Get Out!!

Sitting under our favorite
oak tree on the BRP 

One of the things we hoped to accomplish by relocating our family to Mount Airy in 2009 was to change our lifestyle...slow things down. We also wanted to spend more time as a family doing things together. Mount Airy is located about 10 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway which is one of our favorite places to go. Sometimes we'll jump in the car after dinner and ride up there just to watch the sun set.



We also have several state parks right in our backyard: Pilot Mountain, Hanging Rock and Stone Mountain in North Carolina and New River Trail in Virginia, for example. Hiking around the knob at Pilot, swimming in the lake at Hanging Rock, climbing the summit at Stone Mountain and kayaking the New River are just a few of our new favorite pastimes.

Anna Kate on top of  Stone Mountain

Grey is such a comedian :-)

I have never really considered myself an "outdoorsy" person. I grew up camping with my family, but hadn't gone willingly in decades. Now that we were enjoying all these other outdoor activities, Todd and I started talking about going camping. My parents bought Todd a tent for Christmas two years ago. He and Grey put it up in the backyard last summer and we attempted to sleep out there as a trial run. We decided not to put on the rain cover so that we could look out of the screen at the top of the tent and watch the stars. They do that in the movies, right? Well, a sudden rainshower about 10 p.m. put a quick end to that and we all ran for the house as fast as we could go. The tent had to dry out for two days before we could even put it away.


Poor Todd really wanted to try camping again. He kept asking me to look at the calendar and find some dates when we might be able to go. The kids and I decided to surprise him with a Father's Day camping trip to New River Trail. Anna Kate had a swim meet on Saturday morning so Grey was going to get everything ready while Todd and I were at the meet with her. As soon as the meet was over, we would surprise him with the news and head out. 


From there, things went a little awry. Grey did a GREAT job of getting everything ready, but a black snake decided to make an appearance in the garage just as we were getting home so the "surprise" was a little more exciting than I had planned.

Once we loaded the car, made a trip to the grocery store and Wal-mart for last minute items, we were on the road! I had made the reservation online which was simple and easy to do, but the campsite I had selected looked closer to the river on the map. Thankfully, the park staff were very accommodating and allowed us to change campsites without too much difficulty. Being able to hear the river when we sat by the campfire or as we fell asleep was definitely a plus.

The view of the river from our campsite.

Todd and Grey began unpacking the tent and we quickly realized that in all the commotion over the snake in the garage, Todd had forgotten the tent poles. This is the point at which I fell even more in love with my husband. Instead of getting angry or packing the car and saying that we should just go home, he just laughed. Shook his head, laughed and drove 45 minutes home to get the poles. It was a slight detour...not the end of the world. Most obstacles are; I need to remember that.

Getting the tent up was a cause for celebration!

A few hours later, the tent was up, everything was organized and we were grilling our hamburgers over the fire. Dinner was great and then we, of course, made s'mores before going to bed. Sleeping on an air mattress leaves a little to be desired, but overall it wasn't a horrible night. Todd got up early and cooked a great breakfast over the fire, I ran on the trail, Grey rented a bike and Anna Kate went on a horseback ride. 

Cooking over the campfire may have been
the best part of the whole trip!

Running on the New River Trail was
such a peaceful experience. 

I should mention that Foster Falls does not have a bath house. There is a store which sells ice, firewood, a few camping supplies, etc. and there is a glorified outhouse at the campground, but no running water and no electricity at the campsites. It is a beautiful location with lots to do, but I can't really see us camping there for more than a day or two. I was content to let Todd warm some water for me over the fire so that I could rinse off after my run, but doing that for several days in a row might push my camping tolerances. 

After cleaning up the campsite and packing the car, we were back home later that afternoon.  We weren't eaten by bears, no one developed any sort of illness from not bathing and both kids have asked when we can go camping again; that sounds like a successful first experience to me. Take a deep breath, plan an adventure and get out there. Even if you forget the tent poles, you'll be glad you went.