Wisteria Farm solo excursion

I've been doing more solo gigging since returning from our Great Lakes Tour. That tour deserves one or more big long blog posts, but that's a project I'm not ready to tackle just yet. So here's a short one about this past weekend's getaway.

I was booked to play at Wisteria Farm & Vineyard on Saturday. It's just south of Luray, VA, and is about a 2.5-hour drive from home. I didn't want to drive all the way out and back in one day, and hoped to camp that night at one of the Shenandoah National Park campgrounds (either Mathews Arm or Big Meadows), but everything was booked solid. They do keep some sites open for day-of occupancy, first-come first-served. I checked the website right before I left and it looked like they had a bunch available, so I thought I'd be fine. Nope. When I got to the park entrance I could see that the campgrounds were completely full, so I turned around. I looked into a motel on the way to the vineyard, but they too were fully booked. Ugh.

I got set up at the vineyard pretty early. I went for simplicity, omitting the piano. So I had plenty of time before playing to relax a bit, enjoy a glass of sangria, and search the internet for a possible camping option. The weather was perfect, and I played a two-hour set to a friendly crowd. Ferdinand the cat was also on the scene.

After the gig, I drove into the George Washington & Jefferson National Forest, headed for a random primitive campsite (no facilities) that had been entered into Google maps by god-knows-who. This is not my usual modus operandi, but it was either that, pay for a crappy overpriced motel, or go home.

As I drove into the forest, already dark, I passed a pickup truck that had pulled over to the side of the gravel road. It had some contraption on top with spotlights, and several hounds. My spidey-senses tingled and I was a little nervous about the situation, but I drove on until I got to the designated spot, where I wasn't sure what I'd find. To my relief, the truck did not follow.

I parked on the side of the road, and entered the woods to check out the site with the bright new headlamp I had just bought earlier that week. The site was about perfect: an open clearing with a couple of stone fire rings, suitable hammock trees, and a rushing stream. I texted some friends to let them know where I was... just in case!

I went back to the van to start loading out the camping gear, but then heard hounds baying and saw the headlights of a truck approaching. Not gonna lie, now my heart was pounding. I got into the van, locked the doors and turned off the lights, waiting to see what would happen. The truck passed by, preceeded by off-leash hounds running ahead, wearing lighted collars. What the hell was going on?? A man-hunt?? A nefarious nocturnal bear hunt?? I was freaked out. But they passed by and didn't bother me. After several minutes of sitting in the dark, I went ahead and strung up my hammock. I had a just-add-hot-water mushroom stroganoff dinner (suprisingly good), which I washed down with a delicious stout while admiring the stars overhead.

I retired to the hammock pretty early. As I lay there, snuggled in my warm cocoon, at least two trucks went by, back and forth, with hounds baying as before. As things quieted down, and no one ever stopped by my van or entered the campsite, eventually my elevated heart rate subsided and I fell asleep.

In the morning light, I could fully appreciate what a great campsite this was. Would I camp here again? Absolutely! 

That's just a stump behind me, not a bear. This photo would be way cooler with a bear.

I didn't use the fire ring since I had no wood, but good to know it's there for next time...

The campsite is about a minute walk from where I parked the van.

After a breakfast of mocha and oatmeal, rather than driving to some official trail, I just started hiking. There was a "road" marked nearby, branching off the main forest road, that turned out to be a glorified trail. I imagine if I had gone back to Shenandoah to hike, it would have been a bit of a circus! I ended up hiking about five miles, round-trip, encountering nary a human except one couple on horseback.

Google mapped this as a road. An ATV could handle it, but my van could not.

This was the only real view, thanks to a powerline cut.

Found this little guy along the path.

On my way out of the forest, I stopped by this Civil War-era furnace.

I had lunch at a diner in Shenandoah (the town, not the park) despite its unfortunate political signs, then headed home to Richmond, belly full of country cookin', and spirit restored by the hills.