River Day 11/23/2015

Maybe it's time for a plumber?

 

 

We had a smaller crew this week for River Day: Tim, Jay, Ted, and I (Mark).  The weather was a bit cooler also (low 40's), but there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  While there wasn't any evidence of it at the river, there was a dusting of snow on the ground early Monday morning.  Winter will be on us before you know it.

With the colder air, most of the evening was spent pretty close to the fire, or fires. The shin buster stump near the fire pit has finally had a blow out, so we spent a good bit of time getting what was left, down.  Well, mostly anyway.  We threw some coals into the center and let the fire take care of what hadn't rotted away.  We helped it along...just a little.  In another week or so, there shouldn't be anything left to trip over.  Can't remember having choices before when it came to which fire you wanted to stand by, so this week was a first.

Stump removal, phase 1

 

Stump removal, phase 2

 

Feel the burn!

Freddy came down to chat with us for a while, and even brought a little gift to share.  After the way we harassed him with this week's story, I'm surprised he didn't want it back.  Jesse even dropped by for a few minutes; he was just surprised to see Freddy out of the house.

We did gather up a little firewood to add to the pile.  The river had been up through the week, so there were a few extra pieces laying around.  We probably burned about half of what we collected, so we'll have to work a little harder at it next time.

Best fire on the river!

Once again, a great way to start the week!

Happy Thanksgiving to fellow Rivertarians everywhere, and anyone else that follows National River Day!

 

Nearly full moon coming up over the ridge.

River Day 11/16/2015

 

We haven't made any posts here since the annual camping trip, and as you can see in the pics, what leaves there were on the trees then, are all gone now.  A few weeks can make a big difference. 

We had a full crew on hand this week: Jay, Tim, Ted, Pat, Scott, and me (Mark).  And let's not forget Freddy (we did get to harass him a little for not making an appearance at Glade Creek).  We had pretty good weather for this time of year, clear skies with temps around 60 (at first), then dropping to near 50 as the evening went on.  You can tell winter is right around the corner anytime you move away from the fire a little.

No one did any fishing this week, even though the river level looked good for it.  We spent a little time gathering up some firewood, and for now, there's plenty more to be picked up.  Jesse has been helping out through the week(s) and leaving us a few cut pieces here and there.

As usual, it was a good time catching up with what everyone's been doing over the last week or so, and doing it over a nice fire by the river ain't a bad way to start the week!

Fall Camping Trip: Oct 28 - Nov 1, 2015

 

As expected, the yearly camping trip was a great success!  Seems like it always lives up to the anticipation.

 

This year Jay, Tim, Ted, Pat, Scott, and I (Mark) stayed for the entire time.  Damon stayed with us Wednesday and Thursday nights, Kevin stayed Friday night, and Ben visited Friday evening.  Freddy never made an appearance. 

We ended up camping in the same spot as last year, Glade Creek Campground, along the New River.  We had plenty of firewood (yep, you guessed it), and plenty to eat.  The area is remote, and there wasn't too much activity in the area, typical for this time of year.

I won't try to list everything we did, but I am posting a good number of pics.  Hopefully, they'll give you a good idea of how the trip went.

I think I speak for the group when I express how much we all missed David.  He's been a part of this trip for a number of years, and it was strange, and sad, not having him with us.  We had some good stories- memories-
of him and shared them around the camp.  At least we'll always have those.

 

 

 

 

The BEST fire on the river!