River Day 11/26/2012

The last River Day in November was celebrated this week by the regular crew:  Jay, Ted, Tim and I (Mark).  Once again, we had great weather for this time of year; temps in the mid 50's with overcast skies.  Most of the evening we didn't even have to put on jackets.  The exception was the very end of the night when the rains that were forecast settled in.  It didn't matter at that point though, as the evening was just about at an end anyway.

Ted and I finally figured out why we have such a hard time beating the Harper boys at washer toss - the Harper Hex, as demonstrated in the video:

We didn't let the pressure get to us this time, as we finally won a series.

The river level was extremely low again this week, and even though no one tried any fishing, we did walk out on the rocks.  We had noticed that a lot of the rocks in front of the camp had a weird looking white coloration on them.  We have no idea what caused it, but it was neat looking.  I hope the picture shows what we were seeing.

Ted discovered a portion of a concrete block with a circle in the middle of it that we're going to try out as a "grill".  It had some moss on it, so we seasoned it a little by the fire.  We'll have more on that when it gets its first run.

We had a lot of scrap wood to burn again this week, and even though it wasn't a big fire (by our standards anyway), it was probably still the best one on the river.

River Day 11/19/2012

Another evening of great weather for this week's River Day celebration; mostly clear skies and temps in the upper 50's.  Jay, Tim, Kevin and I (Mark) all made it down to the camp, at roughly the same time for a change.  It was Ted's turn to miss due to work (gotta do it while you can).

Jay brought down a truck load of scrap wood, along with a few pallets.  In case anyone's wondering, old cabinets burn really well.







We had a "fly-by" early in the evening.  Someone in a bright yellow fixed-wing plane made a couple of passes over the camp, apparently just flying over the gorge.  It's something you don't see every day, so I did get one good picture of it.

"It's hot as $#!% out here!"

The river level was very low this week.  Jay and I took a little walk down stream and were able to get out onto a point that's normally covered with water and/or high grass.  The area was opposite a spot where we often fish.  Jay found an old lure hanging on a stump.  It didn't look like anything any of us usually fish with, but it was still a good find.

We played a couple of rounds of washer-toss again this week, and had a short visit from Freddy.  He didn't seem to appreciate our music, but you just can't beat traditional Christmas music, even if it is a little early in the season for that.

As for the fire...I think the pictures speak for themselves.

River Day 11/12/2012

Another really late post this week... Jay, Ted, Kevin and I (Tim) were able to make it down this week; Mark had to travel for work and was out of town. I was a little late getting down, delayed with work; some people just don't respect the Monday Holiday! It was a pretty uneventful night... the conversation was mainly about the recent Presidential election and our annual camping trip to Lake Sherwood; of course some family discussion is always a topic. This was the first Monday that I have been able to make it down after the clocks were set back, you can really tell the difference as it  gets darker so much earlier. The scenery at the river is really starting to take on that “winter” feel.  The weather was mainly overcast and it rained on us a few times.

We did get a visit from Mitch, the local Park Ranger; it's been a while since we've seen him. The rest of the locals were pretty quiet this week, not much activity. There aren't any pictures this week, mainly because nobody took any. We did however have the best fire on the river! All in all, as usual, another good Monday and certainly the best way to start the week.

River Day 10/29/2012

Okay, so this is a really late post...a week and a half late actually; but better late than never, right?

With the threat of snow (okay, a blizzard), there was no way we were going to miss River Day, even though the fall camping trip was just a couple of days away.  Jay, Ted, Tim and I made it down.  It was actually already snowing at the top of the mountain in the afternoon, but rain was all we had at the river.  Nothing heavy, just steady.

Even though it was a bit cooler this week, heat wasn't a problem - a nice combination of spicy food and a hot fire.  Jay brought down a crock-pot full of hot sausages (along with buns).  As for the fire, I think the photo speaks for itself.

Check the steam coming off Ted's right shoulder!

As a side note, even though the snow never materialized Monday evening, we all woke up to around 18 inches of snow Tuesday morning - Hurricane Sandy, WV style!

River Day 10/22/2012

Turns out that Jay has been right all along, it is all about the "p": politics and pigs, that is.  At least it was at the river this week.  Ted, Kevin, Jay, Tim and I (Mark) were all at the camp again this week to enjoy a warm fall evening on the New.  We probably could have safely worn shorts and t-shirts this week - temps were in the mid 70's and the sky was clear blue.

Most of the activity for the evening was spent around the fire talking about this weeks "p" topics; politics (or more specifically the upcoming election and associated debates), and pig roasts.  I'm pretty sure we didn't solve anything, but we seem to be all agreed on one of those issues, and had a little divisiveness on the other.  The discussion on both was animated (passionate?) at times, but never got out of hand.  It's nice that we can kick things around a bit, even when we don't all see things exactly the same way.  As the saying goes, that's why God invented chocolate and vanilla ice cream.

The river had that dark color that is typical for this time of year, and was inviting enough for me to try a few casts.  I didn't catch anything, but had to try; there may not be many more chances before the weather starts to turn more toward winter.

We were also able to get in a few games of washer toss again this week.  Ted and I were finally able to get in a win against Jay and Tim (it's been a long time coming).  We get into the games and the competition is always a blast.

Last but not least, let's not forget about the "f" for the week - fire that is.  As always, it was the best on the river!

River Day 10/15/2012

We had a full crew at the river this week to celebrate the holiday: Ted, Jay, Tim, Kevin and I (Mark) all made it down.  Except for some gusty wind, we had nearly perfect weather, especially for this time of year.  Temps were mostly in the low 60's.

I brought a lawn mower down, and Ted and I got the lawn in front of the camp cut, probably for the last time of the season.  It wasn't a big job, but will hopefully help Ron and Judy out a little.  We also made an executive decision to fund having the "blue room" cleaned out before the winter weather settles in.  We all enjoy the camp, so we don't mind pitching in to take care of the place.

After we got the lawn cut, we played a few games of washer toss.  Kevin and I lost two games to the Harper boys, but at least we made them work for it (a little anyway).

No one tried any fishing this week.  The river looked good, but it was just too windy to get out and try to cast.

For dinner we had some left-over chile from the annual cook-off at Wayne's World.  It was re-heated in a crockpot and seemed to take forever to get hot enough to eat, but I don't think anyone minded the wait too badly.

With the weather starting to cool off, the central gathering place was around the fire.  I'd say we had the best on the river, but I'm a little biased.  It was a nice preview to the upcoming winter fires.

River Day 10/01/2012

Just Jay and I (Mark) again this week for River Day.  It was almost a repeat of two weeks ago; cloudy skies and occasional rain.  The rain wasn't nearly as hard as last time, so we got to enjoy a longer time at the river.  We talked about trying to fish a few times, but never really got motivated enough to try it.  We also had a nice, but small fire going most of the time.

It was very quiet this week.  No activity around the camp, with the exception of Dawan (sp?) either picking up or dropping off a boat at his camp. There was a fairly large group of geese (gaggle?) hanging around in front of the camp for a while, but they took off up-river. Didn't see much of the locals; Dave getting off the Raleigh Express, and Leo riding off on his 4-wheeler.  With fall in full swing things have certainly slowed down. 

The trees along the river are really starting to show some color also.  I'm sure that within a week or two they'll be in full color.  Hate that I have to miss the next two, but I'm sure at least a few of us will get to enjoy the fall show.