This weekend I think we all needed a little fresh air. Saturday morning after I went on my run (more on that tomorrow)- Jay, Mary, Will and I went to Shenandoah National Park for a little nature fix.
With only one stop, we arrived in Shenandoah 2 hours after departing our apartment in Arlington. We quickly set our site up and ventured out on a short (but sweet) 4 mile hike.
Upon returning to the campsite the guys decided to set-up double deck hammocks. They turned out pretty well despite the time it took to get them up there.
Apparently our hike was a little more rigorous than we thought as two of our companions opted for naps as soon as they hit their hammocks. Good thing they found the hammocks comfortable as they both planned on sleeping in them that evening.
We decided to keep this trip simple and leave our Coleman Stove at home (along with matches and hamburger buns, oops!). We grilled burgers, veggie burgers and veggie packets over the fire.
This was a very different experience from the one time we grilled at Big Meadows. First off, we remembered a spatula and tongs!!! More importantly, the wood was very dry and caught very quickly. Our burgers cooked in about 5-7 minutes and the veggie burgers in about 2. The burgers were delicious on the bagels we brought! I am glad we planned to have bagels in the morning, otherwise we would have had naked burgers.
Our little group never needs an excuse to play games, but camping is a good one. After dinner, we were entertained well into the evening with card games, Will’s car games and Catch-Phrase.
The next morning we got a little more nature encounters than we bargained for. First, a nice deer family ventured very close to our campsite. It was cool to see the deer so close. Then, when we were driving to leave the park Mary saw a bear by the side of the road. We promptly turned around to snap a few pictures. The only unsettling thing about the bear was how close to the road he was. I hope he doesn’t get hit by a car!!
Finally I will leave you with the game Will had us playing all weekend. On the ride up Will entertained us with some jokes and games. I say our favorite was the song game. One person threw out a word and then we had to take turns singing songs and the line/stanza that had the word in it. For example, if the word is ‘night’ ( or' ‘knight’) a song would be “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” by Elton John:
And can you feel the love tonight
It is where we are
It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer
That we got this far
For the fun of it, I want to see what y’all can come up with for our first word.
