In it to win it

So with our shake down cruise through Virginia completed, all possible fixes / additions made to the camper, our equipment checked and packed, and plans for the next few weeks at the least, we set off. The camper was near packed from Memorial Day weekend which was spent with good friends at a great camp site near Scranton PA. After saying our goodbyes for a while, we headed back to Harrisburg for one final night before hitting the road for good; or so we thought.

The original plan was to depart on the 31st but apparently Ziggy had other plans. With everything packed, we went to fetch the dog to load him in. He was extremely lethargic and refused to get up or put any weight on his back leg. The timing couldn't have been worse but he is a member of the family and deserves care so we booked a trip to the animal hospital to get everything checked out. $100 later, he is issued some pain pills for a bruised ligament in his leg. Funny how by the time we got home from the vet, he seemed much better. We used the unexpected night at home to revamp some of our plans since now we had one less day to get to Vegas.

The next morning, we are already packed so we just pile into the Subie and hit it. On our way out there, we had arranged to pick up a newly found friend, Jessi, in Camp Hill PA and give her a ride back home to Kentucky. Since we were headed that way anyways, it wasn't much of an issue to offer the ride. The gnome arrived to Camp Hill, acquired its last passenger and gear including four boxes of hand made pottery amongst other things and set off for the first camp site in Ohio. The drive through PA was nothing new since we have been used to the rolling highways loaded with trucks.

As we arrived to our first camp called Hidden Hollow near Bloomingdale OH, we passed multiple gun firing ranges which was a bit off putting. Additionally, this area of the country was currently going through a cicada bloom and thus the noise level of buzzing bugs was deafening and the shells husks littered the grounds as if a mass casualty had occurred. On top of it all, humidity was about 90% and the sweat effortlessly came from all parts of the body leaving a not so fresh feeling. Since the Roamin Gnome is in travel mode to get to Vegas, Liz and I had decided to NOT pop the camper each night to save time and energy with set up/tear down. We planned to use our small 2 person tent but until that moment, had not accounted for Jessi and her sleeping spot. Luckily, she was game to sleep in a hammock under and well supported tarp. That night in the tent was humid and slugs crawled everywhere inside while other bugaboos flapped outside. Jessi had a great setup through which had good airflow and protection from most of the crawlers.

The vehicle was loaded and we waved bye bye to Hidden Hollow campground which we would rate 4/5 stars for cleanliness, accessibility and lot size. Dont drink the water through as the parks no longer test for drink ability and with nearby fracking operations, its hard to tell what might not be safe to drink.

Prior to arriving at Jessi's mothers, we stopped by an effigy in OH called Serpent Mound which was built by early native people for purposes still unknown to researchers. The mound does work with the sun and moon though to give an accurate calendar of sorts. Its also believed that sacred rituals took place upon the hill.

In the early evening, we arrived at our destination exhausted and ready to rest. Food was just about ready which was prepared amazingly by Jessi's mom, Karen. With a clean, dry bed, air conditioning, a hot shower and meal in us, we gladly accepted the hospitality.

Morning came too soon and all things once again were loaded up sans Jessi and her four boxes of pottery; of which we purchased two pieces off her before the general public got to get their grabby hands on the beautiful glazed dishes, bowls and cups.

The gnome headed south through KY and onto TN to meet our next camp in Merriwether Lewis Death and Burial site. I know this doesn't sound amazingly appealing but when we arrived at dusk in a light rain, it was home for the night. The free campsite was nearly empty with a few neighbors scattered nearby. The facilities included very clean FLUSH toilets, well kept water taps, trash at each site (or shared) and numerous pull through spots, earning a 5/5 stars thus far.

The next morning, we quickly packed to get out of the rain that continued to plague our trip thus far. I knew that it was just a short time more in the western direction before rain is no more and we are into tanning land. Tennessee was beautiful but desolate at times with huge highways built to accommodate a population that is yet to exist in the area. I will happily take a multi-lane highway all to myself thank you. At lunch, we stopped in Memphis to appreciate the Bass Pro Shop Pyramid which was listed in Roadside America as the largest in the US. At 25 stories including a massive outfitter store, an observation deck (10$) and even hotel rooms; the place was massive and yet at times, claustrophobic. Knowing that our time in the sun was soon to come, we cashed in some gift cards to purchase hats for ourselves. Hopefully a good purchase for the future.

We took a short detour to the Little Rock AR airport to see my fathers company facility. He travels here frequently so why not drive around and check it out.

