9/30/08 (Tuesday): I can't believe it's the last day of September already. Time has just flown by. Wiley and I made the decision a couple of weeks ago to return to Boone KOA next season. We have found a community of great people here (owners, co-workers and fellow campers) and we love the area. So all of you who missed out on seeing the area this summer will have another chance!

We have friends and fellow Workampers from our Muskegon, MI, adventure visiting us here today and tomorrow. We're looking forward to catching up with them. I'm keeping this short because we're getting ready to walk around the campground. I hope everyone is weathering the financial crisis okay. I'll blog again soon.

9-24-08 (Wednesday): I'm just back from five days in Michigan with Tom and his family. I had a great time! We kept really busy. I visited both Anna's and Margo's school, went to soccer practice with both Anna and Margo and went to three parties.The girls have grown up so much! Anna is now in first grade. Margo goes to preschool three days a week. Claire has started talking in full sentences and wants to do everything her older sisters do.

We enjoyed playing dress-up,

reading (Anna) and being read to (Margo and Claire),

and lots of partying! We especially enjoyed the pirate party (it was "Talk Like a Pirate Day").

Margo and Anna both play soccer.

Tom coaches Margo's team.

I can't believe Anna is 6 years old already!

It was a wonderful trip. I especially enjoyed being part of a typical (very busy) week.

9/16/07 (Tuesday): Not a lot going on here. The number of campers has declined greatly, especially during the week.

We've gotten a little more rain. In fact, we've gotten a lot more rain! These mushrooms sprouted in the campsite right next to ours.

The trees are just beginning to turn--I don't know if it's actually autumn or if it's drought damage. I'm leaving tomorrow for a short visit with Tom and Kristin and the girls.

The other morning when we got up, Elk Knob (which we see from our living room) had the most gorgeous cloud formations on and around it. I had a little trouble getting a picture of it because there were power lines and campground buildings in the way.

We'd never hiked up Elk Knob, despite the fact that it's our closest peak, so after work one day, we tackled it. This is some gorgeous land that was slated for development until the Nature Conservancy bought it and gave it to the state. It's a state park now. There's lots of trail building and other activity going on. The beginning of the trail has been completed by volunteers and it's one of the nicest trails I've ever hiked.

After the first third, though, it's just a rough fire break--very steep and rocky. I felt pretty proud of myself for making it to the summit!

Just as we got to the peak, the clouds rolled in, so we didn't get to see the views that stretch over several major peaks and clear to Tennessee and Virginia.



The trip back down was even more strenuous than the trip up because I was very concerned about slipping on the rocky trail. We made it without incident, but my hips and knees ached for a couple of days afterwards.

We didn't see any wildlife--just some butterflies and a few wild flowers. This yellow moth caught my eye.

I'm leaving tomorrow for a short visit with Tom's family. And that's the news from this part of the world!

9/5/08 (Friday): I have lots of pictures to share, so I'll get right to it! (Unfortunately, I accidentally set my camera to large size pictures again. Sorry about that!)

We took a terrific hike on the Boone Fork Trail last week. The trail starts on the Blue Ridge Parkway about 10 miles from home. It follows along Boone Fork and then Bee Tree Creek. There were beaver dams and beaver chewed trees all along the creeks!There were several waterfalls along the way, too.

We were shocked to see some trees already changing color. It turns out, it's not autumn color--the trees are actually dying from the drought.

Look how wilted these rhododendrons are!Not to worry, though. The remnants of Hurricane Fran reached us about half way through the hike. It rained for the rest of the day and two more days after that! I hope the forest wasn't too far gone.
It was a long hike, and very steep in places, so you can imagine how welcome this little cove with two waterfalls was. Those are some happy feet!


The rain continued to get heavier. We were thoroughly soaked!


The raindrops looked quite pretty on the trees and ferns, and we weren't cold, so we didn't let it spoil anything.



Near the end, the trail left the forest and entered a pasture area. There were several cows on and near the trail. I felt a little intimidated at first, but they paid us no attention at all and we walked right around them.

There were lots of gorgeous wild flowers in this area, too. This one is called "ironweed" and the butterfly is a silver spotted skipper (I think!). This thistle was very tall--pretty, but I didn't want to get very close to it!

Changing gears here a little, this cleome is what I looked at through my window at work over the next couple of rainy days. Wiley said he could almost hear the vegetation saying "ah-h-h" during the three days of showers.



We did a lot of cooking during the rainy days. Wiley's garden has just been fantastic! These are some stuffed tomatoes and a squash/tomato medley. Yum!



Last (but not least) here are a few shots from our kayak trip on the New river last Wednesday. We had a lovely, lazy day on the river. We just floated with the current all day, pulling over in the shade periodically to fish (Wiley) and read (me). This barn was the biggest and fanciest I've ever seen!
What a gorgeous river!That's it for another installment of Joyce and Wiley's Great Adventure! The welcome sign is still out if anyone wants to join us!