Well Friday was another fun filled day with son Bobby and the grans as we ventured to a new area of the county; the South Fork of the New River for a good 2 plus hour float. It was the first ever on this section and it was absolutely without a doubt the most scenic of any of our floats and there have been quite a few over the years.
I started the day with my usual before 6 roll out to my routines that start with the cup of hot green tea laced with turmeric and fresh ginger. The kiddos all rolled out around 8'ish so I was able to get my blog and quiet time in before the action started. Annsley remembered about seeing the wild wine berries growing on our last evening hike and she wanted some in her pancakes so I take her and Gabe on the golf cart to the the top of the mountain to pick berries . We gathered nearly a whole plastic cup of the sweet berries and Nancy put them in her pancake batter. They were delicious along with eggs, sausage and bacon to start the gastric juices flowing.
I called around and found this outfitter which was in the Piney Creek, Crumpler area called Dusty Trails and while its one of the smaller one man operations he fixed us up with a three seat canoe for Bobby and the grands and I brought my kayak. His prices were almost half what the big outfitters wanted in Va. and come to find out he attends church in Sparta where several of our friends attend. He is a graduate of App. State in Boone and a really nice young man, plus the area we floated was just so much more picturesque than our usual floats. The homes along the river were just well maintained and the beauty of the surrounding hills was awesome plus it didn't seem to have as many rapids but we did encounter some huge rocks in the river which the grands climbed and played on as well as swimming in the water with their PFD's.
We got back in the truck some where close to 2:30 and made a stop in Sparta for Nancy's scripts then headed home to have a late sandwich before heading over to our "mountain mom's" pond and later to visit with her for a few. We have pictures of her and her late husband Roy holding both Bobby and Amy when they were infants. They were as close to family as you can get without being related ever since before Nancy and I were even married. We managed to catch 4 bass large enough to fillet for our supper tonight(Sat) but we left several in the pond as we lost them at the bank. The pond is alive with perch and blue gill as well as we fed them a bucket of worms.
Nancy had the St.Louis ribs on the smoker and when we got back from the pond we fired up the oven for some tater tots for the kiddo's and fresh broccoli along with salad, yeow what a feed. After the cleanup we loaded up in the truck and headed over to the Luffman Farm where Mechelle breeds Gypsy Varner Horses. They are such mild mannered stout animals and even the stallion is like a puppy dog. We had the grands sitting on one of the brood mares and a two month old colt allowed Gabe to pet him like a dog and followed him around out in the pasture. The kiddos had a grand time and Kay blessed us one again with yellow squash, cucumbers, lettuce and fresh dug red taters from her garden which is along side the pasture. We got back just as dust settled in the area and the fire flies were out showing their colors. The grands had a fun time catching them them I started a camp fire and of course every kid likes to play with fire.
Nancy has all the fixin's for smores so we sat by the fire enjoying a dessert and Gabe singing GOD Bless America until nearly 10. The grands all bathed and got ready for bed as did the adults and finally ourselves. The river, fishing and fun times had us worn out. I heard a hoot owl outside the bedroom window at 5 'ish which awakened me so it wasn't long until it was time to roll out just before 6. Today we head over to Damascus, Va. to ride bicycles down a 17 mile old railroad train bed called the Creeper Trail. Should be fun as the weather is near perfect as was it yesterday. No rain in the forecast, LATER