Onward into Arkansas from Memphis, we hit our next camp near Toad Suck AR. The camp was installed by the Army Corp of Engineers what looked like a plot and drop notion. The now severely over grown grounds COULD host about a dozen sites but the weeks and tangles prevented most from use. The boat launch nearby was the only thing keeping the locals coming back. A quick machete action and our camp for the night was cleared in this very private camp with ZERO working amenities. Instead of the rainfly for the tent, we opted to use the Kelty tarp, a move we will use more often since it included airflow 100 fold but still gave protection from the elements.

Pack at it again, we load up our AR camp to continue westward to get to the hotel that Liz had booked in Oklahoma City. We didn't stop for much sight seeing on this leg as there wasn't much to see aside from a straight highway with amazing puffy clouds. There were casinos though at about every stop along the way. We didnt play.

Welcome home to Oklahoma City OK. Our currently location where this post is being made and sent. We are lucky to have internet connection since it seems every other thing about this hotel was a lie. This Motel 6 seems to but under new management and thus is going through changes like the truck that is loaded with old beds to be dumped, the elevator that had the smell and then visible puddle of urine in it, the laundry facility and continental breakfast that doesn't exist and more. The sheets were filthy so we used a good old tapestry and our sacks for the night. This place will NOT be missed.

THE FUTURE: It might be some time before another post comes out. We will be on the road and who knows when we might achieve internet. Our upcoming journey in brief includes a stop in Sanford TX tonight followed by a nice desert venue in NM the next. Then its off to Flagstaff before meeting up with Sara and Colin in Vegas. Our vices will not hold as we rush towards Zion, Dixie NF and maybe Bryce Canyon if we have the time. Our boon docking skills will be tested as we try to figure out BLM (Bureau of Land Management) camping which is free but requires registration from the local authorities.

Once done with Zion et al, we anticipate a short drive to San Diego where we have an undetermined camp site but never the less, will have a great time seeing Liz's sister Kathryn.

And post that, who knows. Maybe Colorado calls and we head north before the cold comes back. More WWOOFing on the west coast? One thing is for sure, it's going to be an adventure to never forget.

Thanks for reading.

Week One of WWOOFing

As Liz, Ziggy and myself travel around this fine nation, we decided to add a little work to our play with WWOOFing. WWOOF: Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms is part of a worldwide effort to link visitors with organic farmers, promote an educational exchange and build a global community conscious of ecological farming practices.

According to their website: Visitors, or ‘WWOOFers’, spend about half a day helping out on a host farm, learn about the organic movement and sustainable agriculture, and receive room and board during their visit – with no money exchanged between hosts and WWOOFers. WWOOF is an educational and cultural exchange program. WWOOFing is a way to learn practical farming skills, be part of the organic agriculture movement, and experience the heart of American agrarian culture. Our first WWOOFing experience was with Sylvanaqua Farms in Earlysville VA. Liz sought out this location and the hosts Annie and Chris Newman along with their one year old daughter Marion and two dogs Beebop and Mini opened their home to the roaming gnome team for the last week of April. With positive attitudes, we jumped right into the new environment ready to work and learn. 

Sunday Night: We arrive to the family home around 5pm and meet with the Newmans. One WWOOFer, Jean was already at the house and had been working with the farm for the past two weeks. Jean is a 19 year old young adult from France who is visiting, travelling and working on farms on the east coast starting in Miami and moving up to Boston & RI followed by a month in Canada. He was able to show us the closing operations for the two farms that Sylvanaqua tends to.

-- Adventure Farm is five minutes to the north and is a shared land space from the owners. The Newman team along with their partner Julio tend to small pens of chickens, hens, two goats, three sheep, a dozen ducks, a handful of small pigs (50-70lbs) and about 10 larger pigs (100-150lbs). This lot is mainly used for the above livestock to be fed and raised for processing and sold at markets. At the end of each day, all pens are watered for the night and the birds are enclosed in a chicken wire box for protection. Unfortunately, sometimes the wild animals are able to outwit the farmers. In the past week, the small chick pen had been raided by suspected raccoons with numerous casualties. They encouraged us to bring the dog to the farm so his scent would hopefully deter the chick killers.

-- Buck Mountain Farm is five minutes to the south and owned by a lady by the name of Rose. The farm is mainly used for a small herd of cattle and another pen for Rocky the bull. There are two pens of chickens that Sylvanaqua farms tends to. One pen is an old converted Little Debbie truck. Another is a coup on a trailer. All animals get fed either once or twice a day and water is checked in each container. At the end of each night, all animals are collected into their pens and closed up for the night. Sometimes, its easier said than done and you end up spending 15 minutes chasing hens in the twilight and trying to get everyone to bed.

