River Day 10/26/2015

Since everyone is on vacation this week, River Day was celebrated a little earlier than usual, and the full crew was on hand: Pat, Ted, Tim, Jay and I.  We had fair weather while we were there - overcast, near 60, with a little nip in the air.  It was one of those days where it was nice to stay close to the fire.

(Pat may be having a religious experience here)

The fall camping trip is coming up in a few days, so a lot of the talk was finalizing the plans on where, when, and who.  Looks like we've settled on Glade Creek camping area (same place as last year), and we'll all get started on Wednesday morning.  As for the who - we know there will be the five of us, with the addition of Damon for a few days, and probably Scott.  Not sure about Kevin's plans.  Who knows, maybe even Freddy will show up for a visit.

Not too much going on around the camp this week.  Jesse has apparently been cleaning up all around, and even donated some firewood he'd cut, split, and stacked.  Thanks, Jesse!

(Jay, Freddy, Tim, Pat, and Ted)

The was river level was pretty low, which is typical for this time of year.  You could walk out through the rocks and fish in the main current of the river without getting your shoes wet - had any one actually been fishing.  No one seemed to be able to work up the enthusiasm (wonder where that came from?) to do that.

Another great River Day celebration!

River Day 10/19/2015

Only Jay and I were on hand to celebrate the holiday this week, and we had beautiful weather to do it.  Skies were clear, autumn blue, and temps were in the upper 60's.  There was no fishing, no projects this week, just hanging around by the fire. 

Most of our talk this week was all about the upcoming annual fall camping trip (next week!).  Everyone's plans seem to be coming together, and I'm sure it will be a great time, as always.

We saw and talked to Leo for a bit - don't usually spend too much time chatting with him.  Freddy dropped by for his weekly visit.  Jesse's car was parked in the driveway at the camp for the entire evening with one door standing open and the windows partially down.  Funny, we never did see Jesse.  According to Freddy, Jesse is staying in Toby's house for a time, even though there isn't any electricity at that place. 

We did see a Park Service vehicle coming down the road, but it turned around before getting to the camp.  Someone in our little party seemed a bit nervous to see them, and it wasn't Jay or me. Hmmm.

We kept a small fire going the whole time, and thanks to someone (?) we had some pre-cut wood sitting around for burning.  Looked like some of the stuff that washes up during floods.  We took advantage.  The results were, of course, the best fire on the river.

Sorry everyone couldn't make it down this week, but unfortunately, life gets in the way.

As a note of good news, I left a jacket and a set of throwing knives at the camp the last time we were there - two weeks ago.  I felt certain the knives would be gone (and had forgotten about the jacket).  Both were exactly where I left them.  No one around, or respect for other's property?  Or maybe honor among fellow Rivertarians.

Happy River Day!

River Day 10/12/2015

While not necessarily a traditional River Day celebration, several Rivertarians did get together last week at Wayne's World to do a little camper maintenance, in preparation for the upcoming fall camping trip.

I have no idea who was there, since I wasn't, but I did get a couple of photos from Ted. 

Anyway I'm posting those pics today (just in time for this week's River Day), and they appear to be of Tim getting a little steamed up.

Sorry I wasn't able to get out, but I'm looking forward to seeing everyone this week (today!).

River Day 10/05/2015

 

 

After the weather we had this past weekend, River Day was about as close to perfect as you can get.  Clear blue skies and temps in the low 70's.  The water level was about the only evidence that there had even been bad weather - high and muddy.

This week Pat, Ted, Jay and I were the only ones to make it down.  And Freddy. Twice.  I think he was trying to talk himself into going hunting, but it was getting pretty late in the afternoon for that.

River Day this week was also Ted's birthday.  We (Rivertarians everywhere) would like to wish him a Happy Birthday, and we hope to celebrate many more with him.  Ted took a few pics on his phone this week; those will be added as soon as possible.

As predicted, there was lots of talk about the camping trip coming up in a few weeks.  The closed it gets, the more we all look forward to it.  The way we're making plans, you'd think we'd never done this before.  Better safe than sorry though.

Apparently Ron got a jump on the river and moved the camper earlier in the week or over the weekend.  Looked a little funny not seeing it in its regular parking spot.

The pictures below show another visitor we had fairly early on in the day.  These birds always remind me of pterodactyls, especially when flying.

No fishing this week, just hanging around by the fire.  And yes, yes it was.

Happy River Day!

 

 

Adding a few more pictures that Ted took with his phone:



 

 

 

 





River Day 09/28/2015

We got to see a rapidly rising river this week in the few hours we were at the camp.  The water level must have risen 2-3 feet in about as many hours.  I wish I'd taken a few pictures before hand for a comparison, but we had no idea it was happening, or had happened, until it was already up.  The strange part was, there was no rain.  Overcast, yes, but no precipitation.  So either the gates at the dam were opened, or there was weather upstream on the Greenbrier.

Tim, Ted, Jay and I were able to come out this week, with a short visit from Freddy.  A good bit of this week's discussion was on the annual camping trip (go figure), and I'm sure that will pick up as we get closer to the end of October.  We'll be heading to Sherwood this year.

Jay, Tim and I tried to do a little fishing, but with the current increasing, and places to stand decreasing, we didn't try for long.  And we had no luck during the time we did try.

We did have a nice, if small, fire going this week, and have started to do a little foraging to build the wood pile up for colder weather.  There wasn't a lot to gather, but with all the leaves still on, I'm sure there are some pieces we couldn't see.  Don't want to start the fall/winter season with none.

It's always great to start the week out with our on-going celebration, and I for one always appreciate my fellow Rivertarians.

River Day 08/10/2015

Unlike last week, we had a full compliment of Rivertarians celebrating the weekly holiday this go 'round:  Scott, Pat, Jay, Ted, and I.  Tim was not able to make it due to work (dang it!).  Freddy also dropped in for his weekly visit.

We had great temps for the day (low-mid 80's), but we went from bright, sunny skies to a torrential downpour.  How many Rivertarians can you cram into an 8x12 building?  At least 5. 

Pat and Scott tried a little fishing and ventured out through the rocks and grass to get to the current.  I don't think either had much luck, and they got back to safety just before the hard rain started.  Not a good place to get caught in bad weather.

We did get to enjoy a nice dinner, thanks to Pat and Ted: hotdogs with peppers, onions, and mustard.  Yummy.

Early on, we saw some folks floating by on a raft, which is fairly common.  What was a little unusual was the umbrella they were carrying.  Just really not sure what that was all about.  They almost lost the umbrella in the rapids as they approached Army Camp, but seemed to make a recovery.

Despite the rain, it was a great River Day!

River Day 08/03/2015

Everyone made it down to the river again this week...everyone except for Jay, Tim, Ted, and Pat. But hey, I made it down for a relatively short, quiet, River Day celebration. And let's not forget Freddy. 

The weather was just too good to pass up an opportunity to go to the river for a while - sunny skies and mid 80's.

 Other than our regular local, there wasn't too much going on; a new tenant at Toby's place, some folks swimming at the beach, and some people camping across the river.

New fishing buddy.

 
 I tried a little fishing (unsuccessfully), and I did have a "visitor" while I was out on the rocks. He didn't bother me, and I tried very hard not to bother him any. The picture says it all.

 No fire this week as I didn't stay any longer than a couple of hours. As always, a great way to start the week.