River Day 11/25/2013

 

Another great River Day this week, enjoyed this time by Ted, Tim, Jay and I (Mark).  It's always good when all of the "regulars" make it down (assuming you can call Rivertarians regular).  Once again we had good weather, even though it was a little cooler than last week (upper 30's - low 40's).  It did start to cloud up as the evening went by, due to an approaching winter storm.

Jay brought down a trailer loaded with some scrap wood for burning (much appreciated), and Tim brought down some goodies for the fire too - old doors from his house.  These were all interior doors, and as you might imagine, made for an interesting contribution for what was in all likelihood, the best fire on the river.  I hope the pics do them justice.

We had a visit from Freddy, who as always had a few stories.  The main theme from him was his buck kill (bow) from last week - complete with pictures.  He can always be counted on for colorful tales.

This was the Monday before Thanksgiving and a significant storm was forecast for later in the week.  I think everyone is looking forward to a snowfall or two at the river on a Monday.

From all of us to Rivertarians everywhere (okay, even to non-Rivertarians), we hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday!

River Day 11/18/2013

This is a very late post - one week late to be exact - but I thought I'd go ahead and make it ahead of today's River Day.

The whole Rivertarian gang was able to make it down this week - Jay, Tim, Ted, and myself (Mark).  The weather was pretty nice (clear, mid 40's), but fairly windy early on. No one tried any fishing this week, and most of the activity was at or around the fire.

Not too much going on the river (our part of it anyway).  We did have a nice visit from Freddy (he's become a regular now, not just a local), who shared a few stories with us.  Most of his stories include brushes with officialdom; I'm starting to see a pattern.

One good thing about the days getting shorter - we were actually at the river for night-fall.  You can't beat hanging around a hot fire after dark.  Now all we need is a little snow.

Sorry for the late post, and for the lack of a bunch of pics.  I did take a few of the best fire on the river just before we left, so I've put one here for the reader's enjoyment.

What a Great Monday at the river!Ted and I (Jay) where the only ones that made it down this week and the weather was great.The water level was down but we still had the best fire on the river.

Annual Fall Camping Trip Sherwood Lake - 2013

No, this is not a National River Day post.  Yes, there is still a National River Day.  Weekly even.  We've just become very bad at keeping up with the blog.

These photos are from our yearly fall camping trip, usually taken in the vicinity of Sherwood Lake, WV.  We had a great time this year, and except for a little rain, couldn't have asked for better weather, especially for this time of year.

As we did last year, we camped off the roadway leading into the park, a few miles before the main entrance.  Able to make it camping this year were Jay, Tim, Ted, Pat, Scott (for one night anyway), David, and myself (Mark).

What a great way to "end" the season. 

Camper City

Is Sambuca really our friend??

Pat, Jay and Tim having a snack.

Washer-toss tournament

Pallet night at the camp!

River Day 08/26/2013

(Pre-winter wood pile)

Another quiet River Day this week; probably because you can feel summer starting to wind down.  The leaves haven't started changing yet, but there's a definite difference in the air that you can feel.  Jay, Tim and I were the only Rivertarians around this Monday, but Judy was at the camp, and we got our regular visit from Freddy.  Once again we had nice, mild weather.  Probably a good thing, since Jay brought down a trailer stacked high with pallets and other scrap wood for the pile.  Another 5 degrees and a higher humidity level would have made the unloading pretty miserable.  Where's Ted when you need him?

Of course any time we have a wood gathering, or delivery even, we have to build a fire (don't we always?), so we did.  It may not have been the biggest we've ever built, but it was plenty.  I think we only burned one of the many pallets that Jay brought down.

All three of us did a good bit of fishing, and a small amount of catching.  Nothing major, but at least they're still biting (despite, or because of, the consistently high water levels).  There's still no way to get out into the main current (on foot anyway), which we would normally be able to do at this time of year.

 Can't think of a better way to start every week than to spend River Day with good friends.

River Day 08/19/2013

Just like every other week this summer, the river was still running way above normal for this time of year on Monday.  It actually rose quite a bit in the hours that we were there enjoying River Day.  Jay, Tim, and I (Mark) initially fished below the camp, and by the time we were ready to walk back up to the camp, the path back was under water.  The good news is, all three of us caught fish, either at that spot, or the usual spot in front of the camp.

Ted also made it down this week, and from the photos (sorry Ted), he must have been tired. Ron and Judy were at their camper as well this week.

The weather was mild again, and at least we didn't have any rain.  Even though it wasn't needed, we did have a nice little fire going (can you even have River Day without a fire?).

This was the first Monday in a while that we've had the regular group all show up; hopefully, it'll continue for a while.

River Day 08/12/2013

Only Jay and I (Mark) were at the river this week for River Day.  Even Ron and Judy weren't around this Monday.  We had good weather again, but still built a small fire.  It doesn't seem like the river level is ever going to drop to its normal late summer level, so all of our fishing was done in the eddy pool directly in front of the camp.  We were fairly successful, and "slew" several fish - sadly I mean that literally, but that was really the fish's fault.

Not much activity around the camp, but we did get a visit from Freddy, 7 geese, and two puppies (or river dogs).

As always, a great way to start the week.