Monday: Morning chores include feeding and watering everyone. Jean shows us how its done at a near running pace. He was very diligent about his duties on the farm. The broiler chick pen had been raided in the night and three were dead on arrival and two very badly injured. I took it upon myself to give mercy to one of the chicks with my hatchet on hand. 

In the afternoon, Julio came by the house with supplies from the hardware store to build a third brooder hut in the back yard. All wood had been pre-measured and cut which was nice. It was just a matter of putting it all together and screwing it down. Short work for a team of four. Earlier in the day, Chris (host) left to pick up ten piglets from a farm a few hours away. After dinner, we closed up both farms and were exhausted from our first long day. Ziggy decided it would be fun to jump into the sheep enclosure and start herding the three animals in the dark. We only noticed by the blue LED collar zipping around the ring. It took us a good minute to catch and calm him before putting the pooped pooch in the car for a break. Chris returned around 9 with the piggies who slept huddled in the hay lined truck bed.

Tuesday: Another busy day starts with opening, feeding and watering all animals at both farms. Luckily, duties were split and team Jean / Chris opened Buck Mtn in addition to introducing the new piglets to their enclosure at Buck Mtn. Liz and I headed to Adventure farm to meet Julio and help start the day. Julio taught us how to milk the two goat Esperanza (Hope in Spanish) and Lola (Lola in Spanish). The goats know whats up and head to the milking platform without much fuss. They are ready to get the milk out and the feed in. Once they are on the platform, the utters are cleaned with hot soapy water. Then two or three clearing squeezes are done to get any muck out before collection. The milking process takes practice. The index and thumb come together like an OK sign and is placed high on the utter. When OK is contracted, the utter will hold the milk and the remaining three fingers squeeze to press the milk out and into the container. On average, they produce about a quart a day; sometimes more, sometimes less.

Prior to lunch, Chris (host) and myself teamed up to get errands run for the upcoming farmers market in the afternoon. Its the first of the season and it was a mad dash to get a table, info board and all the food ready for sale. We ran over to Buck Mtn where we used a vacuum sealer and scale to weigh and package cuts of broilers that had been processed the past Friday and were in a walk in fridge. Chris showed me the cuts and how they were made; breast, thighs, wings, tenders, and the remnants. He took care of the cuts and doled them out to me for weight, bag and sealing them up. When we got back to the house, Julio helped install the metal roof on the third brooder enclosure. We were now ready for chicks which came shipped to the PO in two cardboard boxes each containing 100 peeping chickies for a total of 200! We got the feed and water together and then introduced the little yellow fuzz balls to the new home.

Liz and Chris hurried off to the farmers market which started at 3pm. This was Jeans last day at the farm and I offered to drive him to the Greyhound station in Charlottesville. While out in town, I tried desperately to find a new rain jacket to buy. I originally got a nice one at Costco for around $15 but have since misplaced it. Costco no longer carries the rain coat and so I tried Kmart, Dicks sporting goods and TJ Maxx all with failed results. Dicks had coats starting at $60! Too rich for the currently unemployed and volunteering crowd. Liz found one at Walmart for $30 and its a breathable light weight cloth called Frogg Toggs. It wicked the water very well and I think I'm a fan. The only issue is the material looks very brittle and any sort of scrape, tear or roughage could make a hole. I also made a stop to Trader Joe's on a hot tip to seek out their 3L box-o-wines for only $12; SOLD! I bought three to stock us up for the next few days/weeks.

Once done with my errands, I joined Liz and Chris at the farmers market along with Annie, Marion and Chris' mother Faith. We continued to sell until 7pm when the market closes. At the end of the day, they made a decent amount of sales especially for the wicked windy and wet weather that fell on the region that afternoon. At night, Liz and I sealed up both farms being sure to get all escapee chicks back in the pens for the night.

Wednesday: Liz and I were up at 6am to meet Julio at Adventure farms. We were moving the broiler hens pen to another grassy spot. The enclosure was deconstructed and the chicks motivated with feed to move to the new spot before setting up the fence once more. All animals, once again, are fed and watered at both farms. Annie made a delicious breakfast of fresh home raised sausage and veggies.

After breakfast, we were asked to pick up 30 ducklings that had arrived at the PO right up the road. Liz had to control her excitement. The 30 little billed fluff balls were set to live with the peeping chicks we got in yesterday.

