August 13, 2020

It took four days for us to travel the 655 miles from Grand Rivers, Kentucky to where we’re going to be for the next 10 weeks, Sherando Lake Recreation Area in Virginia. Our stopovers were in Baxter, Tennessee (where we stayed at Delmonaco Winery, a Harvest Host), a campground near the international speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, and another Harvest Host in Draper, Virginia. Since stays at Harvest Hosts (HH) are free, we spent just $22 for the overnight in Bristol.

Both HH’s were secluded, peaceful, and had enough room to maneuver Felix and the car hauler. We stayed at an agri-tourism farm in Draper whose owner had hand-laid a rock labyrinth, which I couldn’t resist walking. I also couldn’t pass up the New River Trail—Virginia’s longest (57 miles) and most narrow (80-ft right of ways) state park. In reality it’s actually a bicycle trail whose bed is comprised of an old, abandoned railroad running alongside the New River. The trail is shaded by trees on each side and makes the ride a pleasant one, even on the days when temps were on the warm side, as they were on Tuesday.

The shape of Virginia is kind of like a triangle, and my best estimate of where we are is in the western half, midway—if that makes any sense. On an atlas we are near the confluence of interstates 81 and 64. Technically, we are in the George Washington National Forest, bordered by the Shenandoah Mountains to the west and the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east. This is a huge slice of heaven!

There is no cell service here, so communication will be a challenge. I think there’s a phone number we can give our kids in case they need to contact us. Otherwise, we are incommunicado. I can’t help but think that the month we spent in Arkansas was preparing me for this. At least there we had internet and Direct TV. Here we have nothing except Mother Nature. But given the way things are in our country, I believe that is quite a blessing.

There are only 65 campsites here at Sherando, but because of Covid-19, only half of them are available for reservation. We are parked at the far end in the group camping area with two other camp hosts, but the camping area itself is closed, so it’ll be real quiet. We’re not sure of what our duties will be since our supervisor was off yesterday and today, so we’ll just explore the area and try to familiarize ourselves with what’s around.

We’ve been warned that black bears are regular visitors, evidenced by the metal food storage lockers at every campsite. And here I was fearful of the skunks and mice at Hillman Ferry last year! The city-girl in me sure has been challenged by the lifestyle we’ve chosen, but I’ve got to say, I have learned a lot.

I have a feeling that this experience will be giving me lots of fodder to write about, so I will keep you posted. Sometimes I wonder “Why are we doing this?” but I’ve known from the get-go that Dave and I weren’t meant to have normal lives. One thing’s for sure…life is not boring. Until next time, be healthy, stay safe, and wash your hands. 😷