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A Bit of Politics on the Parkway

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Journeys, Nature, Travel, Writing, tagged , , , , on November 1, 2012| 7 Comments »

“Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.” – John F. Kennedy.

Adventures with Pepper: Day 34

Old cars and political observations were the highlights of this day on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

It was quite windy the day I drove the Blue Ridge Parkway from Meadows of Dan in Virginia to Julian Price State Park in North Carolina, a mere 117 miles away but which took all day drive.    Mother Nature’s bluster plucked fall’s leaves off the trees and sent them swirling across the parkway like pieces of colored glass in a kaleidoscope.            Along with listening to the hum of the wind as it glanced off Gypsy Lee, I heard several conversations this day that put my mind outside the parkway and tuned into the bluster of politicians’ blowing promises around they probably wouldn’t keep.

This tangled mass of leaves claiming this tree trunk reminded me of the tangled mass of people who together are America. Hopefully we can all learn to co-exist as peacefully. — Photo by Pat Bean

There was the conversation I overheard at the High Piney Spur Overlook. The guy doing the speaking had been showing off his shiny red restored vehicle, one of several I saw this day on the parkway. I suspected there was an old car rally being held somewhere along the route – or perhaps the parkway is simply a place old car enthusiasts like to drive their vehicles.            Anyway, the proud owner of the red vehicle was saying: “I don’t think the country’s as bad off as they are saying. People are eating out and buying new cars,” then with hardly a breath in-between thoughts, he added “It was that Iraqi war that caused all the problems, we didn’t need that.”

The night before, I had overheard a fellow sitting around a campfire at Meadows of Dan ask: “What do you think about where this country is heading?” I didn’t hear the answers because I was walking Pepper at the time, and she, not as big an eavesdropper as me, was pulling me along at quite a fast pace.

Later this day, when I bought some snacks after buying gas, I handed the clerk a dollar too much. He quickly handed it back to me, noting that he always tried to be honest.

“I guess that’s why I could never be a politician,” he then noted, before telling me to “Drive safely now.”

     Book Report: Travels with Maggie is up to 60, 424 words.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day

Bean’s Pat: Morning Mist http://tinyurl.com/azmp3vw I like the idea of each morning holding a mystery in waiting.

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A Sassy Blue Jay and a Fried Apple Pie

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Art, Dogs, Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, Travel, Writing, tagged , , , , , on October 31, 2012| 2 Comments »

“You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jellybeans.” — Ronald Reagan

The majestic, panoramic views from the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which the parkway follows, can get to be a bit overwhelming. So I also spent some time focusing on nature’s little beauties, like this woolly bear caterpillar that made its way across my Meadows of Dan camp site. — Photo by Pat Bean

Adventures with Pepper: Day 33

Meadows of Dan is a small farming community located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. I stopped here because it had a nice RV park with Wi-Fi and I had a writing deadline to meet for American Profile Magazine http://blogs.americanprofile.com

Or like this tiny mushroom growing beneath a tree. — Photo by Pat Bean

It was a pleasant scenic park but nothing special to distinguish it from the other campgrounds I had stayed at along the way. Pepper tried to play with every dog we passed on our walks, and I enjoyed the smell of campfires drifting into my RV as I sat at my computer and wrote.

The best part of my two-day stay in Meadows of Dan was the morning I left.

A blue jay, its bright blue feathers a bit faded at this time of the year, sassed me good-bye as I drove out of the campground, making me smile at its determination to not move out of the road until Gypsy Lee was almost on top of it. While I didn’t see anything, perhaps it had found a tidbit of breakfast hiding among the gravel.

I stopped for gas in the tiny town, where an art show and farmer’s market was underway. The gas pump was an old-fashioned one that didn’t take debit or credit cards and so I had to go inside to pay.

And I loved the contrast of Virginia creeper in its fall dress against the rocks that lined the roadsides. — Photo by Pat Bean

I took time to roam through the country store that was filled with home-made crafts and other goodies, of which I bought bread, honey, plums and an honest-to-goodness fried apple pie, which I ate once I got back on the Blue Ridge Parkway to continue my journey.

The crust was moist and the taste of the grease it was fried in rich in my mouth. I savored every bite, including the rich apple filling that had  been lightly sweetened to perfection. Just writing about it now makes me feel like one of  Pavlov’s dogs.