Later in the morning, we processed more chickens for distribution in the vacuum bags. Two different local restaurants placed orders with the farm. After one more trip to Adventure farm with three bales of hay for the chicken pens and a pickup of the 11 ducks at the farm, it was finally lunch time. After food, we headed back to Buck Mtn with the ducks in a pen in the back. We set up the slaughter rack which basically is a spinable rack of cones above a large plastic basin. THE NEXT DESCRIPTION IS GRAPHIC read at own risk: The ducks are inserted into the cone head first with the belly towards the outside and wings tucked in. The process that the farm uses involves a turning of the ducks head to aim the blade towards the jugular. The avoidance of the windpipe is key to keeping the duck from spoiling or making it harder to process. The cut is made about an inch above the ducks eye with a sharp blade and a quick cut. The bleed-out takes a few minutes (some ducks take longer) and twitching & explosive defecation may occur. Chris showed us the process on the first two, Liz performed the process on 4 ducks and I did 5. Once bled and limp, the ducks are laid out in the walk in freezer to chill before the de-feathering occurs.

That night, we did dinner on our own since our hosts were out for Marion's first birthday. The farms were closed down for the night and we called it a day.

Thursday: Thursday was a trying day. The alarm goes off at 5:45 so we can meet Julio at Adventure farm by 6:20. Only ten minutes late, we begin opening operations at the farm. The forecast called for rain and we knew it was coming. As we fed and watered the birds, we could hear it in the distance. A moment later, it began to rain. The rain turned to a driving pour and I hid out in the hen house for protection. Liz was not as lucky and was soaked from head to toe including her LLBean rain coat. She trudged on in the rain and I knew I couldn't wuss out in the hen house. We worked as a team while the rain poured on us. We cautiously trudged in the mud to feed all animals at both farms and at the house. By the time we got to the house, we were cold and wet entirely. A change of clothes and we felt a bit better but with each outing during the day came more wet socks in squishy shoes and heavy clothes fully saturated. This was a tough morning to say the least. 

Fried chicken for breakfast along with some left over cantaloupe gave us a boost of energy but also made us lethargic. We futzed around for a short while before heading back to Adventure around noon. Julio requested our help with a till-free garden bed in the shape of a peace pattern. The native quartz which sat around 3" below the surface gave us a hell of a time removing from the vicinity. By 2pm, we had run out of energy and were ready for lunch. A delicious meal of chick peas in red sauce with spinach over couscous with a fried egg on top. I personally made sure to get my calorie intake. 

After lunch was more animal care at the house. The rain started back up. We took a brief respite before charging back into chores. While Liz held house to help with dinner, I weed whacked the field a bit and made sure all chicks were happy, watered and fed at Adventure. Back at the house, a delicious local free range steak was waiting along with fries and a kale salad. It was quickly cleared from the table by the family. Out once again for the closing duties, we hurried our nightly chores in the pending rain. Both farms closed up before 9pm, we return to the house for much deserved showers and clothing air-out.

Friday: With a few hard days of field work behind us, we requested a break from our chores for the day so we could explore and regain some strength. Chores were completed in the AM and after a brief nap caused by pancake-itis, we headed out to see some sights. We stopped to find a local geocache to get our Virginia badge - Woo. Our journey then led us up the road to Barboursville Winery and Ruins. The ruins attracted our attention first. Preserved as a ruin after its destruction by fire on Christmas Day, 1884, Barboursville was one of the largest and finest residences in the region. The only building in Orange County known to have been designed by Thomas Jefferson, Barboursville was constructed between 1814 and 1822 for Jefferson's friend James Barbour, Governor of Virginia (1812-1814), U.S. Senator, Secretary of War, and Ambassador to the Court of St. James.

After a few snapshots, we headed to the winery where $7 got us a wine tasting glass and up to 20 tastes of their signature and award winning reds, whites and dessert wines. A very good deal and great Friday afternoon activity. After the winery, we packed up and drove into Charlottesville to the downtown pedestrian mall where we stopped in a burger joint for some amazing specialty burgers with fries and fried oreos for dessert. It was a treat-yo-self kind of day. We finished up with some window shopping and then headed back to the host house.

That night, we completed our chores with Chris and he helped round up the broiler birds (57) from Adventure farms for processing tomorrow morning.

Saturday: Morning chores were started a bit later than normal but seemed to go much faster. Maybe we are finally getting the swing of this. After breakfast, Liz and I stop by Walmart to grab 200lbs of ice for the upcoming bird processing. We meet with Chris and Julio and Julio's father (also Julio) at Buck Mtn farm to start the activities. GRAPHIC CONTENT AHEAD -- Julio and Julio take on the slaughtering, blood letting and initial defeathering activities which uses a scalder, which as you can imagine is a large tank of scalding water that the freshly killed birds are dunked into to loosen the feathers. This is then followed by a de-featherer which is a circular tub with rubber prongs on the inside and tumbles the chickens about to thrash the feathers off and into a bucket.

