D.W. Davis's Blog

 

The missus and I spent Labor Day weekend at the KOA Holiday on the Neuse River across from New Bern.

This campground is one of our favorite places to stay for many reasons. Primarily, it is close to my mother's house, and we visit her while we are there. Secondly, I spent a lot of my youth near New Bern. My grandparents lived just outside the city. I spent a week or two with them every summer. Fishing on the Trent and Neuse Rivers are some of my favorite memories of those times.

We have another camping trip scheduled for this month. This one will be to a fairly new campground between Jacksonville and New Bern. We are hoping that it will be a park we can come to with our camping club.

Meteorological summer has ended. Astronomical summer has another eleven days. When it will actually start to feel like fall here in eastern NC is anybody's guess.

The missus and I are camping in the Poplar Point Campground in the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area this week. We have a site that backs up nearly to the lake and affords us a beautiful view from two of our windows.
We were all set up and ready to begin enjoying our trip when the wind began to pick up. A quick check of the Weather Channel showed a storm heading our way. A run of the mill thunderstorm we can handle. What we weren't expecting was the wind.
Our campsite is adjacent to the cove you see on the left side of the photo. As it happened, the wind came roaring across the open expanse of the lake, up the cove, and smack into our portable screen room.

The wind grew stronger. The pressure on the screen room increased, and we realized we either need to take it down or watch it fly off into the woods. Just as we reached to start breaking it down, the first tie-down cord snapped.

Luckily, we were able to untie the other cords and get the room folded and into the truck before any more damage was done.

The screen room is still in the truck. The weather this evening is calling for even worse winds. Perhaps this will be the last of the wind.

Shortly after we left the RV park yesterday, a car pulled up beside us at a stoplight and told us one of our trailer tires was going flat. I immediately pulled over and discovered she was right. 

This discovery was an unpleasant surprise, to say the least. Whatever was causing it to go flat must have happened after leaving the campground, as I had inspected the tires before pulling out, something I always do. 

After realizing what was happening, I eased the trailer up to a convenience store parking lot where we could park safely removed from passing traffic and analyzed the situation. 

You may not know this, but campers are no longer sold with jacks and lug wrenches due to the number of times people raised one side too high and tipped over their rigs. Yeah, I know, right. And, alas, my truck jack, sturdy as it is, was not up to the task. Neither was its lug wrench. It was too big for the lug nuts on the camper wheel. Our camper is, however, equipped with a spare tire. 

A situation like this is why we belong to a roadside service company. We dialed the number received assurance that help was on the way. Twenty minutes later, they called back and said they were still trying to find someone who would come out. Another twenty minutes passed, and they were still looking. Then another twenty. 

Evidently, no garage or towing service in the entire Grayson, Carroll County area was willing to send out a truck on Father's Day to lend us a hand. Pray you never need help if you break down anywhere near Woodlawn on Galax, Virginia, on a Sunday or holiday. 

When the roadside service company finally found someone, the garage that agreed to send someone out was in Jonesville, NC. The tech who came to help us drove from Statesville, NC. This, of course, was a long drive. 

A very courteous, polite, professional, and knowledgeable young man did arrive and had the tools to take care of the problem for us. In under 10 minutes, we were ready to get back on the road. 

I tendered the young man a generous gratuity for having come all that way for us, enough for him and his significant other to enjoy a nice dinner out once he got home and washed up. 

All told, we spent 5 hours in that convenience store parking lot. Thankfully, it wasn't very hot, and we had internet, snacks, and drinks.

The lesson I learned from this is to keep a jack and lug wrench of the right specs in the camper. 

 

A version of this article was contemporaneously published on myLot.com.

 As mentioned in my previous post, The New River Trail State Park is a linear park some 57 miles long running the course of an abandoned railroad right of way.

The photo at the top of this post was taken with my phone camera using the panorama setting. On the right is the beginning of the trail. Yesterday, the missus and I hiked 2.6 miles north up the trail, starting at the southernmost point.

This is a close-up of the Fries Mill that operated from 1903 until 1989. The town grew up around the mill. The dam that powered the mill is out of the picture to the left.

A short way down the trail, these cliffs come into sight across the river. The New River is considered the second oldest river in the world and has spent eons eroding its path through these mountains. Geologists estimate the river "may have been in its present course for at least 65 million years."[1]

The terrain on the near side of the river is relatively flat and, while tempting to build or farm on, is subject to flooding.

The New River Trail is open to hikers, bicyclers, and horseback riders. eBikes are also allowed, and we saw many folks utilizing them on the trail. 

Signs like the one above are posted at major entrances to the trail to remind everyone of the proper etiquette when overcoming or meeting fellow trail users. Hikers yield to horseback riders, and bicyclers yield to both hikers and riders. 

While we did see some hoof prints on the trail, the missus and I encountered no horses.

Near the point we planned to turn around and head back to camp, the missus and I discovered the ruins of an old farm. Exploring it more closely would have been interesting, but Private Property signs made it clear such investigation would not be tolerated.

This final panoramic view was taken looking across the river from the bench that marked the farthest point we reached along the trail.

There are several houses standing on what appear to be large lots. As near as we could tell, they are probably vacation homes for folks who like to escape the heat of the city by spending weekends in the mountains along the river.

After a hydration break and a light snack, we headed back south on the trail toward our campground. Our total distance hiked was 5.2 miles according to my Fitbit GPS. Not too bad for a short hike on a long trail between breakfast and lunch, eh?

