Day 16

The rain was gentle and steady all night long. With the exception of the occasional downpour from the trees when the wind picked up, I do believe the constant noise of the wind and rain helped us all sleep very sound. Our area of the campground had been deserted for the workweek so the kids were able to sleep in until well after 7. I took advantage of my last few hours of 3G at the campground and caught up on the blog.

We stayed tucked in the tent until the rain stopped around 8. The fog was so thick and the temperature had dropped overnight to the low 50s with the rain and it wasn't warming up at all!

I really dislike packing up in the mud and rain, especially without a shower facility so we waited until the last possible minute to pack up. While the kids went and brushed their teeth and changed I donned my poncho in defense of the mud and packed up the tent. Evey brought over the leftover pizza for breakfast and we were on the road by 9am!

We took it slow on the roads as it often seemed like we were driving in the clouds. We wouldn't be stopping at any overlooks today - there wasn't anything to see!

After about an hour we turned into the Blue Ridge Music Center to check out their museum. We all learned a lot about the history of the banjo as well as appalachian and bluegrass music. The kids loved hearing the mountain music from the 30s and 40s as well as the minstrel traveling shows.

They even got a chance to play a banjo and make up their own lyrics!
























We made a quick stop at the gift store and decided to have a snack lunch at the car. We all wanted to wait for the music that was starting shortly.  Emily and I grabbed the rocking chairs in the back and we were all treated to some great tunes!

We trekked into North Carolina today. There was a small welcome sign that I didn't even see until we were on top of it. The kids were laughing as there was an actual line in the road for the border.
 




It was still foggy when we made it to our campground so once we got set up the kids and I walked around to explore all the sites. Ryan practiced her photography along the way while the other two fought behind us.

I decided to make soup for dinner since it was still so chilly and the air was damp. We even had some hot chocolate for dessert! I made a fire to warm us up until bedtime and the girls worked in some of their create-a-story books.

When our pjs were on and teeth were brushed we read the last chapter in the Middle Moffat book. I'm not sure we've ever had a chance to read this much! Time for the next one!

Day 15

With the busy day we'd had the day before we all slept really well. Evey wanted to see the calves we talked about yesterday so we got her up and headed to the pasture. We noticed on the walk up that we were quite possibly going to be the only ones in our whole campground for the night.

The cows weren't hanging out in the shade by the time we made it so we just headed back for breakfast. Today was supposed to be the biggest day of guaranteed rain so we decided today would be laundry for sure.

The rain kept shifting to later in the day and into the night so we tried to get things put away at the campsite before we left so they would at least be dry.

By the looks on the kids' faces, laundry is by far the absolute most boring activity in the world. Occasionally my kids check their email but this day there was a tv on and they were introduced to The Price is Right! It was hilarious hearing the price bids my kids came up with. I would definitely buy a living room set, week vacation to New Orleans and a new car for $11,050.

Next on the agenda was finding ice cream. We'd seen a few people near the market with it so we knew it existed. We thought it would be a good idea to hold us over until a late lunch in town. I'm just not a big fan of cooking in the rain! My kids chose floats - all chocolate ice cream - two with local dark cherry soda and one with birch beer soda. I decided on a dark cherry ice cream that was outstanding! We walked around the country store trying not to drip on everything. This was the place our host had mentioned for music the first night we'd been in town and I made note to go on our next time through!

We decided to go put laundry away at the campsite and eek out as much sunshine and dry weather as we could. We taught Evey how to play campball and she, Laney, and I almost beat Ryan and Brayden with a final score of 20-16. That might be our highest score ever! They gave us the opportunity to try and come back and we nailed it but Ryan had to make sure several times for they record that they'd actually won. Oh, my competitive children.

Once we were all starving we headed back into town to have an early dinner and finish errands. Seeing the "best pizza in Floyd" place was closed we opted for another place just outside of town. I noticed a brewery across the street and got to try one of their beers - delicious! The kids stopped when they were almost full so we would have leftovers for breakfast and we all sampled their homemade desserts.

