.  Suddenly everything went black in the RV.  Figuring we must have popped a breaker, I grabbed a flashlight and headed outside to turn things back on.  But everything was working find at the pedestal. That's not good.  I'll just flip on the generator, and we'll be back in business.  Still no power inside Big Red.  We spent the next few hours working everything we could think of, but we went to bed that night working only off of battery power,  Not a good way to start on our journey.  We made contact with a local RV repair guy, who went right to work trying to diagnose the problem.  Half of out breaker panel was dead, and we didn't know why.  Then I remembered how great Tiffin help had been in the past.  Maybe it's time to give them a call.  The technician in AL was fantastic and aggressively worked the problem with my repair guy.  Within 20 minutes they had the problem fixed, and we were back in business.  Gotta love Tiffin.
     Thursday we arrived at the Shenandoah Valley Campground LLC, near Mt Jackson, VA, a short distance from the Shenandoah National Park.  We've been enjoying some nice weather, and traveled down through the National Park on the Skyline Drive.  That just about catches me up with the story, although there are probably multiple interesting stories I've forgotten. I'll try and do a better job of keeping this story fresh.  But sometimes it's difficult when you're having as much fun as we are.  Perhaps I can get Debbie to sit down and help with this???
   

Summer 2016 - A Time of Great Change

     The Summer of 2016 can only be described as an emotional roller coaster.  As we opened our camp on Chateaugay Lake in upstate NY, we again realized that the 2400 square foot home in Mooers we had lived in for 29 years, had really outlived its usefulness.  This caveat comes up every year, usually around tax time, and every year we would talk about downsizing and putting the house on the market.  But we could never seem to pull the trigger.  We were a little bit concerned about the real estate market, but after several visits with the tax assessor, we decided it was time to dip our toes in the market and see if we could locate a buyer for the property.  We contracted with Century 21 in early June, and before we knew it, a "For Sale" sign was planted in the front yard.  We made a few improvements to the property to increase its "curb appeal", and settled in for a leisurely summer on the lake.  
      Our first adventure of the summer occurred in June, as we ventured over to Vermont to enjoy the Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival in Tunbridge, Vermont.  

We had heard about this festival previously, but this was our first visit.  The venue is located on the fairgrounds in Tunbridge, nestled  among the Green Mountains, alongside Jenny Brook and it is truly a wonderful location.  The Tunbridge World's Fair began in 1867, and happens every September.  We somehow managed to score a parking area almost directly behind the main stage area, and were able to enjoy the sounds of Bluegrass music from our campsite.  Performers included The Gibson Brothers, who are our local favorites from Brainardsville, NY., Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, and the The Claire Lynch Band.  But there was another band from Virginia that really caught our attention.
 The called themselves  Nothin' Fancy, and they travel around in a YELLOW tour bus.  And I do mean yellow!  They performed several times over the weekend, and seemed to really enjoy putting on a show.  The fiddle player is a classical trained violinist and is quite comfortable playing bluegrass or Mozart. Each night after all the performances ended, they ventured out to the campsites and hosted a jam session, inviting anyone and everyone to come up and sing or play.  Amazingly, attendees aged 10-80 joined in and tried their hand at performing.  Nothin' Fancy are very talented musicians, and made the festival experience a little more special.  They have their own Festival in Buena Vista, VA every September, and Debbie and I are hoping to get down there one day.

   









      I have no idea why I would think this was going to be a leisurely summer!  "Summer Projects" just seemed to keep multiplying, in anticipation of the sale of our home in Mooers.

     Trees had to be cleared at the camp to make room for a garage and a parking spot for Big Red.  It was time to call in the professionals!  So after a small do it yourself project to get things rolling, we called in the big guns!

     In mid-July, still without a buyer on our other house, Secore Excavation arrived to begin the clearing of our property.  Debbie and I stood in amazement as more and more equipment rumbled up our driveway.  Soon Richard, the father, was maneuvering the excavator around, knocking down trees in every direction, as his two sons, Mathew and Andre, struggled to keep up with chain saws, bulldozer, and trucks, moving the debris from the property.  Our neighbor Andy anxiously awaited the delivery of 10' logs of pine, maple and cherry, over to his work site, where they would be cut, split and stacked for drying.  Did I mention that Andy is 80 years old, and cuts and splits wood all summer long?  He's been known to wear out a grandson or two over summer vacation!

     As Debbie cautiously supervised the clearing of the property, it became more and more evident that these guys knew exactly what they were doing, and any fears or concerns we were experiencing were not justified.  Well, maybe not exactly!  

For some reason, the camp decided to move over a few feet, just as a tree was coming down, and the results looked much worse than they actually were.  I've heard about this phenomena occurring in parking lots, where inanimate objects suddenly move, striking vehicles.  But I had never witnessed a house moving!  Dishes and glasses were rattled inside, but nothing was broken, and repairs to the camp were soon completed.

By the end of the week, our previously wooded lot was cleared enough to allow parking of Big Red up at camp.  Phase 1 of our Summer Project was completed, and the Master Plan was coming together.  No buyer for the house in Mooers, but camp renovations were progressing smoothly. Summer 2016 was definitely bringing changes into our world!