River Day 12/17/2012

As you can see from the photos, the weather this week was nearly identical to the week before: rain, fog, temps in mid 50s.  So far it just hasn't felt much like December, never mind Christmas.

Jay wasn't able to make it down this week (Happy Birthday!) and instead picked up William at the airport in Charleston.  Ted, Kevin, Tim and I (Mark) all made it down for what is probably the last "regular" River Day celebration of the year.  It's hard to believe that 2012 is nearly gone.

Jay and Ted had delivered even more wood for the fire on Sunday this week, so there's a nice stack of stuff to burn that should last well into the cold months ahead, assuming the river doesn't take it.  It goes without saying that we had a great fire again this week, enough so that we were able to continue the discarded laptop recycling program.  Due to EPA regs, we probably shouldn't make that a habit.  From an artistic viewpoint though, the light show from those things is magnificent.

We did see a couple of the locals this week.  Leo spoke to us this week when the bus dropped him off; 1st time that's happened for a while (the speaking part, not the getting off the bus part).  And of course we had the weekly visit with Freddy.  It's always entertaining to listen to some of his stories.  Freddy had left us a little gift for the fire when we got down this week.  Amazing how much noise one aerosol can can make.  It was loud enough that he heard if from his house and used that as his cue to visit.  We'll let the smoke clear a little before we try that again.



Not a late night at the river, but a good one as always.

River Day 12/10/2012

River Day started out rainy this week, and when the rain slacked off, the fog moved in.  Temps were a little cooler than they were last week, but it was still unseasonably warm - mid to upper 50's.  Everyone was around this week to celebrate the holiday: Ted, Jay, Tim, Kevin and I (Mark).

It was a quiet evening and most of the activity was around the fire.  With the exception of Freddy, we didn't see any of the locals.  We've noticed for the last year or two that none of the residents had been putting up any Christmas lights like they used to.  Then we noticed that Leo had indeed decorated this year - not his house, but the utility pole with the electric service drop.  At least that way, extension cords aren't an issue.  Sorry for the poor quality of the photo (best I could do with a point-and-shoot), but I think it captures the spirit.

With the damp weather, the fire was certainly appreciated.  If I was to bet, I'd have to say we had the best one on the river.

River Day 12/03/2012

The first Monday of December felt more like late spring this week as the temps were in the upper 60's.  No jacket, short sleeve kinda weather.  Tim wasn't able to be with us this week, but Ted, Jay, Kevin, and I (Mark) all made it down to enjoy River Day.

Jay brought down even more wood for the pile in anticipation of the colder weather to come.  We're starting to get a pretty goodstack of wood going.  If the river cooperates and doesn't rise up and take it away, we'll be in good shape, for part of the winter anyway. 

I tried to do a little fishing this week, but it was a half-hearted attempt.  I really didn't expect much, so I didn't try for very long.  I'm pretty sure that I spent more time walking out to the rocks and back than I actually did fishing, but at least I gave it a shot.  There probably won't be too many more opportunities in 2012.

Not too much local activity this week, as usual.  Freddy visited and chatted for a while; I think he's on his way to becoming a regular.  The Raleigh Express made drop-off while we were there, or maybe more like a taxpayer funded beer run.  It may have even made two deliveries, unless it was a return trip.

All-in-all, a great way to spend a Monday evening as the year winds down.

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!