The Crowder Boys at Douthat

It seems like forever since I sat and wrote for this.  The internet connection at Douthat was too slow to download pictures and the bench outside the restaurant was too hard on my butt.  Now I'm at Barbara's in air conditioned comfort, and this is my first time out of the mountains since I left in May.  The AC helps make up for the low altitude and higher temps. 

Trey and the boys arrived last Thursday bringing my new fly rod with them.  Of course I had to put it together and try it out, but I handed it off to young Houston, gave him a few tips on casting and he caught a fish, a small bream, almost right away.  The next day he and I went to the stream again and after much work and laughter, he caught this little trout.  We both laughed so hard we almost fell in the creek! 

Houston and his baby trout

One morning the 4 of us rented canoes and explored the beautiful lake for a while.  Trey and Houston fished while Patrick and I just cruised and looked for fish.  We went over to the dam and actually docked there while peering over the edge.  Patrick was a little fidgety at first, but his grin shows that he overcame his fears and enjoyed the view from there. 

Patrick at the dam

When we first talked about this trip last year, I had mentioned teaching them to make a "one match fire."  So the first night I demonstrated making kindling, laying the fire, keeping it fed and so forth.  The next night was Houston's turn and he performed admirably!  It was truly a one matcher and kept us entertained for the evening.  Patrick had his turn the next night and as soon as he struck his match, he dropped it-right on a leaf near the carefully laid kindling.  I said "you know that's you're only match", and we watched it blaze like a torch and become a lovely one!  The kid has a lucky streak a yard wide! 

Playing in the creek as another favorite past time we enjoyed there.  My creaky knees, poor hearing and other minor ailments didn't take away from the fun I had with these guys in the creek bed.  We trapped minnows, chased crawdads, floated flip flops for boats, threw rocks, looked for snakes and some of us even got in chin deep to enjoy the cool stream and escape the heat.  Being so engrossed in play has to be good for the soul. 

When we weren't sleeping or playing, we were eating.  These young fellas sure have hearty appetites and we enjoyed our meals immensely.  I took us to the restaurant one evening and learned that having a reservation has no meaning there.  After a 20 minute wait, during which Trey and the boys viewed all the mounted fish on the walls, we enjoyed a nice meal with a view of the lake.  Trey attempted a diversion to snatch a bite of this luscious dessert!

There was lots of laughter and teasing and good cheer.  These guys are good natured and fun loving and being with them reminded of being with my kids when they were little and we would go camping.  The circle goes on.  I hope to find a time to do something similar with the granddaughters and their parents. 

Patrick and the helmet

On a scooter ride

The beauty of the places I see continues to inspire and uplift me.  Sadness visits rarely these days and happiness is more the norm.  Life still presents challenges: AC failure at the rental house in Raleigh and a tire failure on the trailer.  Yet I still enjoy this lifestyle and hope to continue it for a while.  Thanks for stopping by!

On my last day at Pipestem, I started by playing 9 at the golf course and shooting a 43.  Why did I stop after 9?  I was losing balls in the rough just off the fairway and getting very frustrated, so I decided to quit while I was ahead.

New River in the gorge

The river is so wide at this point it looks like a lake.  There are many small boats on it, all fishing in some way, going after the 4 pound small mouths, which are not unheard of.  On a small beach I saw this perfectly round rock and shortly thereafter a beautiful butterfly.  It's is sure one of God's favorite places of beauty!

The circumference of a basketball, but not perfectly round. 

It was shaped like a curling stone.

The trip to Douthat was pleasant and uneventful, in spite of a long wait at a tire place to replace a bad stem core.  Air wouldn't go in.  Also met 2 scooter guys from Maine at a rest area, touring the east coast on 650cc Suzukis.  Talk about adventure!  They were inspiring!

It is very beautiful here, and still cool, with a large lake featuring swimming, boating and fishing.  The campgrounds are small, well kept and nicely private.  Here is what I saw upon my first trip to the lake.

 

I've had 2 close calls on the scooter since I've been here, both occurring in the park.  The gravel used on the road shoulders is very fine and the same color as the asphalt, hence it's invisible.  Even knowing it was there didn't help those 2 times, so it means going very slowly and assuming all of it is gravel.  Not much fun.

Trey and the boys will be here tomorrow and I sure am glad.  The solitude I've had since West Jefferson has totally lost its' appeal and I'm ready for some people!  Sure hope their ears don't fall off from all the talking I'll probably do.  It was also be so good to see Barbara next week, too, and all of the Crowder's at the birthday celebration the following Saturday. 

