After a quick reset at home, we were back on the road to our next destination. New York City! The girls have been excited about this trip for a long time and we were finally able to put some time aside to make it happen. In our normal fashion, we had to do things differently and we chose to camp at the Liberty Harbor Marina & Rv Park across the Hudson River in Jersey City. We were surrounded by the typical motorhomes that you’d expect in a campground, but there were also a Jeep and a beautiful Landy 110 rocking some rooftop tents. The word “Campground” should be used lightly here as it’s a paved parking lot with water and electrical hookups. There is 24/7 security, bathrooms with showers and a laundry facility on site as well. The best part about this “Campground” is the location. You’re blocks away from the Path train to go over to NYC and you can see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty right from the campground. Our first day in NYC consisted of hitting the big items on the girl’s list, just to help calm them down a bit.😂 Times Square, Grand Central Station and all 10 floors of Macy’s. Not to mention experiencing the NYC subway system. Once the “big must see” items were checked off the list, we were able to move onto the more experience oriented locations. Be on the lookout for our next post where we delve a little deeper into those……
Creating Family Memories
That’s a trip for the memory books! We started our trip by exploring the abandoned town of Union Level, Va for Jennifer’s & my 20th wedding anniversary. Since we were in the area, we made a stop at Lovers Leap & Mabry Mill where we happened to run into some old friends & spent some time catching up. The next day we celebrated Bailey’s 13th birthday while dispersed camping & then visited Brights Zoo near Johnson City, Tn so she could see their newest addition, a rare spotless baby Giraffe. After that, we spent the rest of the week showing Papa & Nana (from South Dakota) some of our favorite places in Virginia. To top the week off, they treated all of us to a wonderful horseback ride at Skyline Stables just outside of Radford, Va. What a great week it has been and we’re definitely exhausted. But there’s no rest for the wicked. On to the next adventure!
The Ghost Town of Union Level
Union Level, Va “The Most Visited Ghost Town in Virginia”, or so the sign on the building across the street would have you believe. We’re not entirely sure how true that statement is as there were only a few passerby’s when we visited. Nevertheless, it was a very interesting place to visit and if you’re willing to make the journey we’d say that it’s worth it.
I grew up in a small town much like this one, in the Midwest, and I’ve always been fascinated and yet disheartened by what events led to the demise of these small communities. Researching, you’ll find that a lot of them were merely blips on the countryside where others were economic epicenters. Each one of them with their own unique story to tell. If you want to discover more about this one in particular, we highly recommend checking out the BLOG we found on the “Forgotten South” webpage.
Here’s a web link if you’d like to visit it.
https://theforgottensouth.com/union-level-virginia-ghost-town-history/
James River Rooftop Tent Rally 2022
The time is upon us once again for the 6th annual 2022 James River State Park Rooftop Tent Rally sponsored by Blue Ridge Overland Gear. This family friendly event offers kids activities, hiking and biking trails, river access for kayaking and fishing, bonfires and live music! There will also be multiple classes to help you up your overland skills. Don’t miss out on your chance to compete in the separate cooking and survival competitions this year as well! For more information about the event or to purchase tickets, please visit: 2022 RTTR Info/Tickets
We’ll see ya there!!!
Is This Overlanding?
Overlanding…. What is it? There are varying opinions and definitions of this popular term. Some believe its four wheeling across rugged terrain, miles from civilization and some believe it’s purely car camping. While both of those scenarios certainly fall into the definition of Overlanding, there’s a lot more to it then just that. You see, “Overlanding” can really mean something different to everyone. One of the best definitions that we’ve happened across is “Overlanding sees the journey as the purpose. Overlanding is about exploration, rather than conquering obstacles.” This is the definition that personally resinates with us the most because it’s how we like to approach the majority of our travel.
So why are we talking about this? There are hundreds of articles and videos out there discussing this same thing. Well… Lately we’ve run into a lot of people who are interested in Overland Travel, but feel that they have to spend a small fortune to build a capable vehicle and have products X, Y & Z before they can even embark on their first trip. It really kills us to see how worked up everyone gets about having the right gear. So much, that they never even go on a trip. Listen, gear is great, but it’s also bad… Let me explain. Having the right gear can obviously make all of the difference between an alright trip and a fantastic trip. There’s nothing worse than waking up in a pool of water because your awning or tent leaked. Or shivering all night because you have the wrong temp sleeping bag. You won’t get any argument from us on that. However… Gear can also be a bad thing because you set in your mind that you have to have all of this “stuff” before you can do anything. The truth is, you probably won’t even use a third of all that gear on your first five trips. Ask us how we know. We, like many others before us, have fallen down the exact same rabbit hole a couple of times and had to claw our way back out of wonderland. It’s hard to do.