The rain was coming down by the time we left so we stopped at the grocery store and the post office before returning back to our tents. There was a break in the rain for awhile so The Clarkes fit in our night-before-we-leave walk around the campground without getting too wet from dripping trees. After a chapter in the book we all fell asleep to the rain right away. Seems we had missed our rainy lullaby!

Day 14

The sun wasn't lighting up the sky quite yet but once the birds started their morning songs I slipped out of the tent and got everything ready for our hike. The kids weren't thrilled when I shook them but after a few minutes of stretching and a trip to the bathroom they were ready. We ate our breakfast on the way to the front of the campground and jumped on the trail!

This trail was different than any we had done before straight up through a pasture. It wasn't long before we spotted the cows eating breakfast right next to us. I didn't know these cows and I was pretty sure there was a bull in the mix so we kept our distance and talked to them as we walked by.

Every time I looked out and every time I looked back the views were just breathtaking. And we weren't event at the top yet!

Before too long we left the pasture and dipped into the woods. This was even straighter up so we had to take a few breaks. At one point I spotted what looked like a toy plastic lizard and as I pointed it out to Ryan so she would grab it it moved! What a cool little salamander we found!

After about 20 minutes of walking we made it to the Saddle Overlook. The view was so spectacular the kids decided to stay for a snack. I walked over and read all the signs in the area learning about life in the area and the mountains we were seeing.

After another short, very steep climb we made it to Rocky Knob and the view we were promised did not disappoint. We were standing at a shelter for what used to be part of the Appalachian trail where the first thru-hiker spent the night. Tales and views of the Appalachian Trail were all around me as if to make sure I wasn't taking it off my bucket list. Let's just hope it's sooner rather than later!

Spring was still happening on top of the mountain. We spotted all kinds of flowers we hadn't seen yet! We also dive-bombed by the bees enjoying them too!

We kept going down the trail a little ways to one more viewpoint I'd read about. The trail was just lovely but the views were even better!

The sun was rising high in the sky by the time we got back to the pasture. The hike back down was exponentially easier!  It also reminded me of The Sound of Music just a little bit!

When we made it back to the bottom of the pasture the girls melted when they saw all the calves staring at us. We counted 11 and started naming them all. Two of the calves starting walking toward us but once I noticed the overly massive bull staring at us I decided it was time to move on and thank him for letting us pass. 

We had our second breakfast (I swear these kids would be completely up for a third!) when we returned home and told Evey all about our hike. She requested we go find water so instead of hiking down to the creek I found a lesser known fire road we could drive up and park within a half mile from the backcountry campsite on the creek. This site was so nice compared to where I'd backpacked this spring! It had been an old CCC site that housed the boys that were building parts of the parkway and other structures in the area. We didn't find much evidence of buildings but we did find the water!

Ryan was "getting bored of the water" so she asked for a dare. I seriously think she is going to be a handful in college!  After a couple easy ones, she dared herself to put her face in the frigid water. She claims it was refreshing but her face says otherwise!

We aren't used to a program-less park experience so once we saw there would be music this afternoon at the Mabry Mill we made a point to make it there. This mill is apparently one of the most photographed sites on the entire parkway.  Apparently the states of Ohio and Iowa had even used a photograph of the mill to include in their tourist advertisements! This grist mill was unique in that it was not only a mill back in it's day but also a saw mill and workshop including all kinds of woodworking tools to fashion wagon wheels, etc. It was all powered by the water coming from the streams nearby.

All the buildings with demonstrations were open which the kids always enjoy. They'd seen everything demonstrated at other parks but they smile every time remembering they already know about it and maybe learn an extra tidbit. The volunteer demonstrating the spinning wheel did teach and show us quite a bit more than we'd ever learned before though.

After the giant loom demonstration Ryan challenged me to a game of checkers. Her mind has completely transformed to a chess player so it didn't end well for her.

We stopped by the tiny gift store for post cards then headed back home to play games and eat dinner. We broke out Quixx and played until we ran out of score sheets. Even Emily joined us for a game!
Our afternoon shower was appreciated as we ducked inside the tent. We had been expecting rain most of the afternoon so this was nothing!