Speaking of Barbara, she sent me this the other day, saying it reminded her of what I'm doing with my life right now:

"We do ourselves and others a disservice when we make old age something to be feared.  Life is not a resource to be used up, so that the older we get, the less we have left.  Life is the accumulation of wisdom, love and experience of people encountered and obstacles overcome.  The longer we live, the more life we possess."

   Rabbi Harold Kushner from his book Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World

Thank you, Barbara. It is very reassuring to know somebody really gets it, and it means even more that it's you!  Love you!

A Real Drive-in Movie!

Yep, here's the evidence of a real drive-in movie that still operates.  It sure brought back some good memories as I took this picture and thought about the one on Tunnel Road in Asheville.  Seems like I remember somebody being in the trunk of the car as we entered one night, mostly just to see if we could do it.  Of course money was also pretty tight back then.  It was also there that I met the drive-in queen and had a very memorable time!

Finally played the big golf course here yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It's a beauty and at $40, including cart, quite a bargain.  All the greens are pretty flat, in good shape and only deer sign mar their surface.  The fine views are plentiful and the course is challenging enough for me.  I shot a 53 on the front and a 45 on the back after making a few adjustments to my swing and my method of scoring.  On the back I started keeping track of fairways and greens hit, number of putts and of course the number of strokes.  It made a world of difference in my focus, hence the better score.  Got rained out today, but I have one more day to play, then Monday is travel day to Douthat State Park in VA.  This is a view from the rough, where I seemed to spend a lot of time.   

The Fire

I don't have a fire every night, but I inhereted a large stack of wood when I moved to the new site yesterday and couldn't resist the temptation to burn some of it.  It was a beauty!  Dancing, singing, having a party all by itself!  It was terrific. 

A trip to Princeton for groceries also found me at a book exchange store.  Wow!  It was terrific!  I browsed for quite a while and only bought 3, as I still had to save room for groceries.  It may be worth another trip there before I leave.

The vistas here are awesome.  It seems like everywhere I look, there's another beautiful view.  With the clouds everchanging, I could take pictures all day and never had a dud. 

At the top of a lookout tower, I had a very pleasant conversation with some folks from Abington.  It had beeen a while since I'd had that long a conversation and it was very enjoyable. 

View from the tower

Bluestone River gorge, from the lodge

The Oak

800 year old tree

The Oak is a supper club recommended to me by Cathy Buttler.  She knows of some fine dining and this place was excellent!  I had the pan seared trout, preceded by Minnesota meatballs, both of which were excellent.  The meal was completed with warm blackberry cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream, along with some coffee and Irish whiskey.  Just as I was finishing so was the rain shower and we were treated to this view out the other window.  What a fine evening it was!  Thanks, Cathy, wish you and Alan were here to enjoy it with me. 

Rainbow at The Oak

This morning I had to move within the campground in order to stay here until Monday.  That fills the 3 day gap that existed in the itinerary.  Before the move I played 9 holes on the par 3 course and enjoyed watching the deer as much as anything.  I saw another fawn, which makes 4 I've seen since I've been here.  It's very hard to get a good picture of one, but I'll keep trying.  The mommas seem to give them the move signal whenever I get too close. 

Fawn and Momma

Raccoon Holler to Pipestem

The ride here on Sunday was a fine one.  Dry pavement, little traffic, beautiful sunshine and I made good time.  I'm getting better at the moving thing, that's for sure.

I love this place!  I'd forgotten how pretty it is and how much is here.  There are 2 golf courses, one a par 3, riding stables, restaurants, swimming pools, numerous walking trails and the prices are very reasonable.  It's only $27 per day for full hookup.  North Carolina is way behind WV when it comes to state parks. 

Golf course at Pipestem

On Sunday I watched the World Cup final game at a bar at the golf course called Mulligan's, sitting next to a family from the Netherlands, drinking Heineken's.  Just couldn't have been much better than that, unless we had won the game.  We were all outraged at the poor officiating.  It was truly disgraceful.  Still, there was lots of excitement and a good time was had by all. 

Yesterday my golf got rained out, so I watched movies, read and piddles around the little home on wheels.

