We are in Luray, Virginia at a beautiful RV park on the
Shenandoah River. This is our base as
we explore Shenandoah National Park; the northern end of the Blue Ridge
Highway.
Ticks: These little
buggers are becoming a huge problem on the dogs. I took the pugs for a long walk along the
river and on my way checked out the park’s bathrooms. Everything was gleaming, but it was also
quite tick-ish, with the little monsters scuttling up the sides of the
shower. Not appealing. Resigned to a “sailors’ shower” in the camper, I took the dogs back and
combed them for ticks. I then prepared
myself for my shower. Peter burst
through the bathroom door when I began screaming. A tick had embedded itself in my hair… . . .
. not my head hair, not my leg hair, not my underarm hair, not my facial hair
(I’m through menopause, o.k.?) Peter
ran to get his special tick-pulling,
locking tweezers. “Okay,” he ordered, “Go
lie down on your back on the bed.” Hmmm
this was an invitation I’ve been waiting for, but not quite in these
terms. “Now lie still.” He’s never said
this before under these conditions-----me, naked on the bed, him bending over
by nether region. One quick yank and
it was over. I scrambled off the bed and
Peter hastened outside to dump the tick.
Okay, that was fast.
Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library: I didn’t know a lot about Woodrow Wilson and
what I did know came from the political comedy of the Capitol Steps, when
during one of their “Spoonerism productions” the performer would say, “And then
Woodrow Wilson won World War One.” This
always gets a big laugh because all of
the words start the same sound and flipping the first sound makes no
difference. As it turns out President Wilson has some wonderful quotes of
his own:
“A conservative is a
man who sits and thinks------mostly sits.”
“The flag is the
embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history.”
“No nation is fit to
sit in judgment upon any other nation.”
“Life does not
consist in thinking; it consists in acting.”
“If you want to make
enemies, try to change something.”
“The ear of the leader must ring with the voices
of the people.”
The fact that Wilson was a Presbyterian resonated with me. He has some other rather scathing quotes
about the other party; but these were the ones I liked.
Shenandoah National Park: We
ventured into the mountains to gather information from the Visitors
Center. Through a movie there we
learned that the entire park was constructed by the CCC (Civilian Conservation
Corps). After the government moved the
farmers out of the Shenandoah area, they began construction of the Park. This was happening right around the
depression and part of Roosevelt’s plan was to take a generation of young
people who were in poverty and give them a chance to do something constructive
as well as help out their families.
Shenandoah National Park was one of Roosevelt’s endeavors. The young men came from families in the local
area. It was their job to build
roadways, trails, contours, flood control channels and buildings. The boys in the Corps ranged in age from 18 –
25. They came from families on public
assistance. The boys were paid $30 per
month---$25 of which went to their families.
In addition to learning building skills, the boys were instructed in the
evenings in reading, writing and math.
This is the group that fell between WWI and WWII. No wonder--- they did so well; they provided
money to their parents and honed their basic skills. They also learned the skill of working
together.
Hiking
One of the
primary goals was to hike in Shenandoah National Park. Neither hike went well. On our first hike up one of the mountains, I
fell and scraped my right calf. It wasn’t
too bad so we I’m glad we
did. Wonderful views at the top and a
deer spotting that was great-----until the dogs barked..
Our second hike took us up a trail to a lovely waterfall, then
along a stream, and finally up and out
past another waterfall. I was doing fine
until I had to go pee-pee (we call urination by this name because it’s the one
the pugs know). By the time I’d told
Peter, I had waited too long. I threw my
pack on the ground and scrambled up through the bushes to a fairly discreet
spot. As I crouched I could feel my arms
and legs stinging and then itching. I
scratched furiously (not easy when you are 57 and trying to crouch, urinate and
scratch all at once. I finally managed
to stand up (I’m a little stiff these days), scratched like crazy again and
began carefully picking my way back down to the trail. I was just crossing this little rock/boulder
slide when I lost my balance. My legs
shot horizontally downhill, my bottom and lower back hit the rocks, I thumped
and then bumped down toward Peter where I came to a stop. As Peter rushed over to me I began honking
like an ah-ooooo-ga horn, due to having had the wind knocked out of me. All I remember is Peter saying, “Oh my God!
Oh my God!” over and over. Realizing he
was starting to panic, I told. him I was okay and he pulled me to my feet. He also found my glasses which were a mangled
mess. I knew I hadn’t broken anything
and was mostly scrapes and bruises so I
insisted we finish the hike. Peter bent
my glasses back into shape and we were off.
It was a beautiful hike, and Walter and Jaxon had a tremendous time running
in and out of the stream. What you see
below is my right buttocks. That’s the
whole buttocks and the whole bruise.
One of many from my left ring finger which is totally purple to the
backs of my knees. Thank goodness I
brought an extra pair of glasses.
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