Liz, Chris (host) and myself were on the processing end of the operations which included sharp knives to cut off the heads and feet first. Then an incision was made to open the bird from the lower abdomen. A hand inside the bird and good grasp is enough to remove the esophagus to anus in a cautious pull. When completed right, the gallbladder is NOT ruptured and all things are peachy. Sometimes, the gallbladder was cut and a florescent green liquid would squirt. Quick hosing operations were taken to make sure it was washed off asap. From the innards, only the heart and liver is retained for freezing and selling; everything else is composted. Once the lungs are removed, the chickens are put on ice to be placed in the fridge for further processing.

Overall, it was a fairly messy process but with five people, we were able to defeather and process 57 broiler hens and 6 ducks in about 3 hours. We took a late lunch, which did not include chicken, and then had a few hours to break with a nap. Night chores were completed and after a quick shower, we went out to see the Grey Brothers. Annie's father plays bass in the psychedelic jam band and a small gathering was held to eat, drink and jam out. It was a rather enjoyable evening aside from getting lost on a dark dirt road getting there.

Sunday: We woke up a bit later than usual and got to the first farm around 7:20. We met Julio at Adventure farm and had to capture/corral three pigs that had escaped. We managed to round them up and put them back in the pen. During the day, we worked to secure a new open air enclosure for them in the field. The stubborn piggies required a netted fence and three levels of electric fencing to keep them contained in the field. Additional hoeing was completed on the no-till planter and the sheep pen was moved (this includes rounding up the escaped sheep during the move). 

Nightly chores were completed almost effortlessly. We are getting much better at this on our last night here. It also helps that it hadn't rained that much today. Only a light drizzle. Of the 200 chicks that were introduced earlier in the week, numerous have passed away from exposure. This includes but is not limited to: exposure to the ~50deg nights we have had with nothing more than a heat lamp; exposure to the rainy weather that has doused Virginia and hopefully made a dent in the Shenandoah fire which burnt more than 10,000 acres; exposure to other chicks in the brutal baby chick battle grounds where mosh pits and body slams are not only acceptable but expected. Our hosts let us know that we are not to blame for their loss and there is no such thing as a 100% success rate.

Monday: Our last day at Sylvanaqua Farms is bittersweet. We perform our morning chores and are finally getting good at them. We have learned volumes in the past week about small scale organic farming including huglebeds, keyhole gardens, animal husbandry and care, poultry processing, goat milking and more. We are ready to move onto the next adventure but will surely miss Annie, Chris and baby Marion along with their dozens of poultry, ducks, sheep, goats and pigs. We move onward to Peppers Salsa farm in Hamilton VA where we hope to learn veggie growing techniques and more. The weather forecast looks wet but we will hopefully keep our spirits dry. Come back and find out more about this adventure. Thanks for reading.

SPECIAL SPOT LIGHT

This weeks special spot light award goes to Ziggy! This week, Ziggy had surpassed our expectations. Our little pitbull has proved that he is growing into a very patient and obedient dog. He has met and played with a half-dozen dozen dogs of various breeds. His play is fast paced and friendly rather than aggressive. Recall has greatly improved and he will wait on the porch with no leash while boots are being put on. His love for exploration and independence is still prevalent but his is always eager to blitzkrieg down the field when we need him to. Numerous opportunities to chase and harass ducks, chickens, goats and hogs have been bypass to sit and watch or wait patiently. The goats are the only instigator and give Zig the run around since they naturally want to be herded and he wants to chase. Once again, no aggression or desire to bite or hurt. He has done wonderfully meeting new people and even a one year old baby with no issues. Good on him and I am sure we will continue to improve his abilities as we move on.

The Reward

Its done. Well at least for the most part. The past year and probably a few thousand man and woman hours spent thinking, designing and crafting, cursing when it breaks, and recrafting our adventure-mobile and its finally hit the road.

On April 19th, Liz, Ziggy and myself packed the Subaru Outback and said our goodbyes to our host Mark Fulton. The camper was already packed and ready for the road. We hesitate. Its been so long thinking about this final moment.

And then we left.