After dinner Emily decided the kids would enjoy the bat dizzy game. Instead of the normal 10 rotations she made the kids do 20. And then there is always the roots & stumps obstacles once they run - quite challenging!  I'm not sure Evey ever made it running as she was giggling too much!

And this is what happens when Ryan and I take the garbage to the dumpster. 

By the time we got back it was time to get ready for bed and read. We had mostly dodged the rain for the day so we were happy with all we were able to do. The kids were excited about our chapter tonight as it involved basketball. I was sleep-reading after our early morning so I didn't even remember most of it!

Day 7

I woke up and wrote this morning waiting on the kids to wake up. Ryan was first up with her morning smile so we headed to the comfort station listening to all the woodpeckers finding breakfast. It was still raining so we had leftover pancake peanut butter sandwiches for a quick breakfast then headed over all piled into Otis's car to the camp host's site for donuts and juice.

The Deacons were a couple I would aspire for Dave and I to be one day traveling all over the country and enjoying the parks. We noticed on the side of their RV their North America sticker map was completely covered except for the state of Hawaii. Mr. Deacon said he was still watching for the tunnel or bridge every time they were close because the state receives federal interstate funds!

After awhile other campers joined us and we learned short parts of everyone's lives. Campers are a unique bunch with so much in common once they chat a minute or so. It's also very interesting to listen to stories of where they've been and their favorite spots to add to our list!

The rain finally stopped and the kids begged to go back to the creek so we went back to our site to grab their water shoes and go explore. They enjoyed searching for minnows and crawfish but the girls especially enjoyed mothering Brayden with his hurt finger. They showed him exactly where to step and helped him find a good walking stick to help with balance. At first he wasn't going to go in, but after I strongly suggested he try he was so glad he did. They ended up walking the entire length of the campground plus much more.

As I was walking back to our site to drop off shoes and sweatshirts I noticed our friends were leaving to head north. These two guys had met on the road and decided to caravan north for a little ways and spend them together. I waved and wished them well on their journeys to Maine. When I went to check on the kids at the creek near their site I noticed two bunches of daisies tucked in some roots by the water. It turns out the older guy had just lost his wife and I assumed he'd left them to honor her as they had made this journey together in years past. So sad.

With rain expected in the afternoon we opted for a bigger lunch in case it was a rainy mess to cook for dinner. The kids have become bottomless pits with all the energy they are expending! After lunch I took all the kids to walk a couple trails a few miles down the road.

The first trail was called The Trail of Trees with small signs identifying all the trees in the area. The kids taught Evey how to play Pooh Sticks on one of the bridges and we continued on to the overlook.

Next up was the Lock Trail that I was looking forward to. We walked under a the bridge across the James River and learned how there were locks built from Richmond to just past this area for transporting goods. The goal was to make it to the Mississippi but the railroad beat them to it. The kids got a real up close look at a very small version of the locks we'd been to up north.

Under the bridge we noticed small birds popping in and out of nests tucked into the corners of the structure. Except for the noise of cars, what a great place for a home!

The kids begged me to stop back at the waterfall for them to explore the rocks again. We stayed for more than an hour looking for snakes, fish and enjoying the warm weather and cold water. When we were walking across the rocks to leave Ryan lost her flip flop and Evey jumped in to the rescue twice to grab it. I'm not sure we would have been able to get it otherwise!

Once we got back we broke out the card games. We taught Evey 3Up3Down and Otis joined in as well. Then we played Exploding Kittens with Brayden narrowly winning at the end. We learned the Dunlaps are cutthroat card players!

Ryan, Brayden, and Evey were ready to try fishing again so once they had all the gear ready (with much supervision from Otis) they piled back into his car to try their luck. Laney, Emily, and I stayed behind to get organized for leaving the next day. Laney stayed behind to begin a painting and read. The temperature was beginning to drop so Laney and I brought back some firewood to the site.