Today was a good one for exploring on the scooter, as I have a sore knee to keep me from golfing.  What a great ride!  Went about 15 miles to a little town along the New River named Hinton, then took a little road along the river to Sandstone Falls.  I'd been there once before several years ago with Diane Stephenson and Pancho.  It is a very unique place, the way the falls are shaped and drop so sharply all the way across the river.  As usual, the pictures hardly do it justice.  On the way back I saw a doe with her two fawns playing along the road.  A little later I spotted a mink which had been hit by a car.  What a beautiful creature it was.  And, I saw a brightly colored turtle along the side of the road.  Overall, it was a good day for wild life.

Sandstone Falls, New River

Sandstone Falls, New River

Carries his home with him, too.

I turned over 8,000 miles on the Vespa today.  It had slightly over 7,000 when I got the tired fixed in Fontana last month.  I never would have thought I would ride that much, but I sure do love it.  It sure got attention at a gas station this morning from the 4 guys holding down the porch.  We laughed and joked and I enjoyed their Appalachian accents and their good humor.  Sure do love these mountains!

The Thunder Beings Visited

As I was sitting to write the notes for this entry, the clouds were gathering and the thunder rolling.  Suddenly the flash and boom were simultaneous and I thought lightning had hit next to the trailer.  I said a little prayer of thanks that I was still present!  Later as I went to the office, I saw a small crowd gathered, looking at the tree the lightning had hit.  As you can see, it created a spiral from top to bottom. 

Earlier in the day I took a long scooter ride toward Sparta where Hugh had a place for many years.  It was where I experienced more sweat lodges than I can recall and had many wonderful times.  Zoe and I even lived there for a month before moving into the house on Briarpatch.  I couldn't get too close to the old place because of "Posted" signs, but I could see an addition had been built over the place where the lodges were done.  No telling how many gallons of sweat poor into mother earth over the years. 

Then I rode over to Laurel Springs, home of Lind Lee Woody's general store and trailer park.  What a place!  Here are a couple of photos to give you a flavor of the place, but you gotta see it to believe it.  She is still quite a character and wanted to sell me something-anything! 

Next I went to the Northwest Trading Post on the Blue Ridge Parkway near the campground.  There I was greeted by a very nice display of friend Raney Roger's beautiful art work, as well as a picture of her on the cover of a magazine.  First time I've ever known a cover girl!  Way to go!

From there it was a short hop to the Holy Trinity Church of the Frescas.  I've seen them before, but didn't want to miss the opportunity to see them again.  They are an extraordinary thing to find in this part of the world. 

Finally, after months of wondering if it would work or not, I tied my golf cart on the back of the Vespa and pulled it around the park.  It worked!  I wouldn't want to go very fast or take turns to sharply, but for a short distance it would be just fine.

Tomorrow is moving day, to Pipestem, WV, and the final game of the World Cup, so I doubt I'll be posting.  But you never know.  Thanks for stopping by!

Seen on the back of a neighbor's motorhome:  "Not all who wander are lost."  Good to know!

Pimping My Blog

Here I am at Zoe's and she's helping me improve my blog.  As you see, some pictures now have titles, my itinerary is always visible and I won't use ampersands anymore because they look funny on some computers.  When she worked at IBM, Zoe was at the help desk-she still is at the help desk but at a different location!  Thank you, Zoe!  Here's a zen tangle Zoe drew in my guest book.

Golfed this morning with ole friend John Hohn and had a blast.  I also played on Tuesday with he and Harry Beard.  We sure had fun.  I had a lot of good shots and thoroughly enjoyed the course at Mountain Aire, as always.  The folks there are so nice and so friendly.  It sure is dry up here, though, and could use some rain.

Raccoon Holler is not making me very happy.  Yesterday I planned my day around watching the World Cup at my trailer since I have cable television.  But, I didn't get the channel the game was on and found out too late to go elsewhere.  Then when Zoe came over for dinner, they charged her $5 to visit!  I'll take that up with the manager when I get back this afternoon.  Plus, the WiFi wasn't working yesterday and the lady at the desk said it had been hit by lightening.  But there hadn't been any lightning.  Hmmm.  

Sorry I've neglected the blog lately.  I've been very busy here and obviously having trouble connecting to the net hasn't helped any. 

Independence Day

Delphinium

Raney and Cathy

Black Bear Inn

The girls in the trailer.

