Hello from the road! After several days of excited tent cleaning, Subaru packing, and supply gathering I set out from my folks place in PA on Friday, June 13. I eased into the road trip rhythm with a short drive to Maryland and spent the weekend catching up with friends there and in Washington, DC.
On Monday afternoon I headed to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia for my first night of camping. I picked up perishables and firewood en-route, found the campground, set up my tent, and got a fire going with the second match. Around the time I was crawling into my sleeping bag for the night the first rain drops started; shortly after a thunderstorm raged. As I felt the drops forcing their way through the tent’s nylon I remembered that you can see how close lightening is by counting the number of seconds between the flash and thunder. I tried it, only got to “one”, and hurriedly inch-wormed my way as far as possible from my metal nightstand.
I awoke on Tuesday surprisingly dry, with puddles all over my tent. I toweled things off, treated myself to a 5-minute, coin-operated shower, then set off for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. The only hiccup came when I stopped for gas and the lever that opens the Subaru’s fuel tank jammed. After conferring with the owner’s manual, and a patron at the next pump who agreed “you can’t do much without gas,” I pried the tank open with a screw driver against a dish cloth and got back on the highway feeling wild. As I settled into campsite number two, I strapped an extra tarp to the top of my tent, just in case.
On Wednesday, June 18, I hiked in the familiar forests of the Appalachian Trail, passing the occasional youth group who politely ma'amed me as I climbed to the ridge. On Thursday, I traveled south through the mountains to my friends’ home in Atlanta, past medians filled with wildflowers. No shower facilities in the Smokies, so I doused myself with Febreze and hoped for the best. Current mile count: 874.
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In Pennsylvania, about to set off!
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jumper cables, hatchet and A Concise History of the Modern World stored with the spare tire
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a morning run in Great Falls National Park, Maryland
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The Shenandoah Valley
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Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
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the kitchen box
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
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morning coffee
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hiking in the Smoky Mountains
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| picnic lunch, en-route to Atlanta |
Fun fun! that looks like a big tent, but maybe it's the angle and that you said you have a nightstand.
ReplyDeleteOh - this is Brian. Not sure why it came up as unknown.
DeleteHave fun!
It's a HUGE tent! It's a little challenging to set up in the wind, but really nice to be able to stand up inside (and, of course, have a night stand).
DeleteHow exciting that you started this blog!! Lisa just passed the link along and your sweet note. Miss you at the office so much, though I'm sure you're pretty much okay with not being in an office at the moment ;). Looking forward to seeing more posts and photos!
ReplyDeleteAnna
P.S. I LOVE that you visited E.L.!! What a great photo of you both! Hooray!
I love reading about these amazing adventures! So exciting. I am living vicariously through you and wish I, too, had the courage to take off and follow the road! Enjoy and be safe! xoxo, Amy[Kapadia]
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