With all the rain much of the wood seemed wet so I whittled off pieces for started and found some dryish kindling. I worked on the fire for the better park of 45 minutes but the wood just wouldn't catch. Otis added started, Emily added starter and that would burn, but the wood just wasn't catching so the kids "roasted" marshmallows as quickly as they could before the starter went out.

After we put pjs on and brushed teeth we put just about everything away for the night and slipped in the tent. I read another really long chapter about a mechanical genius who kept everyone's skates and we went to sleep laughing.

Day 6

We were up early after a great night's sleep with very little rain throughout the night. It was pretty hot and humid so I think we all slept on top of our bags. I made a big batch of pancakes for breakfast with yogurt and strawberries. I will never hear the end of the Vanana-yogurt-wishes as they settle for plain old Trader Joe's vanilla.

Once we were cleaned up the kids put on their water shoes and we headed to the creek next to the campground to climb around. As all the adults talked with some full-time traveling dudes, the kids scrambled around the slippery rocks exploring the creek.

The ever-cautious Brayden sat with the adults for awhile until I handed him the camera to capture the events on the creek. All the kids ran up at one point claiming they had found their pet for the trip. Once we compromised to have him only for our timem at hte creek, Laney ran to grab a little bowl from our site for his temporary home.  They carried this guy all around the creek for the next hour for his field trip.

I visited the kids at the creek after a little while to take a few more pictures. Just seconds after this picture was taken Brayden slipped on some rocks and by the way he was looking at his hand when he got up I knew we'd be taking a trip to see a doctor. Luckily we all believe it is just a pinky sprain so I taped it to his ring finger and even though it felt weird he did say it felt a little better.

I fed the kids a quick snack lunch and Ryan and Brayden piled in Otis's car to go fishing. Laney, Emily, and I opted for a 3-mile hike down to the lake. Laney can walk for days and once I told her we'd be crossing the creek and going under the road a couple times she was excited.

Emily and I chatted a lot along the way and we made the hills easier by teaching Emily how to play Contact. We even got to wish a girl happy birthday as we walked by their neat celebration in the woods.

We found the fishing people by the lake having a snack. We were greeted with, "Guess what we caught?!" follwed quickly by, "NOTHING!"

The kids walked us down to a little spot with rocks and a waterfall. The kids enjoyed exploring and climbing all around the area. At one point I spotted a snake that had caught a fish so we followed it to see what kind it was and watch it eat. He was a teenager but with the fish in his mouth we couldn't really see the shape of his head to tell what kind he was.

Emily and I decided to hike the 3 miles back to our site while Otis piled the all the kids in his car. Within 10 steps of entering the woods, the downpour started. It was 3pm in the South so we should have known better. The rocks were more slippery, the roots were more slippery and we became way more slippery! We made it back in record time though feeling squeaky clean like we'd just had a shower.

We waited a little while for the rain to stop but it wasn't letting up so we all decided to head to a nearby town for dinner. I set our GPS to a random Italian spot and we were on our way. The drive was nice through a little tiny town. Once we pulled into the parking lot I noticed the restaurant was in a strip mall so I wasn't thinking it would be the best place to eat. We decided to go inside anyway and instantly felt underdressed and out of place. If we hadn't already felt that way the hostess asking, "How can I help you?" instead of "How many for dinner?" should have given it away. We opted for a Chinese place a few doors down and felt much better!

We were all starving and the food was delicious so all our moods changed dramatically. We took the opportunity to do a load of laundry to dry out all of our wet clothes and shoes as well. And of course on our way in Brayden spotted an ice cream spot so we stopped there before heading back to our site. The kids were thankful we'd finally found an ice cream spot and kept reminding me it was crazy it had taken so long!

As we headed back through the mountains, we were treated to a beautiful sunset displayed along the range. Being down in the woods we don't get to see the colors like this as a backdrop to the mountains. I'm hoping at least one of our next sites is near the top!

Once we reached our site we got ready for bed and read another chapter of the book. We were ready for a good night's sleep as the temperature was somewhat cooler this night with the rain. We did decide however that Chinese food wasn't good for Ryan's stomach as there were all kinds of noises coming from that side of the tent!