Camping in Verona

I've been beyond terrible at posting.  And no promise that it will be any better.  Blogging doesn't pay the bills.  But this past weekend was beyond incredible and the pictures are way to nice not to share.  We spent the weekend camping in Verona Virginia, right next to the Middle River. 

 

 

Camping right next to the Middle River

 

 

I found my future camper :-)

We've visited this campground twice before but never in the fall.  It made all the difference.  I suspect this will be our new "Go-To" spot for camping in the fall.  They will be closed now until the Spring but you can check out their web site here. 


 



Cascade Falls

Very recently The Busy Bryants were able to sneak off for an overnight adventure that involved two of our favorite things, hiking and waterfalls.  This excursion had us heading South on I81 to the Blacksburg Area.  We drove down on Friday after work and then after a night's rest in Christiansburg at The Quality Inn we were up and ready to go.  Our destination was another 30 or so minutes from the hotel. 

I've been scoping out Cascade Falls for some time now so I was beyond excited.  Located in Pembroke Virginia, The Jefferson National Forest is host to Cascade Falls.  The Cascades Day Use Area is for day use only (hello it's in the title), does have a $3 fee and gets really busy as the day goes on.  We got to the parking area before 10 in the morning and there were only 10-15 other cars.  By the time we left the lot was full and people were parking in the grass and along the road. 

 

The trail to the actual waterfall is 2 miles in and then 2 miles back.  You can either do it as a circuit or in and out the same way.  There was some climbing involved on stone stairs and over logs but nothing that a 6 year old couldn't handle.  We would rate it as easy/moderate. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both Mark and I agreed that this was one of our favorite hikes.  On other trails that involve streams and waterfalls there is usually either a barrier or distance that keeps you away from the stream.  I understand that is for safety.  But sometimes you just want to take a break from hiking and sit by the stream and enjoy the gift of Mother Nature.  This trail really lets you feel like you could do that.  There were a lot of places you could simply go sit by the stream and hang out for a little while.  You felt like you could get up close and personal while still being safe.  There was not an area that we didn't find beautiful and awe inspiring.  

 

Some info that you may find helpful...bring exact change for the parking, dogs are allowed on the trail, the bathrooms are only at the parking area and there are picnic tables/grills at the bottom of the trail near the parking.  You can't camp here at the Day Use Area but there are plenty of other areas close by that do accommodate camping. 

 

Happy adventuring!!

 

 

 



Monday Fog

 After a weekend that started off with the promise of super business and ended with a partial wash out, I find myself dealing with a fogginess that I can only call Monday.  The last couple weeks we have been nothing but on the go.  A trip to Great Wolf Lodge, 4 days at Hungry Mother State Park, Girls Scout Cookies are IN, and the usual hubbub that keeps us on our toes has had me worn out.  And as this weekend started I could feel my body telling me it was time to slow down.  Or was it the stomach bug I was about to encounter telling me that?  Either way I got the stomach flu and I had no choice but to slow down.  Actually I had to come to a stretching halt!  Crawling out of bed this morning was HARD.  But I'm here now....alive and...mostly well. 

 

 

I'll share the details on some of the fun we've been having the next few days.  Hope everyone is well. 

Plans for the New Year

I know we are a good month into 2016 but I am just now sitting down to make plans for The Busy Bryant's Adventures of 2016.  I usually have done this by now but I've been a tad busy this month with Girl Scouts, work and a snow storm that had us buried in for 3 days.  Planning while the storm was going on sounds like it would have been the best time but honestly all I could do for an entire day was stare outside at the snow coming down.  Then once it was finished falling we headed outside!

 

Yes that is a kayak!

Ok, so now back to planning...I have an on going list that I keep of the places we (I) would like to visit.  I would say 95% of the places are here in Virginia.  Every now and then a place out of state ends up on my radar and I feel the need to write it down.  It seems that for each one I get to cross off the list I somehow add two in it's place.  I guess that is also what keeps us busy :-)  And with each new year I rewrite my list with all the places we want to visit minus the ones we've gotten around to.

 

Some of the things are just local places I want to try out while other things will take longer to plan and actually get around to.  And now looking at my bucket list and what I'm actually planning I realize the two lists don't really match.  I have some things I'm planning that didn't make it on the paper list...they are just on the mental list.  Visit ALL of the Virginia State Parks, run a race every month, try a new restaurant when we can...that type of thing stays on the Mental List. 

 

So far this year I am planning a trip to Hampton for a 10 mile race this month, a trip to Hungry Mother State Park also this month, a camping trip to Douthat State Park in the summer, a couple hikes, a winery trip early fall, a bike trip on the Mt. Vernon trail and a few half marathons.  My goal every year is to schedule an adventure every month.  This year I want to add in a race once a month along with the adventure.  I already know some months the adventure will be the trip for the race...win-win.  I know a lot of people that plan beach trips every year or a big family vacation once a year....we tend to go for long weekends and the occasional week long trip that allows us to visit a couple places.  That's how we roll. 

 

Anyone planning anything exciting here in Virginia?  I'd love to hear about it :-)

 

Happy planning. 

 

 

T.G.I.M.

Thank God it's Monday....yes you heard me right.  It has been a busy couple of weeks and I'm actually glad to say we are settled in at home and I'm glad it's Monday. 

We were at home last week too but before that we were on the road again.  Both trips were to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia so not really far away but being gone so much can take a toll on a person.  Glad we rested up while away on the trips :-)

The view from our cabin at Fairy Stone State Park



The view from the property at Blue Ridge Manor Bed and Breakfast

Along with the trips we also found time for a river cruise, a musical and I went and started co-leading a girl scout troop.  You know...because I have all this free time on my hands.  We also managed to visit two new Virginia wineries since I last blogged. 

The City of Fredricksburg

Newsies

 

Hamlet Vineyard



Mt. Vale Vineyards

While on our trips we visited a museum, hiked an awesome trail and crossed off a "to-do" from my bucket list.

Virginia Natural History Museum

Trial in Fairy Stone State Park



The Tobacco Heritage Trail

So yeah I haven't blogged in a while.  But as you can see I've been busy.  I'll follow up in the coming weeks by sharing some of the details of our trips and fun things we've gotten to do.  But enough about me....what have you guys been up to?