I had planned out a few spots to stop to get to our first campsite. First along the way was Great Falls National Park in McLean, Virginia. The historic location was a meeting grounds between native Americans and the colonists. It also hosted a canal used to bypass the rapids and falls that cascaded that section of the River. We pull up to the entrance and much to our surprise, the $10 admission was waved for this week for all National Parks including forests, monuments, coastal zones etc. SCORE!

The Subie and Camper get parked in the way back nose bleeds and we walk to the visitor center. Ziggy managed to keep his cool most of the time while other dogs walked by. The paved trail took us to numerous lookouts along the rapids and falls. Our favorite was lookout 3. Some visitors were nice enough to take some pictures.

Moving onward, the Roamin Gnome travelled south into Virginia which I am told is for lovers. The highway takes us to a local road. Then a nice winding road through George Washington NF and then to a dirt road. We have a quarter tank of gas and w just turned down a dirt road for our first night with the camper. Meanwhile its rounding 6:30pm. The Subaru handles the rocky road like and champ and the new axle provides a nice ride for the house on wheels and its contents. The road continues and a few miles and then we see it.  A sign pointing us in the right direction for the Little Fort Camp Ground. A short drive through the 8 site campground tells us which spot to park the gnome. Backed in and beautiful, we staked claim to the roomy and private site 6.

Our first time unpacking it all and we did fairly well. The sun was still setting and we had more than enough light to make camp including awning placement, hammocks and the cook station. Liz whipped up and amazing meal using the following canned items: Chicken from Costco, black beans, tomato sauce and BLANK. Cooked on the cast iron skillet and served with chips, sour cream and shredded cheese; the only thing that could make it better would be bacon. Eat, clean and rest. The tie dye bed is made and we turn in for the night.

The next morning, we awake to what sounds like a chainsaw right outside our camper. WTF! We sneak a look through the bed windows and its an official park employee trimming the bushes around the drop toilet. We at least he meant no harm. The guy does his job and then walked up the trail. As he approaches, he asked if I had a jumper. Apparently the office installs radios in their work trucks that continually drain the battery. Smart!

After the jump, he thanks me and introduces himself. Charlie has worked for the parks system for 15 years and loves it. Retired navy, he was the kindest guy who gave us the hot tip to a natural spring well nearby and the Firetower up the road. He also gave us two smokey the bear bandanas and gave Zig some doggie biscuits. Aside from Charlie and another woman camping, we had a very secluded and enjoyable day thus far. After a leisure stroll of the campground, we begin to forage for a snack. Our guide books i.d. dandelion root and violets are good grub. The violet heads can be plucked and eaten on the spot. The dandelion roots need to be cleaned and cooked before serving.

In the afternoon, another couple miles of dirt/gravel roads lined with campers and scary shacks led us to the fresh water spring. We fill our water jugs and the 5 gallon shower for later use. On the way back to our camp, we drove up the fire tower road and then followed a short trail to reach the base of the Woodstock fire tower. I was able to muster the confidence and beat my fear of heights to summit the 50 stairs to the top. The  view was fairly stellar and showed the valleys of the region along with a serpenting river.

Back at camp, we unpacked the water and fell victim to a leisure lul. For dinner we had mac and cheese with sauteed dandelions (which were really bitter)oh well. That night slept well.

In the AM, we broke camp and packed it all in to head for Shenandoah. We entered through the north gate waiving the $20 entrance fee and drove Skyline Drive for the 30 something miles till the Luray exit. Unfortunately, due to a massive wildfire in the southern portion of the park, a majority of the route was closed and the vistas were hazy due to smoke wafting. Hopefully the firefighters can get the blaze under control but its a pretty big one.

We exited Shenandoah through the Luray exit and drove Route 211 to 81 and then right through the center of Harrisonburg which is a tight circle in a busy area. Great for a pop-up to zip through. Our next campsite was once again in a length of George Washington NF at Hone Quarry. This one night stop by a stream was a great for the night with the small fee of 5$. During the night, we went frog hunting and came across this Fowler's Toad who was very photogenic.

In the AM we wasted no time packing up to head out before the rain came through. With camper and family packed in, we headed south once more to head for our next camp, Oronoco Campsite outside of Buena Vista VA. We plan to set up base here for the next few days (sans cell/wifi reception) before heading out to our first WWOOFing experience starting next Monday at Sylvanaqua Farms in Earlysville VA. We plan to spend a week with this endeavor before moving on to the next leg of our adventures. Stay tuned and thanks for reading.

What to do with No.1 and No.2

Living in a 30 something year old pop up camper has its merits. 

Merit 1: It was cheap

Merit 2: It was in 'decent' shape

Merit 3: It was portable

One flaw is the lack of facilities, ie bathroom stuff. 