Okay, then how do we go Overlanding without gear? Well that depends on what type of Overlanding you want to do and how you define it. If your definition aligns with ours, then there is a lot that you can do without any gear. Remember, it’s all about the journey and exploration. Have you ever been to the next town, county or state over? What makes their area different than yours? What is their heritage/culture? What hidden gems rural and urban are hiding there? All you need for that type of exploration is a vehicle to get you there and a lot of curiosity. Overnighting it? No problem. Hit a hotel, bed and breakfast, or a cabin in a state park. Still not one bit of gear needed. And guess what… You’re still Overlanding!
Obviously when you mix car camping into the definition of Overlanding, things begin to change. Or do they? What does it take to car camp? For one to two people, not too much. Depending on the vehicle, you could just sleep inside with a pillow and a blanket. Need more room? Buy a small tent and ground pad and you’re golden. What about food? You’ve made ramen before right? How about Pop tarts? You laugh, but 9 times out of 10, we eat pop tarts for breakfast. It all comes down to how comfortable you want to be in relation to how much money you want to spend on the gear vs the travel. Believe it or not, you can be pretty darn comfortable for a reasonable amount of money.
I guess what we’re trying to get across here is not to fall into the paralysis by analysis trap. You want to go Overlanding? Then go, but go within your means. Try to add gear only as there becomes a need for it, not because everyone is buying it right now. We don’t even want to begin to think about the amount of times we bought something because it was going to be “life changing” only to sell it the following year because we only used it one time. That would be depressing. Honestly, some of our greatest memories and trips only required a vehicle and some clothes. If we can give you one piece of advice when looking at gear, it would be: “Think about if it is a need or a want… How much does it cost and how many trips could I go on instead if I were to just spend that money on the trips themselves?”
Friends Whom Travel
One of the most difficult things we’ve found about having close friends whom share our passion for Adventure Travel, is that they’re always traveling and are rarely in the same place that we are! October of 2020, we were finally able to meet up with one such friend and we had a blast catching up and traveling all over the Black Hills and Colorado with him. Looking back through our photos, it sure does make it hard not to wish that we were right back at this very moment in time. It was such a memorable trip for all of us and we’re so glad that we were able to coordinate and spend a good chunk of it with our great friend Chris. How about you? Do you hang with your friends every week? Or are you all traveling in different directions too, only to rarely run into one another along your travels?
Conquering Personal Boundaries
Bailey here, was pushed slightly out of her comfort zone on the way into camp. Nothing dangerous, but it pressed firmly past her preconceived limitations in her mind and did not make for a happy ride. After arriving at camp, it was like a whole new Bailey emerged. She was running around exploring everything with Fiona, happy as could be. Sure, I know what you’re thinking. The poor thing was probably scared and of course she was happy to get out of that truck. You’re exactly right and wrong. She was scared because she had already decided the outcome of the event before she/we had even tried. We’ve all done that, haven’t we? But her happiness was not to because she got out of the truck. It was because she was pushed past her comfort zone and discovered the world didn’t end because she thought it would. She discovered life. So happiness can be directly related to life. Who would’ve thought. Sometimes we need to push our boundaries to see what lies on the other side. To grow into better, stronger versions of ourselves.
Exploring Blackwater
Jennifer and Bailey look over the powerful Blackwater River
Nature’s power on display as the Blackwater River cascades over the rock face
On the days leading up to Overland Expo East 2021, we visited a few of the more touristy area’s in the beautiful state of West Virginia. One of those places being Blackwater Falls near Davis, WV. If you haven’t been, we highly recommend adding it to your list of attractions and places to visit. Yes, there’s a trading post (aka tourist shop/trap) in the parking lot, but don’t let that deter you. Nor the masses that you’ll come upon while making the short journey to the falls from the parking lot. It’s worth it, trust me. We recommend visiting the historical markers and info stations along the short hike down to the observation decks. We found them very interesting and they allowed us to see the falls from a different perspective. You’ll understand what I mean if you take the time to read them. We won’t spoil that for you. No bother if you choose to bypass the info centers and head straight to the falls though. Nature’s power, showcasing the beautiful waters of the Blackwater River, cascading over the rock face is by far the main attraction here and is enough to keep anyone petrified with awe.