Eating healthy, which I mostly do, is good for the body. But that apple pie was good for the soul. It’s probably a good thing I don’t live in Meadows of Dan, however. There’s probably only so much the soul can take.

Book Report: I’m happy to report that Travels with Maggie is now up to 60,119 words. I didn’t have internet at my last stop and so it was Travels with Maggie that got my attention.

Bean’s Pat: Hurricane Sandy Birding http://tinyurl.com/cwhadl4 In the aftermath of tragedy, life goes on for both humans and birds. Not to make light of the tragedy by noting this birding blog, I join all those mourning for the families of  those who lost loved ones.

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Blue Ridge Parkway: Chestnuts and Rakes Pond

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, Travel, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on October 29, 2012| Leave a Comment »

“Under a spreading chestnut tree, the village smithy stands …” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

One of hundreds of inviting places to have a picnic along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I loved the way the light shown through the trees on this shady spot. — Photo by Pat Bean

Adventures with Pepper: Day 32 Continued

The Blue Ridge Parkway is not just about the fantastic landscape, it’s also about the people who made or make the Blue Ridge Mountains, which stretch from Pennsylvania to Georgia, their home.

Except for this couple, I had Rake’s Mill Pond site to myself. — Photo by Pat Bean

My companion on the journey, , besides Pepper,  was ranger and naturalist William Lord’s mile-marker guide published in 1982 by the American Chestnut Foundation. The American Chestnut, whose numbers in the Appalachian Mountains once numbered about three billion, were decimated by a blight in the early 1900s. Today one would be hard pressed to find a hundred mature American chestnuts.            The parkway, however, is home to a few immature trees as the battle to save them continues. Few chestnut trees today grow to more than about 20 feet before the blight fugal disease take them. The people working to save this species, like the chestnut foundation, is part of today’s story along the parkway.

I loved the markers along the Blue Ridge Parkway that helped me make sense of what I was seeing.

One person from the past was a miller named Rake, who built a small pond to have ready water for his grist mill. His advertising gimmick was to allow customers to fish in the pond while they waited for their meal to be ground.            I’m glad I stopped at this small, peaceful place, because the Marby Mill, the show mill of the parkway just up the road a bit, was too crowded for me to park Gypsy Lee, and she ain’t big

I was forced to pass this stopping spot up and continue on to Meadows of Dan, where I would spend the night.

Book Report: I’m in Nashville now, and while I’ve stuck around for a few days, I’ve taken tours and listened to country music, and Travels with Maggie got stuck again.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Marc and Angel http://tinyurl.com/95gpobj 10 Ways to Live Life with No Regrets. I’m not fond of promoting big blogs like this, but the advice these two hand out is just too good to pass up. I read their blog a lot.

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Blue Ridge Parkway: Natural Bridge Disappointment

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Journeys, Nature, Travel, Writing, tagged , , , , , on October 26, 2012| 7 Comments »

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” — Frances Hodgson Burnett, “The Secret Garden”

Natural Bridge as painted by David Johnson in 1860.

Adventures with Pepper: Day 31 continued 

A 2005 photo of Natural Bridge — Wikipedia photo

I had a fantastic day’s drive this first day of my journey on the Blue Ridge Parkway, despite one big disappointment.

In my perusal of sights along the parkway, I had seen pictures of Natural Bridge and wanted to see it for myself. I didn’t know it was a tourist trap. The entrance to the bridge was on the inside of a gift shop, and a walk down to see it would cost me $20.

The cost of the ticket included some extras, but all I wanted was to see Mother Nature’s creation in a natural setting. When I saw the crowds, and realized the setting would be staged, I passed.

Instead, I back-tracked to Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Natural Bridge Campground, where I had reservations, and checked in early. I like the family atmosphere of Yogi’s campgrounds — and the 50 percent discount I got from this one as a Passport America member.

After hooking up, I had plenty of time to take Pepper for a nice walk down to the James River, which ran along one edge of the park. I had the river to myself, and sat for a while beside it at a picnic table watching Pepper chase fall leaves.

Book Report: Travels with Maggie is now up to 58,302 words.

Bean’s Pat: Discovering Myself http://tinyurl.com/9kfpuuk I’ve been traveling through fantastic fall color country. But this blogger has some fantastic shots of Minnesota’s fall colors. Take a look.

