Weekend in the Shenandoahs

A few months back Kelly and Jon asked if we wanted to join them up in the mountains and maybe rent a cabin together.  They also asked Adam and Melissa but they had something else going on.  Kelly hunted around a while and after a few choices, we decided on this one.

It was a nice 4 hour trip from Virginia Beach to the cabin not far from Luray, VA

The property looked a lot like the pictures, only better.  It was a perfect fall weekend.

 It was great and well taken care of, had plenty of amenities and was right on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River!

The cabin was built as a rental and opened earlier in the summer.  The grounds were well maintained.

And the views were perfect to see up the river, down the river and across the river.

 Inside the cabin, we had a nice new place with comfortable furniture, full kitchen and a washer/dryer if we needed it.

One of the main attractions was for Jon to be able to fish.  And he got in quite a few hours.

He let me borrow his waders for a bit and I even snagged one.

Not a very big one, but a fish nonetheless... :)

I think Jon caught something like 11.  It was lots of fun.

Kelly tried her hand at it on the shore line.  

 We also spent time around the campfire.  We had an unlimited supply of firewood and kept the fire going.

I did some reading and just enjoyed it outside.  It was a perfect fall day.

Jon put up his hammock and got a family picture.

Later on Saturday afternoon, we went for a walk along the dirt road in front of the cabin.  This place was definitely the nicest on in the area.  We saw a lot of trailers parked along the river on both sides of the banks.

 Just for the fun of it, I called and asked the price for a spot which had 30 amp service and water.  No sewer or dump station:  $45/night.  It looked like a good area for hunters and fisherman.

We enjoyed it and Brooks did fine in his backpack harness.  Reminded me of when we would go on Volksmarches in Germany when our kids were babies in the early 1980's.

 We had plenty of chances to 'chill out' and enjoy the day at the cabin.  The sun come out in the early evening and we got a lot of photos with Brooks.

We had a great time and look forward to maybe doing this every year?

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Weekend in Calaveras County

My brother Marty has had a cabin in the mountains for over 30 years.  It is Arnold, CA high in the mountains of Calaveras County.  Over the Labor Day weekend Pam and I joined him and wife Elena for some fun times.

It was only 132 miles but took us over 2 1/2 hours each way.  But it is a nice drive and we saw a lot of the California countryside and the mountains.

We were a little early so we stopped in Angel's Camp which is home to the Frog Jumping Contest each year.  This is the one and the same place made famous by Mark Twain in "The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County".  The town is a tourist destination with lots of shops and history from the Gold Rush  days.   I didn't take any pictures thinking we'd be back during the long weekend.

Next, we made it up to the cabin and it was sporting a new roof and a half-way repaired deck.  The cabin has always been a novelty of sorts.

Marty wanted a dome and my brother Brad the architect found a way to add some room extensions.  I have never seen another one like it.

And it has a great big deck that is currently under repair/reconstruction.  At 1400' sq ft it is quite a project.

We spent quite a bit of time on the unfinished deck enjoying the mountain air and refreshing atmosphere.

Labor Day weekend was a busy time in the mountain resort community of Arnold and the Lion's Club had their annual pancake breakfast.

The area where they were set up had a steady stream of customers all morning.  It was  a good fund raiser for a good cause.

The fall Craft Fair was underway nearby so we had to check that out.

There was some unique things there including:
(Pictures taken by permission)
Sculptures by Mark Ross (775) 815-1845

HarvJan's Crafts

This was 'like painting in wood'.

Whittle Sister

Fiber Art

Sun Lover's Place

He heats steel, copper and other metals to get the right color, then puts a fancy lacquer on his creation.

Carllynn by Design

Wood products/tables and furniture

thebigheartbakingcompany

Gluten Free Baking

Later Saturday evening, the Home Owners Association had a pot-luck down near the basketball courts and picnic area.

It was a busy couple of days, but we got to see a lot and enjoy time with Marty and Elena in the mountains.

Hope you are having a good week.

Thanks for joining us on this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles! Until next time...

Glorious Glacier NP

This may be our favorite National Park.  If not, it is way up there near the top.  After leaving Spokane, we drove to North American RV Campground in Coram Montana which is about 3 miles from the entrance to Glacier National Park.

I liked the map from the Montana Tourism Office. It shows Glacier NP and the Waterton-Glacier NP in Canada.  We visited both.

At the center near the bottom is the West Entrance and Park HQ.  We started our drive along the Going-To-The-Sun Road which is the main road through the park.  It winds through canyons and rises thousands of feet to the summit at Logan's Pass.

We stopped in Apgar Village and Visitor Center for some info and pictures.  We were on the southern most end of Lake McDonald.

Then we started on the drive around Lake McDonald up the Going-To-The-Sun Road.  It quickly became spectacular.

We were in no rush and moved with the flow of traffic.  It reminded me of Yellowstone, except it was not as busy.

Glaciers, peaks and waterfalls abounding...

The road was built in 1933 and took 3 1/2 years to complete.  It has been a long winter with some late snowfall and the road only opened about a month ago which was about a month late.

 

We did see some interesting animals along the way including this mountain goat.

She was about 1/2 mile from the summit at Logan's Pass and the Visitor's Center.

After the pit stop we drove along Jackson Glacier which was on the other side of Logan's Pass.

St Mary's Lake was on the way to Alberta, Canada and Waterton.

Through the mountains and into the adjacent Waterton-Glacier NP, we saw a whole different landscape.

Waterton was a quaint little tourist town that was in high season.

We also stopped at the historic Prince of Wales Hotel and looked around.

It was built in 1926-1927 and was built by an American (vs a Canadian) Railway Company.  It was designated a Canadian National Historic Site in 1995.

We took the same road back to our campground through Glacier NP and got a photo of a bear.

With all the recent news about tragedies with bears, we were content to keep our distance and pause for a quick telephoto shot.

Glacier NP is one of the highlights of our time on the road.  Next time we will have to take more time here and go on a lot of hikes.  This place is really worth seeing again.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  And thanks again for your comments which we always appreciate.

Until next time...