WE SAW A BEAR, YOU GUYS!

We got started a little earlier this morning and left our campsite by 7:00 AM. We hadn’t gotten maybe 10 mins down the road before we came along a pretty small bear on the side of the road munching on some greens. He checked us out for a minute or so before running off into the woods, but Will did manage to snap at least one picture.

After this, we kind of felt like the day couldn’t really get any better, but we were quite wrong. We drove from the south end of the Skyline Drive, west into West Virginia and the Monongahela National Forest. I can’t exactly remember what road we took as I’m typing this but we eventually came along a small, older country store type gas station where we decided to stop for gas. The store reminded Will of his granddad’s stores and we were surprised to find a guy about our age running it. He let us know that he actually owned the store and was working on getting it back up and running in like it used to in its heyday. He chatted with us for a while and looked over the maps with us pointing out alternate routes to take and different places to camp and suggestion lots of different great things for our trip. He was really nice and his store is really great and we wish him the best of luck. We’re actually hoping to go back one day in a few years and find that he’s been able to restore it like he hopes.

Side note, he did let us know that he’s having to upgrade his gas pumps from the older style, analog gas pump left over from like the 60s or 70s, where you had to pay attention and stop it when you reached the amount you paid for, to a more modernized, digital pump that accepts cards and what not. He told us that even though you can pay for gas at his store by card (you have to go inside) that everybody blows past his store because they assume his gas pumps don’t work. You guys, it’s a bit sad that people don’t know how to use these or even that they might actually still work. So, here’s your challenge. Find an older store with analog gas pumps and give it go. It’s not that hard.

Our next stop for today was the Cranberry Glades Botanical Area. The Cranberry Glades formed about 12,000 years ago when a forest of conifer-northern hardwoods replaced tundra with the end of the last Ice Age. The climate of this area is actually comparable to the climate in New England and Canada and the Cranberry Glades are now the southern-most point in North America where some of these life forms are found. There’s a boardwalk that goes through one of the bogs and it’s quite short and flat, so it was perfect for short basset legs.

Aside from how awesome and different this area was nature wise, we also happened to stumble upon the Model A Restoration Club of America. Apparently, as we found out, there’s a club with members across the country that restore Model As and then get together and go driving in various scenic areas around the U.S. We spoke with one of the members for a bit and he showed quite a few of the cars to us. What was even cooler was that we would continuously pass these cars as we kept driving along and would honk and wave to one another each time.

 

Once we finished with the Botanical area, we started our drive-up highway 150 towards our dispersed camping area for the night. This drive felt like driving through a fairy tale. The scenery just didn’t quite seem to fit for where we were. We didn’t feel like we were in West Virginia at all.

Once we finally found the turnoff for our campground we drove down into the Upper Williams River area and found a great campsite right near that river. This campsite is the first we’ve camped in that has been truly secluded. There is one couple staying in the campsite next to us, but that is a mile upriver and there’s some staying down at the Day Run campground, but that’s a least another mile or two in the opposite direction. Essentially, we are alone in the wilderness of the Monongahela and it’s a bit glorious and terrifying all at the same time. We spent a few hours this afternoon in our hammocks by the river reading and napping with the dogs before cooking and eating dinner.

We made sure to get all of our food scraps in the garbage, cleaned the dishes away from the campsite, and didn’t leave anything out that would attract the bears. We did get to use our camp shower again tonight, which was super helpful. It’s hooked up to a portable hot water heater so not only were we able to shower, but it was warm to boot.

 

*Freda, the free-range chicken, by the stream at this campsite and Will showering in the camp shower.

 

We’re playing gin rummy again before bed while the dogs sleep at our feet. Will’s made a comeback now and I can’t seem to win a hand for anything. These last few days have made this trip worth it. The weather has improved drastically and although the battlefields are definitely worth the visit, being out in nature like this is soothing our souls.

Life in the right lane,

Rachel