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Blue Ridge Parkway: Fences

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Art, Nature, Travel, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on October 24, 2012| 1 Comment »

            “There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.” – Will Rogers  

Stone Fence exhibit along the Blue Ridge Parkway. — Photo by Pat Bean

Adventures with Pepper: Day 31

            Today was my first day of driving the Blue Ridge Parkway. Of course I began it by stopping at every overlook and exhibit along the 466-mile scenic drive.

One of the many stone fences along the Skyline Trail. Am I the only on who sees beauty in them? — Photo by Pat Bean

One of these first sites talked about the rock walls, some of which had been built by slaves, in the area. The ones on exhibit at this site were hog walls, designed to keep out wild hogs that foraged for accords and chestnuts.

I had also seen a lot of stone fences on my drive on Skyline Drive.The way the natural rocks had been fitted together to form low walls around narrow road drop offs fascinated me.

And what kind of wall do we get today? The ugly, too tall, cement Jersey barrier, which if the thousands I see as I drive across this country are any indication, somebody is probably getting very rich. — Wikipedia photo

Most of these walls had been built by the Civilian Conservation Corps work relief program during the Great Depression. I’ve seen handiwork of the CCC almost everywhere I’ve traveled, including Lake Walcott State Park in Idaho.I saw a lot of rock fences, and wooden ones as well, along the parkway as I slowly made my way south along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains at the rate, including stops, of about 15 mph.

The fences, of course, made me think of Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall,” which I later looked up and read. I thought you might enjoy a few verses, too.

This fence builder, in my opinion, was an artist. — Photo by Pat Bean

Mending Wall

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun,
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast….

But at spring mending-time we find them there.
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.

 He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says “Good fences make good neighbors.”

Book Report: Travels with Maggie is now at 57,928 words.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Tripperspot http://tinyurl.com/8zgxa7q This blogger got me with her conclusion on how we judge a person. Passion for something positive in life is priceless. Just save us all from ever being judgmental of others.

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Remember that Purple Cow

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Nature, Travel, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged , , , , , on October 23, 2012| 8 Comments »

“Hitler didn’t travel. Stalin didn’t travel. Saddam Hussein never traveled. They didn’t want to have their orthodoxy challenged.” — Howard Gardner

The purple cow at Highway 340 North Campground near Waynesboro, Virginia. — Photo by Pat Bean

Adventures with Pepper: Days 29-30

            Only a few days have passed since my mind wondered and wandered during a drive through Indiana in which I quoted “I never saw a purple cow, I never hope to see one …” to my canine traveling companion, Pepper.

Just in case you’re not into purple cows, what do you think about butterflies. I photographed this near the purple cow. — Photo by Pat Bean

Well, at the end of my gorgeous day’s drive through Shenandoah National Park, I was confronted with a purple cow. How funny, I thought, as I checked into the Highway 340 North RV Park just outside of Waynesboro, Virginia.

As almost all the places I had stayed at during the trip, it was quite nice with lots of friendly people. I decided to stay over a day and catch up on laundry and writing before I began my drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway

Book Report: I didn’t travel today and Travels with Maggie benefitted. The book is now up to 56,782 words.  It was a fun rewriting day as I got to relive my trip to Hawk Mountain with my oldest granddaughter, Shanna.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Fall colors in Minnesota http://tinyurl.com/9d3wjfq I never tire of Mother Nature’s autumn. How about you?

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Skyline Trail through Shenandoah

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, Travel, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on October 22, 2012| 9 Comments »

Layers and layers of colors ending in blue. — Photo by Pat Bean

“Heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves.”
—Carol Pearson

Adventures with Pepper: Day 29

The wildflower season along Skyline Trail had ended, but their were still a few flowers, like this small beauty with drops of rain still coating its leaves, to be seen. — Photo by Pat Bean

While the rain had stopped, the morning was still overcast. It was going to be a dreary drive through Shenandoah National Park, I thought.

But then Mother Nature took pity on me. I had just barely started my day’s drive down the park’s 105-mile Skyline Trail when the sun came out and bathed the landscape with its light.

Rain drops on leaves glistened in the sunlight and the passing foliage took on a warm glow.

