My youngest daughter and I are back from our week-long camping trip in a tent to Hungry Mother State Park in Marion, Virginia. Our vacation in May began with a round-about detour through Summerville, SC, where we surprised the family for my mother’s 80th Birthday Dinner at Hall’s Chophouse. After dinner and a short stop at her house for cake and ice cream, we were off on our camping trip.
While camping, we went on several hikes, including a 9-mile hike summiting Mount Rogers, the highest peak in Virginia at 5,729 feet, in the rain, wind, and thunderstorms amongst the wild ponies! We cooked, talked to neighboring campers by the campfire, made s’mores, and visited museums in Bristol and Saltville. We biked a 17-mile section of The Virginia Creeper Trail near Damascus and drove a section of The Back of the Dragon towards Tazewell. We drove on many crooked roads in southwest Virginia and had as many laughs and memories as we did turns.
It was a rainy week camping but it didn’t stop us from having a wonderful time, even though it was good to get back home to see my beautiful wife and to sleep in a comfortable, dry, warm bed. My daughter was brave and adventurous during the week handling the elements like a champ!