 The missus and I are spending this week in the southern Virginia mountain town of Fries. This was once a mill town, as evidenced by the dam, the old textile mill building, and the small company houses that make up most of the older residences in the town.

Here is what I learned about the mill.

"The Fries Textile Mill was established in 1903 by Col. Thomas Fries, then the president of Wachovia Bank. He built the mill on a bend in the New River, which he had dammed in order to provide power for his new venture. The mill provided employment to almost everyone in the town of Fries and many others living nearby. When the mill closed in 1989, it still employed 1,700 people."12

The southern end of The New River Trail is located a short way downriver from the dam. This trail is part of the Virginia State Parks system.

"The New River Trail is a 57-mile linear park that follows an abandoned railroad right-of-way. The park parallels the scenic and historic New River for 39 miles and passes through four counties and the city of Galax. The trail’s gentle slope makes it great for visitors of all ages to hike, bike and ride horseback."3

Fries also hosts mountain music festivals and car shows.

Being a small town, Fries doesn't have many options when it comes to dining, but the missus and I did find the Windy River Cafe on our first full day here and enjoyed a delicious lunch.

The sign says it is open Tuesday through Sunday, but we ate there on Monday. I told the missus that there is a ghost story in there somewhere.

There is much more for us to explore in this area, and, Thursday evening, there is a mountain music jam right here in Fries a short walk from the campground.

Citations

1. https://scuablog.lib.vt.edu/2019/08/1...

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fries,_...

3. https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-pa...

 

This was the view from the back of our campsite at Tanglewood this morning. The skies were overcast, but the temperatures were a mild 66F/17C. We enjoyed breakfast outside before heading up to the city to visit Old Salem Historic Museum.

Old Salem was founded in 1766 by Moravian settlers who moved into land once inhabited by the Saura tribe. The Moravians were Protestants from what is now the Czech Republic. You can learn more about them and the town at History Of Old Salem - My Winston-Salem.

The missus and I, along with our Corgi, took a walking tour of Main Street, the street along which most of the historic shops and houses are located. We purchased limited tickets that allowed us each to enter two of the buildings that were part of the museum. Because our dog was with us, we took turns visiting different buildings particular to our own interests.

My favorite building was the Boys' School. I learned the following facts about the school from our tour guide. The first floor was the living space for the lead teacher. It included a kitchen, living space, a bedroom, and a cold cellar. The second floor was where the classrooms were located. The boys' dormitory was on the third floor. Up to 30 boys, in bunks stacked 3 high, resided in the dorm at one time, as did the assistant teacher.

Boys from ages 6 to 14 attended the school six days a week, year-round, and graduated with the equivalent of what would be an associate's degree today.

We also stopped at the bakery, and the missus picked out some local delights for us to snack on during our ride home at the end of our trip. Our tour ended with a delicious lunch at the Muddy Creek Cafe, a quaint little restaurant at the corner of Main and West Streets.

Should you ever get a chance to visit Old Salem, I highly recommend you do so.

We are back in our favorite campsite at Carolina Beach State Park and the photo is of the waxing moon and, I believe, Venus, as seen from camp last night.
Yesterday was an Early Dismissal Day at school and our Principal allowed the teachers to leave as soon as we had our third quarter report card ready for publication. Believe you me, mine were ready by the time the last student had been picked up.
This benevolence on the part of my boss allowed us to arrive only moments after check-in time. It was nice to be all set up and ready to relax before dinner, which we ate outside in our screen room.
Ordering pizza delivered to a campsite might seem like an odd way to start a stay in camp, but it had been a tradition with us in prior years. We found a pizzeria here on the island, Michaelnagelos, that delivers to the park and renewed that tradition.
Today, after our usual first morning in camp breakfast of biscuits and gravy from the Southerly Biscuit and Pie Company, we will be heading to the beach for a long walk along the surf with the dogs.
 

We arrived here at Carolina Beach State Park last evening at about 6:30 pm and got set up before dark. 

We didn't put out any of our outdoor chairs or the screen room because of the forecast for rain.

I'm not sure when the rain started, but it woke me up sometime after 4 am and has been raining on and off since then. 
I stepped outside to take the title photo shortly after we finished breakfast during a lull in the precipitation. 
K just left to take Sophie for a walk and had been gone about three minutes when the rain began to fall again. We ordered breakfast from the Southerly Biscuit and Pie Company, an independent bakery only a mile or so from the campground. 
Both of us ordered the biscuit with sausage gravy - a perfect meal for a wet morning. Walking on the beach is out of the question for today. Staying in the camper and getting some writing done, watching some movies, and doing some reading is much more in keeping with the situation.
And a nap. A nap is mandatory on a day like this.

 

This morning, I emailed my principal my letter of intent to retire at the end of this school year. 

Since we are retiring together, it comes as no surprise to her. Now, though, it is official. With my letter in hand, so to speak, she can identify my replacement - a colleague currently teaching another subject who wants to teach 4th Grade. 

My replacement and I have talked at length about her taking my place and the steps I am taking to organize all my notes, plans, etc... to make the transition as easy as possible. 

 My students all know I'm retiring, as does most of the staff and a good number of the parents. 

As of now, I have 55 students days left until I begin my very long summer vacation.

 (First published on myLot on 3/7/2023) 

At this point, there is no music or voice over for the video. I'm still learning. But I wanted to share this. Let me know what you think in the comments.