The leaves of the maples, oaks, elms, beeches, aspens and many others, were a variegated palette of color. They reminded me of the mixed-color yarn my mother often used in making afghans. If she were using Mother Nature’s half-summer/half-autumn colors this day, her crocheted blankets would range in hues from green to lemon yellow with shades of orange, plum and scarlet in between.

Rag Mountain framed by an old dead tree I found interesting. — Photo by Pat Bean

Shenandoah National Park is a long, narrow mixture of lands and forests woven together in a landscape protected for both its beauty and its wildness. Its Skyline Trail is a narrow, winding, hilly road with a 35 mph speed limit designed as the way for people in cars to enjoy it.

With 75 overlooks – I know I stopped at least half of them – and inviting trails leading away from the smell of the road,  Pepper and I found many reasons to at least briefly abandon Gypsy Lee, out home on wheels. .

It took me over seven hours to get through the park.  It would have been longer if I hadn’t have wanted to get off the road and Gypsy Lee hooked up to civilization before dark.

Book Report: Just to keep it moving forward, I added another few words, bringing Travels with Maggie up to 56,103. I think for the next two weeks, until I get off the road for a bit, the book is truly going to be moving at a snail’s pace. I have writing commitments for Story Circle Network of which I’m a board member and other priorities this coming week, plus other priorities on this current journey. I hope I’m not just making excuses.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day

Bean’s Pat: Unusual Travel Tradition http://tinyurl.com/9f3amqx This blogger sees the funny side of travel. A new find for me.

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Sitting in the Rain in Front Royal, Virginia

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Dogs, Travel, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on October 20, 2012| 1 Comment »

            “Into each life some rain must fall.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow  

Adventures with Pepper: Day 28

Earlier in the season, the playground and pool at Front Royal RV Park would have been cheery and bright. In the rainy day I was there, it just looked empty and forlorn. — Photo by Pat Bean

            After yesterday’s long, hard drive, I knew I was going to sit this day out at the Front Royal RV Park.

It was a big campground, and it was getting ready to close for the season. Unlike southern RV parks, which stay open all year, more northern ones start closing down as early as mid-September. Except for half a dozen RVs with a permanent look about them, and a couple of late evening drop-ins, I had the park to myself.

It would have been a great opportunity for a couple of long walks to stretch my legs and give my 10-month-old canine traveling companion, Pepper, an opportunity to use up some of her excess of energy.

Pepper watching the rain an oh so wanting to go outside and play. — Photo by Pat Bean

But it had started raining shortly after I had pulled into the campground, and it didn’t let up the entire day.The short walks Pepper and I took during slack times were with an umbrella for me, and a towel waiting inside of the door of Gypsy Lee to dry off my four-footed friend.

The rest of the time, she and I watched the world behind rain-drop spotted windows.

Book Report: Still stuck. I needed and took a day of rejuvenation yesterday, and wrote not a single word on any of my writing projects, including this blog.

Bean’s Pat:   No recommendation from the Wondering Wanderer today either. My list of ones I wanted to give a Bean’s Pat vanished. I think it had something to do with my trying to clean up my computer.

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A Hard Day’s Drive and Church Steeples

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Journeys, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , on October 18, 2012| 5 Comments »

            “There’s a church in the valley in the wildwood. No lovelier place in the dell. No spot is so dear to my childhood, as the little brown church in the vale. Oh come, come, come, come. Come to the church in the wildwood. Oh, come to the church in the dell. No spot is so dear to my childhood as the little brown church in the dell.” – William S. Pitts

Adventures with Pepper: Day 27

            It was with a bit of reluctance that I left Carthage Gap and the family that had adopted me, but I was on the road in time to watch the sun come up.

The little brown church in the vale is in Nashua, Iowa. — Wikipedia photo

It never did. While the weather was calm, it was a completely overcast day.

But the roadside scenery, when I had time to look at it, more than made up for the missing sun.

But it was a hard day’s drive on Highway 50, through the Appalachian foothills, and the road got most of my attention. The route was mostly narrow, mostly winding, and the primary two directions it traveled was either up or down.

It wouldn’t have been too bad if I were going my usual 100 to 150 miles, but I was facing a journey of 270 miles. The distance wasn’t by choice, but because I couldn’t find a decent campground to spend the night until I reached Front Royal, Virginia.

