White Blaze Fever

Seriously, I've become obsessed with reading biographies written by "thru-hikers" of the Appalachian Trail.  So far...in the past two weeks I've added these to my virtual book shelf:

This was my introduction to biographical trail hiking.

This was by far my favorite...possibly because she hiked the trail ALONE!!  Awesome read!

Another great read.  These sisters walked much of the trail barefooted!!!

My current read...see...told you I've become a little obsessed!

Our family has spent quite a bit of time hiking day trails along the A.T. mainly within Shenandoah National Park/George Washington National Forest.  Spy Rock, Crabtree Falls, and also The Priest (when we are kid-less as it's a little much for them)...are a few of our favorite hang outs.

From our most recent hike to Spy Rock:

Why do 10 yr olds think running on top of mountain is a good idea?

Another trip to CrabTree Falls:

My favorite bridge not far from the trail.

There's nothing more spectacular than coming upon waterfalls along the trails...deep within the woods.

Rock hopping is always on the to-do list.

Three out of four of my kids thoroughly enjoy hiking, and you can't keep up with my youngest...she scales inclines and rocks like a spider monkey!  I suppose partially because it's one of the places that her learning disability doesn't hold her back.  Even when it comes to reading the signs, she can lead by simply by following the white blazes indicating the Appalachian Trail.

These white blazes are painted on trees every so often along the entire 2150+ miles of the trail...GA - MA

I'd love to thru hike, but I know without doubt, I'd never complete it!  ADD would make sure of that!  I would however like to hike the 540+ miles that run through Virginia (that's over a 1/4 of the entire trail.)  I wouldn't dare impose this whack-a-doodle trip on the kids, and I don't think The Mr.'s knees could take it...so it has become another item on my bucket list.  Maybe a Mother/Daughter hike when she gets a little older??  That way she can contact emergency medics to retrieve me once she's finished the hike!  Most would laugh uncontrolablly at my "dream", you see I'm a far cry from an outdoorsy type of girl.  Honestly, the ONLY time I've ever "camped" was once in high school...in the woods...in full view of a friends house!  Roughing it to me includes lodging at Super 8.

We can't wait til Spring.  St. Mary's Falls is the first on our list for this summer!

St. Mary's Falls in Virginia...more of a trail than a hike.

Also Humpback Rock near Charlottesville:

Dragon's Tooth Hike:

And Little Devils Stairs:

Hurry up SPRING!!!

St. Mary's Falls...Here We Come!!!

Hopefully, providing I can get my tennis shoes on by the weekend, we're going to take a much needed day trip to St. Mary's Falls trail/hike near the Blue Ridge Parkway with the kids.  We're regulars up that way.  We've regularly hike to  Crabtree Falls, and Spy Rock (you can read my recent blog about our Spy Rock hike HERE).  We'd like to hike to The Priest, but I'm not sure my younger ones could make the hike...so we'll save that for a little later.

St. Mary's Falls...it's more of a trail than a hike...which is a good thing as I limp along with a broken toe!  I can't wait to pack a picnic lunch, and spend the days with the kids...without gameboys, PS3, DVD's, iPods, cell phones and the like to interfere!  

Hopefully, we'll see some of  this:

And this:

So, while I gripe and complain about living "in the middle of nowhere" quite often, I love that within 2 hours I can have the mountains or the beach for our viewing pleasure and memory making!!

Only In Virginia....

Last Sunday we took a few of the kids to hike to Spy Rock in Nelson county, VA.  It was quite the hike...complete with everything hurting by Monday morning!  On our way down what we thought at the time was only a thunderstorm graced us with torrential downpour!

Here's a few highlights:

Definitely worth the hike!

Breathtaking views from atop of Spy Rock.

Only a 10 year old thinks that running on top of a mountain is a great idea!

Great spot for a nap.

On the long, albeit scenic drive home, we encountered numerous detours due to downed trees.  No problem...we're flexible like that.  My heart lurched when I glanced to my right and noticed a 10 foot wide path right through the middle of a countryside church.  I didn't take any pictures, as I was always told by my mom "not to become an obnoxious tourist during someone else's misfortune."  Turns out we just missed a tornado by about 15 minutes.

Tuesday morning was like Christmas in my mailbox!  I received a few expected packages and also my Bead Soup beads from my partner Tari Sasser!!!  Woot-woot!

I quickly snapped some shots (next post...stay tuned) of the colorful ceramic creations she sent, and got to work.  I stepped out on the back deck so a few of my pieces could take a quick dip in liver of sulfur when the ground started shaking...and the dog and I were slowly getting shaken off of the deck.  Yep....what everyone has watched on t.v. for the past 2 days....earthquake in Virginia....epicenter approximately an hour from us, in Mineral, VA.  Now, a 5.9 quake is a just a Sunday picnic out west...not so much for us east coast country folk!  We've had a few aftershocks...the worst being around 1 a.m. last night...but now we've moved on to bigger things heading our way today....hurricane Irene!

My lights are flickering as I type...so I'm going to batten down the hatches for now....