Beautiful disaster

Ok, so more on the beautiful and less on the disaster. Still, it was a catchy title, no? Anyway, a little recap from our trip to the Shenandoahs this weekend. I know, a blog post actually posted within days of the event? Shocking. I may have to call in sick to work tomorrow. Kidding there, in case anyone I work with reads this, I will be there, and probably early too.

To explain myself, here's the bit about the disaster. I planned as much as I possibly could in a semi-spur of the moment adventure. I knew we were going out during peak leaf peeping season, and during a full moon. Oh, the camping adventures that could be had. Just think of the coveted pictures that could be taken!

Everything went off without a hitch, at least as far as getting out of Dodge. We rolled into our campsite around 11, pitched the tent, and then I went to pay at the booth. Upon further inspection at the payment booth, I realized why our tent had such ample surroundings, tucked away in the woods. Group site. Ugh. But it's seriously late at night after a long drive, and I have about zero desire to take down a tent, reload a car, find a site, unload said car and tent, blah blah blah. So I pay the group fee and call it a small price to pay for the cherished sleep which was soon to come.

Of course, sunrise is a prime time to take the cherished pictures, and being the adventurous person that isn't attached to sleep, I get up and drag Abby with me before the sunrise, where we wait for that little infernal ball of gas to pop over the horizon. Actually Abby really wanted to come with - she's awesome like that (and super patient)! Upon exiting the car, I quickly discover that I have left my coat and other layers that I carefully planned in the tent. They are safely stored there for the next camper that wakes up and wants to venture out into the cold. I on the other hand, enjoy a surprisingly windy 38 degrees and snap a few shots. About then is when I realize that the battery which indicated full the night before is now dead. hmmm... or rather arghh... enter the backup battery. (Phew!) A small disaster I know, but it spelled utter doom to the star shots and moon shots that I'd been dreaming of for a while. Oh well.

It was definitely worth the wait. Sunrise is beautiful, and is best shared with someone. Over pop tarts. (or whatever you're into for breakfast these days.) We went back and found a more suitable campsite for our bank, which had put up some serious objections once the fog of sleep deprived dimensia had been dispelled. It actually was a pretty decent site, as you can see here.

Once we got the tent setup and car unpacked we hit the road again and headed out for our ten mile hike. Or so we thought. Actually, we just decided not to do the whole hike but to just enjoy our time along the way. It turned out to be a good idea, since the water purifier that I'd carefully packed was also in the tent. (Notice a theme here?) Anyway, we did have some water, which we rationed, along with the camera battery. (Being made up of 70% water and suffering from accute camera trigger finger, you can image the dire straight I was in.) But we had a fabulous time, and the weather was beautiful. It was great to just be out and about with no one else. As it turns out, we had loads of friends also in the park the same day, but we didn't see them or realize how close they were until we came home and compared notes. So here's some pics from the hike and the rest of the day. I did not take a picture of the black bear we saw because I was rationing pictures and camera battery.

OK. we didn't see a bear. I'm still sad about that. Next time though, I will stick a opened piece of bubble yum next to those loud campers' tent, just so that I can wait and take a picture of that happy bear smacking his gums and blowing bubbles. Speaking of things that happen at night, you can see a lot if you stand next to the side of the road at night. (Just stay our the cars' way.) Thinking back, we did see some bats in close proximity. Cool at the time, but more on that later.




The next morning, I mean today, we packed up and headed home so that we could catch a little church. Everyone needs a little religion in their lives, and we crave it. Church was actually quite good. Oops I skipped a couple parts. First is the part where I tugged lightly on the cable remote for my camera, and I mean lightly, really. Snap. It just snapped in two. That means no night shots for sure! (without using the timer, that is!) Disappointing for sure, but I think that was only 3 or 4 dollars down the drain. Thank you China. I appreciate it very much and will shop again soon. The other part of great significance is the part where we took lots of pictures on the way out of the park. While taking in the sunrise, Abby and I made another discovery. We had a stow-away. I say had intentionally, as it was very much a thing that occurred in the past. Evidence of said stow-away was in our car grill. As you know, stowing away is dangerous business, and I'm sorry to say that ours didn't make it. Poor little bat.

Anyway, we had a great time. I'm looking forward to eating some apple butter and reminiscing as we look over the pictures. Our sore legs will feel better by then, and we'll be left with all the fun parts of the trip. It was a lot of fun. I think I'll go camping again soon. Like on Friday.