Edinburg, VA to Edinburg, VA
Bear woke me up at about 6:30 with the need for adventure! Or maybe he just had to pee. For me today was going to be a lazy start because I knew I needed to get the stories out in writing before too many days passed. Jason headed to the bathhouse first and I got the pups settled. He returned with great news- fully updated brand new bathrooms and showers! Woohoo! Those of you who have camped know that this can be hit or miss at campgrounds. While we do have a toilet and shower in our wet bath, we want to use it as a last resort. That added water in the camper is just more things we personally have to deal with. I enjoyed the wonderful shower myself and then returned to Jason setting up the Gazelle gazebo and Blackstone griddle. It looked awesome!
Jason turned the griddle on, put the expresso pot on, and got to cooking. He is an expert on the griddle due to prior jobs working in kitchens. Some day he needs to write a book about all of the vastly different jobs he’s had in his life.
We spent about an hour after breakfast looking at hikes in the area and planning slightly forward to deciding which direction we would go in after Edinburg. We also spent about an hour or so rearranging. After only 1 night we realized things we would’ve left home. I’ve absolutely had thoughts about shipping things back home for my sanity. Some of the larger cushions on the dinette are cumbersome. Can’t sleep on the dinette with them on, can’t sit comfortably either with the dogs on the cushions. Jason rearranged the backseat of the 4Runner because we realized you can’t open the trunk when the trailer is attached. We put a 5 gallon water bag back there for us and the pups while traveling and now it’s not accessible. We moved so much around and it felt better.
For today, Jason wanted to explore the Luray Caverns and I wanted to not be claustrophobic and paranoid, so we decided to part ways.
He took the 4Runner off on an adventure and I stayed back, caught up on the blog, and hung out with the puppies. They wanted so badly to go swimming in the creek. Have no fear, they found a way!
Luray Caverns
Rose River Falls
Upon Jason’s return the pups and I jumped into the truck and got on our way to the next adventure. We have heard about the hiking in Shenandoah National Park and were ready to go. There are very few entrances into the National Park and it took a little while to get there through these crazy meandering roads. I would not want to have the camper on some of these turns. Jason tried to make it fun and to think of it like a roller coaster ride. It took me awhile to settle into the winding curves.
We got to the Shenandoah National Park entrance and Skyline Drive. I had wanted to get a NP annual pass before we left but it slipped my mind until it was too late to order. Luckily they sold them there and we got one! Yay!
Skyline Drive was spectacular. There were so many outlooks to stop at so we chose ones that were less busy. We drove to mile marker 49.4 – Fisher’s Gap and got onto the Rose River Falls Trail…. Or so we thought.
It should be known that there is almost no cell reception in the mountains. We had downloaded the Rose River Falls Trail map onto on AllTrails app and thankfully I turned the navigation on. This records where you walk and how long it takes you. We start off on a gravel walkway and we think to ourselves that this 1.7 mile hike will take us no time at all. I start snapping pictures.
We were about .5 miles in and Jason sees a cave cemetery he wanted to explore. I have really been attempting to be present and not on my phone so while I started the navigation I didn’t look back at it until now. After a bit of panic and retracing our steps, we asked a passerby and apparently this trail was a loop trail. We just started it the wrong way according to the map we had downloaded before we lost cell reception! Phew. We carried on and quickly approached some beautiful waterfalls. There are only 10 hikes dogs cannot be on in the Shenandoah and one of those was off of this trail, the Dark Hallows trail. This was a pretty significant straight up hike to the top of the falls. We don’t separate when we are hiking for obvious reasons but especially because it stresses the dogs out too much (and likely my mother too reading this right now.. Hi Mom!). While the pictures at the top could’ve been spectacular, we know to stay together.
Looking at the time we decided we could definitely do the whole loop of the trail. At this time we hadn’t realized these weren’t the Rose River Falls that we had just taken pictures of. This part of the trail was what we like. A little more advanced and not just gravel. The pups happily ran around us as we continued forward.
We see a sign saying the Rose River Falls were just .5 miles ahead. This is what we came to see! We started out this hike thinking we were doing 2.4 miles total. At this point we were at 3.2 miles with 1.7 to go to get back to the car. This is why we always over pack water, food, and the like. We continue on, find the falls, and Jason decides he has to swim in it. Anyone who knows her knows that anywhere Jason goes Patch goes. She runs on ahead of him and swiftly jumps into the pool at the end of the waterfall. 11.5 years old and she still acts like a pup. Jason gets down to her and helps her out. I call both of them back to me and hold onto them while we watch Jason take a swim. He said it was invigorating and clarifying!
After almost 13 years together, Jason knows me well enough to know when I’m getting tired. He brings out his fool proof game to distract me during the last mile of 700ft elevation change- A-Z game with animal and foods. Bonus points for doubles (like Mickey Mouse)!
We made it back to the top around at around 8:15pm. Seems late but it was just in time for sunset. This was something I wanted to see on this trip- Skyline Drive at sunset. I thought we may have missed it, but I’m happy we didn’t.
It’s about an hour and a half drive home so we go the southern route this time so we can see more of Skyline Dr. We stop at around 9:00 to see if there is anyplace to grab some food from this late at night. I wasn’t hopeful we would find vegan late night eats, but we did!
The Golden Pony
We find a spot in Harrisonburg, VA called the Golden Pony. There are clearly marked vegan items on the menu and outdoor patio seating for the pups.
Fried Kale on a pizza?? Umm yes please! The pizza had fried kale, red onion, black beans and vegan cheese, and we added vegan cauliflower wings with two sauces, both spectacular, and a tofu sandwich with fries. I grabbed a cappuccino with almond milk which was surprisingly good and Jason got an expresso martini, dark, which means no Bailey’s.
The dogs were asleep in mere moments on the patio. Many people asked about them. More and more people know they are cattle dogs or blue heelers which is a marked change from when they came into our lives 11 years ago. We left the restaurant around 11 and quietly snuck back into the campground at 11:20pm. We certainly know how to make a long day longer but we were able to do so much too it was well worth it.
Tomorrow we will pack up and head out to where I am most excited to visit, Asheville, NC!
Vegan On the Rhode 