Yup – the Toad has been on an involuntary hiatus. Where tide and time wait for no toad, power and cell service have conspired to keep this poor toad silent. Perhaps that was for the better….
Anyway it’s been a fun several weeks. Our next stop was a visit to New River State Park, in northern North Carolina, where we took a trek to Mount Jefferson to wander the trails there. What a beautiful park! Expecting that rain and wind were likely to visit us, we opted for the ridge trail, where we were treated to some particularly scenic overlooks.
This is an forest where chestnut trees once reigned supreme. A few remain, and there are hopes that they may provide some possibilities for reintroducing blight resistant trees…. Keep your fingers crossed, as the Toad fears that most of these attempts have met with limited success. Now the forest is dominated by red oak and hickory, along with evergreens to keep color interesting in the fall and winter.
From here we traveled north the Shenandoah River State Park. In case you don’t remember, this is a lovely park that extends a little over 5 miles along its namesake – with plenty of hiking and biking trails. With river, forest, field, your pick of even or rugged terrain – you can imagine that this is a popular park. And oddly enough, most of times we have visited, the campgrounds have been quiet, the campers well behaved!
Off then to Promised Land State Park. Have you ever observed a chicken fat mushroom?
Now you have! At least, if the identification app that Minkie has is correct, you have. I find the name rather fitting – don’t you?
Yes, Promised Land – named apparently by the Shakers who came in thinking they’d found a place where a grand living might be made, farming and maybe logging trees that grew here. But it’s rocky, really rocky and farming wasn’t to be. Along with other early settlers they stripped the trees, erosion set in, and not much of a life was to be made. Taking their leave, they sarcastically referred to the area as “promised land”. Truth or fiction? Not for the Toad to say….
At any rate, the Park is vast, and trees once again dominate. Along with the rocks of course! It is a well run park, with multiple campgrounds available in the warmer the months. This time of year though, most are closed, and only a handful of sites remain open for those who don’t mind the cold.
It was about this time that our troubles began. After leaving PA we headed up the highway to our next stop – Woodford State Park in the mountains of Vermont. Carlos noticed that the battery indicator in the truck was funky, but there didn’t seem to be anything seriously off. Something to keep an eye on.
Now Woodford has no power to hook into, and your water tank on board must be filled. We have a refrigerator – it runs on gas or electricity – and a gas stove. And gas heater. You will rely on the onboard BATTERIES to run the pump for actually using any water, and a bit here and there for things like lights, and the bit needed to ignite the gas heater and so forth.
Yep – after we set up, Carlos checked our battery to make sure we had a full charge for the next 4 days. Nope. For whatever reason, the connection between the trailer and truck was such that the truck was pulling charge from the trailer, instead of giving it to the dang thing. HUH?! What?!! This inspire of our having done the check for proper trailer lights and breaks prior to leaving that morning.
We managed. It was cold. We had blankets. More importantly, it was an array of stunning color in the woods around us:
We were careful, and other than the worry it caused, our battery situation didn’t keep us from getting out in the woods to enjoy the daytime. This time of year the colors are accentuated with a background of deep green from the fir and spruce that intermingle for just that purpose.
Color isn’t limited to the canopy of leaves – imagine a walk deep in the shadow of a dense stand of evergreens, a lush understory ferns, sorrels, and mosses below – and then surprise! Have a New England aster to light your way!
Or how about coming across this shaggy mane?
Oh yeh – the Toad likes this park and the fun things growing along the trails!
Next up (if power and cell service deign to visit us together!) – Vermont and beyond. PS – the battery issue was strictly and connection issue. It resolved once we had it hooked to shore power long enough to fully recharge – so no further worries.
Rollin' with a Road Toad 