On Friday we set out for an adventure that took us to a new state park, Douthat! Located near Clifton Forge, Virginia, this beautiful park is literally out in the middle of nowhere!
Those of you that know me know that I am not the camping kind of girl, so I was happy when we all decided to get cabins! They were tiny, but had the basics. At least I wasn't outside freezing or running from the community shower with wet hair.
It was a chilly weekend, but lovely! We decided to go for a bike ride on Saturday while some of the others hiked. We headed out for Stony Run, which was supposed to be the most gradual climb in the park.
I'm not sure, but everything in that park was a hill. The ride up proved to be long and difficult at times, but it was beautiful. The name was appropriate as there were stones everywhere.
Here we are just starting out on the ride!
We crossed back and forth across the creek...
We climbed ever so slowly upwards and came upon a small waterfall.
All I wanted was to see a waterfall! I knew that we were getting closer.
It was a little trickle, but it was a waterfall!
We snapped a self portrait in front of the little waterfall!
As we headed up the path got narrower and the ledge a little steeper.
We stopped on our way up to view the mountains in the distance.
This was my first official mountain ride ever. We definitely only have hills where we are! WOW!
At one point we saw a hillside full of rocks!
It was a slow climb up, but a super fast ride down. I don't think we pedaled at all until we got to the bottom.
There wasn't a lot of complaining, but there was a little grunting and frustration over the rocks and thick leaves and skinny ledges. My fear of heights kicked in a little bit on the way up. I also found that I felt much more stable with my right side towards the cliff. Dynamo said that was normal.
I thought we'd see more wildlife, but there wasn't much around. Just rocks and water and hills!
There were a few places where we had to hike our bikes due to down trees.
It's always an adventure when you're in a new place.
I tend to be a little more cautious when it's an unfamiliar trail.
Even after the ride I was still smiling!
I was pleased that I had survived. I might try it again someday! I think I was also relieved that we didn't encounter a bear!
So, after the ride we went back to the cabin, got showered and decided to go for a little hike!
In the middle of the park was this gorgeous lake! And, the dam.
Just breathtaking!
More self portraits!
To get to the other side of the lake we had to cross the water.
There were kids fishing at the base of the falls.
In order to get to the top of the dam and see the whole lake we had to climb these!
The top revealed a huge lake with people fishing everywhere!
It sure was a different perspective from the top!
We decided to explore a little more! So, off we went towards the Blue Suck Falls Trail.
Aren't these trees cool?
As before on the ride, the hike was no different. Hills everywhere!
Stones here and there in the path!
Did I mention the leaves were deep?
After our hike we gathered for some fun with friends and warmed by the fire!
So did Bear, our friends' dog!
On Sunday after checking out we spotted a cool suspension bridge so we turned around and went exploring!
It was pretty neat! I was a little unstable, but Dynamo was so well balanced!
We stood above more water!
Another attempt at a self portrait!
Here I am unsteady!
And, Dynamo acting like a pro!
Could you imagine riding your bike over that?
I honestly think most go through the water beneath the bridge.
On our way home we stopped at an overlook off of 64 to take in the view!
We love Crozet, so around lunchtime we stopped in town and had a new adventure! We went to Fardowners Restaurant! We had an awesome pretzel sandwich with cheese, fried eggs, and bacon! YUM!!
Then, we walked a couple of doors down to the Mudhouse! I had a hot chocolate and Dynamo a Chai Latte!
A wonderful warm ending to a great new adventure! Hope your weekend was as fun and relaxing as ours was!
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