Our time in New River Gorge was peaceful and beautiful. The rock was much different from that which we climbed in Red River Gorge and took some time getting used to. There was on and off rain all week, with intermittent moments of sunshine. Wednesday was our designated rest day, which timed out well with the weather. We spent majority of the day in the camper, reading and crosswording while listening to the rain beat down. By mid-day we were ready to stretch our legs and knew that Mogli could use some exercise. The 3 of us went for a run giving me the opportunity to practice meeting Mogli’s leash disobedience with patience and discipline. New places offer new distractions, so we’re working on setting ground rules with him. I’m sure he’ll get more comfortable as time goes on, but for now we are just trying to be consistent. The couple staying in the campsite directly across from us were retired and living on the road. They invited us over to play cards in their spacious RV that night and shared countless stories of their travels.
Thursday morning started with some yoga in the sunshine followed by running a few errands in town. Filling our water tank, re-stocking produce and maintaining ice in the cooler have become routine. Our water resiviour is 10 gallons and we have filled it twice since we left. The first time was behind a Jimmy John’s in Indiana where we had just eaten lunch. We used our own hose to hook up to their water spigot. Feeling slightly unsure of our operation, I walked around picking up trash as a way to ease my guilt. I made my way back, sure that our tank was full, to find Tom unshamefully using the hose to wash our truck. Mortified, I turned the water off and asked Tom to pack up and get us back on the road. The second time was at a communal RV station and was much less eventful. When we stop for gas or a bite to eat, I fill our designated dry bag with ice from the beverage dispenser. A quarter of a bag usually keeps our cooler regulated for up to 4 days. In these scenarios, Tom acts like we’re bandits. He usually waits outside, then asks me if I recieved any grief, which I never have. To say the least, we’re both learning a lot and becoming more comfortable with moments that may have otherwise made us squirm.
Michael, Kat and their two friends; Adam and Ethan arrived Thursday afternoon. We had an awesome time together in spite of fairly consistent rain. 7 of us, the 7th being a fellow camper named Eric, found reprieve in the camper during and after dinner. Tom and I were shocked at how comfortable it was to host that many at once. After we said our goodbyes to the crew the next morning, we spent the remainder of Saturday and the beginning of Sunday, climbing. It took us quite a while to find the crag on Saturday but had awesome weather and really enjoyed the routes. Sunday offered a little more excitement. Right as I was about to get on the last climb of the day, we heard a rustling in the trees directly behind us. I could see that a smaller one was swaying back and forth, but couldn’t identify what caused the disruption. As Tom got closer, he spotted a snake that began making it’s way down to the ground via a main branch. I felt terribly uneasy until the snake had slithered into the woods and out of sight. In an effort to stay on task (and put further distance between the snake and myself) I began my final climb. At the halfway point, I reached into a large dish in the rock which provoked a sudden clicking sound that came from within. Still spooked by the snake, I let go and used the rope for assistance to look inside. I found a small bat curled up in the very corner of the pocket. Admittedly, I had no desire to place my hand there a second time, so I found an alternate way up the rock.
We drove to Lexington, VA last night and stayed at a hotel with my sister Malena. Tom and I were both grateful to scrub off in the shower, removing multiple layers of grime. After a comfortable nights sleep, we spent the day at Malena’s horse competition, watching her ride 2 different horses. She had a freestyle routine and technical test on both. Tom and I learned a lot about riding, and Mogli had his first up-close and personal experience with multiple horses. We are now driving to Malena’s house in Norfolk, WV where we’ll spend at least one night.
We plan on heading towards Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the next few days.
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