Date: 2003-07-26
From: Lewis Meadows Campground

To: Big Meadows Campground
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: light rain

You know, the thing about campgrounds is that there is no sleeping late! You couldn't if you wanted to!! Scout groups, children and their families, even the young couples all think that 6:45 is an acceptable time to be up and moving around. So, if you can't beat 'em...join 'em! :)   I got up early and enjoyed the morning. It is a strange experience to be surrounded by noise and activity after spending so much time in the woods. Bumpkin and I always tent, even if we stay at the shelter, so noise is rarely an issue. This morning, I lay in my tent reading while listening to the sounds around me.   The girls across from us want to see some deer, several sites down, the dog growls at someone, and the kid up from us asks his mom for cereal for breakfast. Being in a campground is like being an eavesdropper on all these families. By the time we leave, I know mini-stories about all of them. The four of us got moving very slowly and sat around the picnic table laughing and enjoying the morning. We are about to all go our separate ways, but are reluctant to rush it. Finally, though, we all hugand take off on our various adventures....us to the North, Doppler to the North, but much faster than us, and Spiller to the South. Our time together will go down as being on of my favorite trail experiences! The hike today was beautiful, and relatively easy. There was a hysterical moment when Bumpkin gently cursed Spiller for telling us that the trail was flat, when it obviously wasn't, but otherwise, the day went by without a hitch. :) Our general plan was to go to Big Meadows campground and take a shower and do laundry.   It has been six days since we have done either so we are long due! If you have been reading my journal, you know that this is the third campground we have stayed in this week, so you might be asking yourself, "Why haven't you done thesethings sooner?". Well...in these campgrounds, showers are $1.00 for 5 minutes!! At first, we just considered that highway robbery, so we put if off. Then we were having too much fun with our friends to worry about such piddling things! WELL...we got here today, and it turns out that there are no openings anywhere at the campground! And this place is huge!!So...the shower will have to wait. Dinner, however, was non-negotiable! And we were not having any of that short-order cheeseburger stuff,, either! We had our sights set on the Lodge...a fancy restaurant full of coiffed, linen-wearing retirees. I figured we would fit right in! :) We had been hiking hard and needed a good meal, so in we went.   The wait staff didn't blink and seated us immediatley. The food was superb,ad the company was even better as we toasted to Bumpkin reaching 900 miles today! Full as ticks,..... er,maybe that is not the best reference to use these days...uh, fully sated, we headed for the campground. We needed to walk through it to reach the AT. We were half-way through when Bumpkin spotted a young couple by themselves   on a large campsite. She walked right up to them and asked if we could set up our tents on their site provided we pay them for it. They quickly agreed and before we knew it, we were set up and laying on the grass writing in our pocketmails! I was so grateful to these folks cause I was pretty tired. We still didn't get showers or clean clothes, but we were happy as can be! Oh well, we will be in Luray on Monday and we can take care of all of the housekeeping then! I am laying in my tent listening to a whole new set of mini-stories. A group of kids are playing ball in the street, a baby is crying down the road, and somewhere close a cell phone is ringing. The young couple sharing their site with us are discussing what to name their children, when they have them.   They laugh quietly as they dream and discuss whether they want boys or girls, and my heart contracts. It seems such a tender, soft conversation, and I find myself wondering whether I will ever have one like it.   Ahhhh..it is 10:00 and the campground is calming down. Goodnight...