I’m not sure why, but I suspect it was the many church steeples I was seeing as I drove through  West Virginia that caused me to start singing “The Church in the Wildwood” to Pepper. I hope she is tone-deaf because I couldn’t carry a tune if my life depended on it. Usually the only time I ever sing is when I’m driving, and usually only because I want to stay awake.

After many twists and turns and fall colors around most of them, I ended my day at Front Royal, Virginia. — Photo by Pat Bean

The hymn, written by Iowa school teacher William S. Pitts in 1857, was my grandmother’s favorite song.

When I did some research this morning, because I wondered if I had the lyrics right, I discovered an amazing story in the Des Moines Register about the song.

The article said Pitts wrote the song following a coach ride that stopped in Bradford, Iowa, where he saw a wooded valley in which he envisioned a little brown church.

Five years later, when he returned to that same Cedar River valley, the church he had imagined had been built, down to its brown color.

. During the winter of 1863-64, Pitts taught a singing class at Bradford Academy, and  had his class sing the song at the dedication of the new church in 1864. This was the first time the song was sung by anyone apart from Pitts himself, according to the newspaper article.

The second amazing thing is that the little brown church still exists. It’s a popular tourist attraction in Nashua, Iowa.

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Adopted for Two Days

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Favorite Places, Travel, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on October 17, 2012| 6 Comments »

            “A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.”—Tim Cahill

One of two ponds at the entrance to Carthage Gap RV Park. — Photo by Pat Bean

Adventures with Pepper: Day 26

            What I didn’t tell you about my drive yesterday were my concerns about where I would spend the night.

Brandy, sort of my granddaughter for a weekend, in the costume her mom made for her. The outfit included a hook and specially braided hair. — Photo by Kim

I hadn’t seen an RV park all day, and my campground directory listed only one near the end of my day’s drive.  It was the Carthage Gap RV Park outside of Coolville, Ohio.

I was worriedly hoping it would be a nice, safe, clean place because I didn’t fancy driving another 100 miles. I’m happy to tell you my hopes were met — and then some.

The park was located in a beautiful setting, and the staff was enthusiastically friendly when I checked in for two nights. The manager explained that I had come just in time to experience the park’s early Halloween celebration. She offered me the option of being in the middle of the large park, or of hooking up in an isolated section.

I guess I was sort of people hungry at this point in the trip because I chose the small site in the middle of it all.

After the park manager led me to it, and guided me as I backed into the squeezed space, she introduced me to my next door neighbor, Kim.

“She’s one of our seasonals,” the manager said, then hurried off to help other RVers get settled for the busy weekend.

Kim became my guardian angel for the next two days, taking me under her warm wing and adopting me into her brood, which included parents, a sister, a niece, a husband and a daughter. They lived not too far away and their travel trailer was almost permanently parked at the scenic campground, I learned.

The brood had all gathered this weekend for the spook celebration, which is an annual event at the park.

I was the family’s guest at the Halloween potluck dinner that preceded the trick or treating the next night. And I got to sit around their campfire as candy was handed out to the many young treat-or-treaters. The most unusual costume of the night, I thought, was the young boy dressed as a railroad crossing. As a mom, I was never that inventive. My kids were usually witches, hobos or ghosts, things that didn’t require any sewing on their mom’s part.

The second pond at the park. — Photo by Pat Bean

Kim’s daughter, Brandy, was one of the trick or treaters.            “Just wait until you see my niece’s costume,” Tracy had said at dinner. “My sister’s an excellent seamstress and can sew up anything.”

I waited. Tracy was right. Brandy was the most lavishly dressed pirate I think I’ve ever seen.

Since Kim had officially adopted me into the family for the weekend, Brandy felt like a granddaughter, of which I have eight.

I left Carthage Gap with great memories tucked away in the brain’s rolodex. And a bit homesick for my own family, too.

Book Report: Travels with Maggie is still stuck. Too much traveling – I’m currently on the Blue Ridge Parkway in my journey and driving 100 miles takes five hours. I need to settle for a day soon and catch up.

Bean’s Pat: Couch surfing in India http://mymeanderingtrail.com/ This travel blogger, who writes about hiking the Appalachian Trail, is a good model for Tim Cahill’s quote about the journey being more about the people you meet than the miles. And about the kind of concerns all travelers who get off the beaten path endure — and overcome.

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