For some time now, people have been asking what we plan to do with number one and number two. The option to go into the wild and dig out a cat-hole is always a possibility but sometimes you want a little privacy or the elements are not in your favor. Well, we weighed the options and it seemed that the most responsible thing to do, would be utilize a composting toilet. There are many on the market if you do a simple search but they can range in price from $35 to upwards of 100. But what makes it so expensive?

Well the issue with waste is that when combined, the urine and feces together make a biological hazard; namely due to the urine (ammonia). When you keep the two separate however, the potential for catastrophic disasters is greatly reduced. These composting toilets are specially designed to do just that, separate the one and two. Why couldn't we just do that?

With a couple trips to the hardware store, we had all the things we needed.
Materials:

1. 5 Gallon Bucket
2. 5 gallon bucket toilet seat (bought on Amazon)
3. Biodegradable kitchen bags (bought on Amazon)
4. Coconut Fibers/Saw dust (bought on Amazon)
5. A funnel (Size and design is up to the user)
6. Small length of aquarium tubing
7. 2 Rubber stopper
8. Bottle for liquids (We used Gatorade)
9. Feminine urination aid [Go Girl] (if desired)

Instructions:

• A hole was drilled in the rubber stopper to accommodate for the insertion of the aquarium hose.
• The stopper was plugged into the bottom of the funnel
• The funnel was cut to size and screwed onto the bucket and the position and height for its main user.
• A hole was drilled at the appropriate height and size to run the tubing from interior to exterior of bucket.
• Another rubber stopper was drilled to accommodate for the hose at the bottle end of the tube.
• A 1" hole was drilled into the cap of the Gatorade bottle.
• Biodegradable bags will line the interior of the bucket 

• Expand coconut fibers with water to be spread on top of each deposit to reduce smell and aid in decomposition.

• When the bio-bag is full, it can be trashed or buried.
• When the bottle is full or after each use, it can be disposed of outside.

And that't it, at least in theory. We will see how things really work out when we test the setup on the road. The bucket setup fits nicely in an old milk carton and will be strapped to the trailer tongue securely for transport and storage.

Gnome Getting Psycadelic

For some time now, Liz and I have been holding onto our whites. We went to Ikea and bought a white duvet cover and pillow cases and we also got some dish towels/bar rags. Moving back to Harrisburg with the Fulton fam, we uncovered a stash of Tie Dye materials from Kathryn. With her permission and guidance, we went through the process of making some colorful art out of these blank slates.

Prior to starting, Liz watched numerous YouTube videos of hippies in their basements showing how to fold and band the desired patterns. We decided to try a mandala pattern on the duvet cover and go for whatever felt right for the rest of the items. Before applying bands, we bucket washed the whites in a mixture of water and Soda Ash which can be bough in bulk in the pool supplies of most department or pool stores. The ratio for the mix we used was ~1 cup soda ash to ~1 gallon of water. We really soaked them for a good half hour (or how ever long we played Halo Reach for). 

After we squeezed out the water, it was time to fold our patterns and apply bands. I went gung-ho in my own special patterns while Liz attempted more traditional styles. The duvet was so large, we called it our baby Alli-guitar.

Dye was applied following the process of ROYGBIV being sure to avoid running colors together in a mega mess; not to say some areas came out a little wonky. After dye was applied, each item was placed in its own plastic bag for the dye to set for the next 24 hours.

Fast forward to the next day and we are stoked to see our artwork. We started with the smallest rags first. The process of cleaning them is fairly straight forward.

1. Turn on cold tap
2. Place cloth under water
3. Wring out 10,000,000 times.
4. Let sit for 20 mins
5. Wring out another dozen times.

As you can imagine, this took some time to do all the towels giving us a new appreciation to those stalls that have hundreds of tapestries for sale. It was a near painful process which took about two hours of rinsing to complete. Once they were all rinsed, they took a cold spin in the washing machine followed by a dry session.

And without further ado, here's the outcome.

And the Duvet

DO AC

This past Friday, Liz and myself took a trip to Atlantic City. Our friend group was in town and staying at the Borgata for the weekend. Coming from Harrisburg, we packed a lunch and hit the road in the AM (11ish) but instead of direct routing to AC, I had a couple places to stop along the way to show Liz.

Since we have been dating, I think I have visited Susquehanna U (Liz's alma mater) a half dozen times. Its a beautiful campus in the heart of the quaint town of Selinsgrove PA. It was time for Liz to see Stockton University since we would never be any closer than a trip to AC. 

