I Survived Camping!

 It’s Monday and I survived the weekend without becoming a bear burrito. I’ll count that as a victory for sure and if I’m being perfectly honest – I enjoyed the camping quite well. I mean; would I love to have a cozy bed to sleep in while in the nature, sure? But hey – all in all it was a successful weekend.

We were both able to leave work a bit early on Friday and so we were headed for the mountains shortly before 5:00! We arrived and really quickly threw up our tent (who knew that putting up a tent could be so quick and easy) and then headed to Big Meadows Lodge to have dinner at the Spotswood Dining Room – where I was reunited with a cup of their delicious peanut soup! Ryan turned his nose up but I didn’t care – I ate every drop with joy!

We were able to see the sunset from the deck of the dining room and after watching it set, it was back to the campsite to sit around the fire and roast things – as you do when you find yourself camping. We made campfire cones, which are ice cream cones filled with chocolate chips, marshmallows, and other delightful things (we included miniature Reese’s cups) and corralled Watson around the fire before calling it a night.

I will admit – I woke up twice in the night. I made every attempt to keep my sleeping bag as close to Ryan’s as possible and keep my sleeping bag as far away from the edge of the tent as possible too, ha-ha! Once in the night a hoot owl (that sounded like it was sitting above our heads) began calling out through the night to his fellow owls and I woke up immediately. I poked Ryan and said, “what is that – what is that?!?” He was sleepy but good-natured and said, “an owl – go to sleep”. I also heard something that sounded suspiciously like a scream in the early morning hours – but hey – all I can say is I survived the night, ha-ha!

 

We had an amazing breakfast on Saturday morning: sausage, bacon, toast, potatoes, and eggs! We even had instant coffee that wasn’t half bad, ha-ha! Ryan and I’s first adventure of the day was hiking to Dark Hollow Falls – this hike is considered a moderate hike and is 1.4 miles round trip (it’s an out and back hike). This hike is only “moderate” because it’s almost completely downhill as you make your way to the waterfall – which means you climb up, up and, up when you head back out of the forest! 

 

We popped into the Visitor’s Center and Gift shop at Big Meadows and then met my parents back at the lodge after our hike and did the 0.2 tenths of a mile “hike” to the outlook behind Big Meadows Lodge – which is a stunning view for very little effort. We also perused the Gift Shop at the Lodge and then we went back to the campsite to have some hot dogs roasted over the open fire with some chips before… well honestly, before I crawled into our tent and took a small nap.

 

Upper Hawksbill was our afternoon adventure and it’s also considered a moderate hike – it’s mostly a flat trail, however the last 3/10^th of the hike is all pretty much straight up! So, as much as the last wee bit is kind of a fierce climb, the view at the top is absolutely worth it! Hawksbill is the highest point in the park and the vistas from this spot are stunning! I told Ryan he might remember the views because one of my eHarmony pictures was taken at this very spot. He absolutely did remember it – although he seems to remember more about me than the location the picture was taken. *wink*

 

 

After our second hike (my Dad joined us on this one) we raced back to the campsite to pick up my Mom and then hit up the camp store for blackberry ice cream – which the Shenandoah National Park is known for! It’s absolutely delicious and I enjoyed my scoop with the view of the meadow spreading out before me. Then it was time to head back and take in the wonder of the communal camp showers! Eek! Okay – it wasn’t that bad, and it was really nice to feel clean after sweating all day long. Blegh. Once clean, it was back to the campsite where Ryan and my Dad were cooking dinner: steaks, chicken, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, carrots, and potatoes! Our dinner on Saturday night was divine!

We played the game “S’mores” and a couple hands of Rummy (or something like that) after dinner and then Ryan and I remembered that they were having a night sky chat out at the meadow. We hopped in the car and arrived in time to listen and see the speaker point out Vega and the constellations that the star is located in. We didn’t get to hear much but it was interesting what we did get to see and hear. Unfortunately, it started to cloud over and that was that. We headed back to the campsite and went to sleep pretty quickly after that – we were worn out!

Sunday morning the rain was looming large on the radar and so we packed up camp before heading to the Spotswood Dining Room for breakfast and sure enough – the rain began in earnest while we were eating our breakfast! We made our way out of the park and Ryan, and I went to pick up my car, grab groceries and gas and prepare for the week ahead! I enjoyed camping but it was nice to be home again, and I really enjoyed whipping up some Cowboy Stew for dinner and washing some laundry to get everything ready for the work week!

House of the Dragon premiered last night and y’all – you can’t make this up – I’ve always joked Watson loves dragons. Please look at this little picture I snapped of him when one of the dragons was on screen! He is the silliest little pup! I was certainly glad to crawl into my own bed after spending the weekend camping and I can’t believe the end of August is drawing close.

Y’all have a good week and I’ll do my best to do the same here!