Camping - Our First Adventure

We had our first camping adventure at the river lot this weekend. We left the girls behind and made the trek to the mountain on our own. We wanted to give camping there a trial run before we brought the munchkins, and we were a little nervous about how K would handle sleeping in a tent.

We set up camp right in the middle of the clearing. T pitched the tent while I found rocks and made the fire ring. I'm pretty impressed with the ring, if I do say so myself:)

The campfire was definitely the highlight of the trip for me!

It was a little more difficult to find firewood than we expected. Most of the down timber on the lot was wet and moss covered. But, eventually we had a pile of kindling, a pile of small logs, and a pile of larger split logs.

Before our trip, I technically knew how to make a fire (with the modern convenience of a lighter, of course!), but I learned a lot about maintaining a fire...when to feed it and when to let it rest. I began to recognize the right moment for adding fuel and started to understand the role of the coals in keeping the fire burning over an extended period of time. I had a lot of fun nursing that fire!

We eventually had it hot enough to burn even the wettest logs. And it wasn't too shabby for roasting the perfect marshmallow either!

And my fire ring lived up to expectations:)

Throughout the trip, I documented the random little changes in nature...you know, those bizarre pictures that I include in just about every post:)

This little guy came to visit me while T was fishing. I became quite fond of him.

And it seems that on every trip I end up with pictures of the road leading to our lot. One of my favorite parts of the journey is when the GPS unit (who we've nicknamed, Astrid) says, "then navigate off-road." I absolutely love this little gravel path through the woods, the stand of pines along one side, the verdant green grass, and the chance of a wildlife spotting as we trek back through an area that doesn't experience much human invasion.

And, boy, were there some wildlife encounters on this trip. T spent most of the trip flirting with the local turkeys. He would call to them and they would cluck back at him. I was getting a bit jealous!

And a deer nearly scared me right out of my britches when it crested the hill at the edge of our lot and caught sight of our campfire. We suddenly heard the strangest sound coming from the woods and I'm sure the look on my face was priceless. T explained to me that deer wheeze when they are warning other deer to stay out a particular area because of danger. I later read that it is actually an aggressive noise. Apparently deer use that sound as a warning to other deer. I think I'm glad I didn't know that at the time!

And at 6:00am, T woke to see a deer on the edge of the clearing. Due to my complete and utter blindness and my hesitation to move to reach for my glasses, I didn't get a glimpse of it until it had moved to tree line. But, it was still amazing to be so close to her!

And no trip would be complete without a little fishing.

I threw out a line a few times, but spent most of my time lounging on a rock playing with my camera or reading.

But, T came away with a couple of small red eye bass, so the trip was deemed a success:)

And just so no one thinks we wasted our two days...

We did visit a shed builder and have settled on a construction plan. It's only about the 645th different design that we "settled" on, but I think this one is a serious, legitimate plan. We're late getting started on construction because we were still mulling over the various options...OK, T was still mulling. It's his job in our marriage:) But, now I think we are ready move forward. There are still a lot of decisions to be made (siding, post and beam or 2x4 construction, a plan for insulation, loft size, etc.), but we are ready to start pricing actual materials and put together a budget for the project. That will help us make a lot of the final decisions that are still up in the air.

We're hoping to put in a foundation by the end of the summer and actually build the shed right after the fall tax season. We're still planning to do the building ourselves and are looking forward to adding some personal touches like porch support beams made from trees on our lot.

We also talked through the camping process and have started to make a list of the supplies we will need if we bring the girls or stay more than one night.

All in all it was a good trip. A nice escape from reality. And a great chance to connect without outside distractions...and isn't that the whole purpose of our river journey?

Checking In

After a whirlwind trip with our extended family where we did some of this...

and a lot of this...

We made some time to stop by the lot and check on things. We discovered that we have blackberries...lots of blackberries. They weren't ripe yet, but hopefully we'll get back soon to taste them.

And, of course, we had to pick some flowers.

And we even shared a few!

A thunderstorm chased us away after only a few minutes, but it was probably for the best. We were all exhausted from the excitement of our trip. Hopefully, we will make it back very soon!

A Bit of Progress...

Our first goal for our river lot is to put a large shed on the property. We have planned a 14'x10' shed that will allow us to store our basic tools and camping gear at the lot. We are hoping that with some shelter we will be able to camp on the land with relative ease as we work to clear the brambles, plant some new trees, and clean up debris in preparation for the cabin construction. We would like to have the shed completed by late April of this year.

During our visit today, we were able to plot out the location of the shed, plan the dimensions, and even confirm our exterior color scheme. All of this information will be necessary to gain approval from our HOA for the construction.


Our shed will be located on the eastern edge of our lot, in the existing clearing. This will situate it right at the trailhead that leads down to the road to the river. This will also allow anyone on the shed's small porch to see the entire clearing...a must when your small children will be playing in that area!

We've selected a slate greenish-gray for the body of the shed, a deep burgundy for the door and shutters (if we have shutters), and a warm beige for the trim. We brought our paint samples to the lot today just to make sure that we liked the way the colors blended in with the landscape. We both agreed that they are the perfect complement to the blue sky, green pine needles, gray tree bark, and black and white stones on our land.

We also managed to clear some brambles at the trailhead, and even cut down a small tree, to allow better access to the back side of our lot.

Next step - final construction plans and HOA paperwork.

Evidence of Fairies

Our January visit was entirely too short, so short that we decided it best to leave C and K home with Nana. Seven hours in the car for two hours at the river just didn't seem like a good idea for a 3 year old and a 1 year old.

BUT, we made sure to do some fairy investigation while we were there so we could give a full report to C on our return. We didn't see any activity, but we did find two possible fairy homes.

The first was in a dead tree on the trail down the back of our lot. It had so many potential doorways that one can only imagine the number of fairies that might be living there.


The second was a lovely moss-covered fallen tree near the front of our lot. This one was surrounded by young pine trees and had a perfect view down to the road. I think this is the one I would choose...quiet, off the beaten path, and tucked among the trees.

Snapshots of Winter

A rare 50+ degree day in January gave us a chance to get up to the lot and spend an afternoon. A few snapshots of some of the sights at this time of year...even with warm temps there was still a layer of snow over much of our land. What a great way to recharge before the busy week!

The Road to Paradise

The view from the dirt road leading to our little corner of paradise. C and I captured this memory on a peaceful treasure walk during our October visit. It's these little moments that make this journey so amazing.

Around Town

During our visit in October, we spent some time wandering around West Jefferson. This town is a delightful collection of eccentric gift shops, art galleries, and outfitters. We are definitely looking forward to spending more time getting to know the local community.