We took the grand tour of the campus starting with the housing on the north side of Lake Fred. Each housing unit was detailed with its pros and cons in my day and it was great to see they had expanded their solar array over the parking lots on this side of the lake; formerly, panels were only located on the freshmen parking areas to the south.

Parking in front of the Arts and Science building, we started our walking tour from the beginning. Walking through the halls which I spent four years in, I came to realize that numerous professors had since resigned or were no longer a part of Stockton's teaching staff. Alot of the names on the doors had since changed but the maps and diagrams on the walls were still the same from 5+ years ago. . . Might be time for an upgrade.

The tour continued down the serpentine academic building which runs A-H wing. Around the time of my graduation in 2011, the indoor pool on campus was being reconstructed into an Art Gallery. The reasoning for this, or so I'm told, was due to the fact that even though Stockton had a pool. it was intentionally designed inches short of regulation size to prevent the school from having a competitive swim team. Darn hippies and their non-competitive nature. Anyways, we made our way through the newly installed Art Gallery which featured about a dozen artists works within the two story space. Liz and I found one artist (Lisa Rickerhauser) who featured stunning pieces of her portfolio done in a similar theme of pastel colors of animals. We were fans

Rounding out the Stockton tour, we walked through the Campus Center which is also a newly constructed building (within 5 years). This one was operational in my time and features a food court which replaced the sheit one over in G-Court. The marble columns and wooden acoustic architecture stunned Liz since she did not expect such grandeur from my little Stockton.

We made our way back to the car and grabbed our lunch so we could have a cold and windy picnic on the benches surrounding Lake Fred. The foot path around the lake gave us the opportunity to sit and have a bite and also see a big box turtle in the water. I reminisced the times spent zipping up and down the path on my crappy huffy bike from Target, narrowly avoiding students while trying to not crash into the lake. Good times.

Back to the car once more, we left campus to our next pit stop; Forsythe Wildlife Refuge. Forsythe is a bird sanctuary in the tidal marshes of the Atlantic Coast. There was a 4$ entrance fee upon entering the facility. From the looks of it, the facilities on site had been greatly improved since I had been around and construction on a new building was taking place. The Subaru had no issues getting down the rocky sand-packed path which loops the sanctuary in an 8 mile loop. On the track, we saw three nesting osprey pairs on the nest stands overlooking the Atlantic City skyline. It was great to see that so many birds were using the facility as humans intended. The osprey is a bird of prey which calls this area of the state home and also the Stockton mascot. KA KAWW!

Unfortunately, Liz had packed her camera with a dead battery and no spare. The image above is for reference and taken from Stateparks.com We also saw a dozen or more great white egrets, some small terns, a three-some of Bufflehead, some water turkeys (Anhinga) and of course dozens of common gulls.

Here's a link to the Forsythe Wildlife Refuge Osprey Cam.

Osprey Cam

Upon completing the drive, we hit the road once more for the short remainder to AC. We parked in the Borgata parking garage and met up with friends; friends who convinced the six-person group to bolt across the speedways of AC to reach the Golden Nugget across the road. Frogger skills kicked in. The name of the game was Blackjack and the GN gave cheap folks a shot at 'affordable' betting with $10 minimum. With our unemployed status, Liz and I were only able to play a few hands before defaulting to the slot machines. Liz tried her hand at a classic 777 one-armed-bandit while I performed magic on Kitty Glitter penny slots. I personally only lost $24 which is great compared to many who are unable to stop the craving for the lights, bells and whistles that these machines put out. This was Liz's first AC experience and over all, she really didn't find the allure of the gambling mindset; probably since we don't have much money to blow.

Around 7, we packed ourselves up and got the car from the lot. Only 5$ parking! Not too shabby. We took a short drive down the strip and parked on California Ave to hop onto the boardwalk for a moment for expensive 'cheap' pizza and a view of the surf. The beach was nearly empty aside from a few shadows in the far distance. As the sun set, we shared an embrace on the beach before getting back to the car for the 3hr return. Overall, it was a nice start to our journeys and something we should remember for a while.

Stay tuned for the upcoming departure on our much larger road trip. 

Right now, we have a working plan for the Southern Route. Harrisburg to TN thus far with stops at waterfalls in Virginia, hiking in Shenandoah NP, Lost World Caves in WV, FOAMHENGE, The Great Smokey Mtns NP in NC/TN down to our first WWOOFing hosts at Blue Ridge Co-op in Glenville NC. Then we turn around and head up to Shade Gap PA for SHAREfest followed by camping with the gang in Poconos for Memorial day.