It was on July 4, 1985 that I quit my corporate job at Carolina Power & Light Company to start my own business. Talk about an adventure! It has been that & much more. Though I practice very little now, it remains one of the most satisfying things I've ever done, including my days as a pilot. And even though I'm officially "retired", I will still do a retreat once in a while if the opportunity arises, the money is right and I want to.

Yesterday Alan, Cathy & me went to Ken & Raney's place for yard games, drinks & a wonderful feast. The game of croquet came down to the very end, with Raney beating me for the July 4th, 2010 championship. Not really. It was just for fun, or so I thought until Raney thought I might win. Then she put on a charge that would make Tiger Woods envious! Quite a competitor she is! It was great fun all around. Also got a glimpse of a vixen & her pups in their hay field-a treat indeed.

The ladies wanted a tour of my home on wheels, so of course I obliged. Then they started to tease me about having had 3 women there at the same time. Had I ever before? Would I again? Sure I would, if it was the right 3 women! We left shortly thereafter. Whew....

It's moving day for me, but it's a very short one. About 15 minutes from here to Raccoon Holler. I'll be there until Sunday, then to Pipestem. Tomorrow is a very busy day: golf with John & Harry at Mountain Aire in the morning, World Cup Soccer with Alan in the afternoon and Zoe over for dinner in the evening. Busiest day I've had in months! Hope I can keep up.

Christmas in July

It's good to be with good friends in familiar territory after the isolation of Fontana. Long showers, live television, telephone service, internet service-all the comforts of a stationary home for a little while.

The title refers to the weekend festival here in West Jefferson. There's food, crafts, music & beautiful weather today. Nice & cool & a few clouds drifting by. And of course lots of unusual people. Not us, of course, but there are some very unusual people who attend these things. This is Christmas tree country, as NC is the 2nd leading producer of them in the US. It's not bad for the land & good for the farmers, so I'm for it.

I'm so glad to be with Cathy & Alan! Last night Ken & Raney Rogers came over for dinner and as always, it was good to be with them, too. There was lots of good conversation, more than a few pictures taken and some martinis by Raney that kicked this geezers butt, but good! Of course the scotch I was sipping may have had something to do with my early demise. Yep, ole dead Fred still does that thingy once in a while.

We visited the festival today & Cathy bought me a personalized pic called "Happy Camper" as you see. Love the painting! Cathy is such a kind, generous person & it's a pleasure to be around her! She has also filled me in on happenings at the church. She's on the board now & I'm very glad for her & for the church. She's also participating in a leadership development program there that I was privileged to play a small part in creating. So it's nice to know how that is going.

Hope to play golf with my old buddies John & Harry while I'm here. We had so many good times together at Mountain Aire & I hope we can have just a few more. They're fun, interesting people & fairly good golfers, too, sometimes. Will report more later on how the match(s) go.

Last day at Fontana...for a while

Some notes from my stay here:

Trying out a new "do", the swept back look, training my hair for a pony tail. Always wanted one. Not sure how long this will last, but at least until I find a barber I can trust. That may be something else for me to do next time I get close to Raleigh.

The all American Chevy lineup, red, white & blue. GM has gotta love moments like this!

Bats flying around every evening reminded me of Reeves Cove, as they were plentiful there at that time. I love to watch them, as they're so quick yet graceful. What a fine creature!

Most days here I would wash the Vespa to get all the bugs off. I didn't do that regularly at Cedar Mountain & had a terrible time getting them off later. I used a bucket of water to rinse it off, just like I did washing the car at home in Candler. Except there, I had to get water from the creek, as we were on a well & conserving well water was a top priority. I had to chuckle that after all these years, here I am once again washing & rinsing my prize vehicle out of 2 buckets.

I love taking & looking at pics and may move up to a better camera. My Coolpix by Nikon has done a splendid job & was a gift from L, so I won't give it up completely.

Next time in Raleigh I need to get my little vacuum cleaner out of storage. It's one of the few things that I miss a lot.

At Deal's Gap yesterday I was enjoying a Bass ale, sitting in the shade after riding the dragon. The Vespa was getting more than its' usual share of snickers & sneers. A couple of red necks walked by & pointed & laughed at my pride & joy. Just then another fella strolled by & said "I understand they hold the speed record here." He was serious. Silence! Stillness! Stares! And a huge smile on my face! Whether it's true or not, I don't know. And I don't really care. It made my day, week & month all in one brief moment.

Next stop: Alan's place in West Jefferson. I'll be happy to see him & Cathy!