The end of the week was here, but I had really planned on being home by now. The beautiful country roads of America just wouldn't let me go, or I couldn't let it free, at least not without more beautiful memories. West Virgina, in particular, was unbelievably majestic, especially in the east where the Appalachian Mountains run. This was the time when I wish all I had was my camping gear and no car, but then, it wouldn't be a road trip.
Many times, I stopped and got out and waded in the Potomac. The first time, I had to filter some much needed water. I accidentally dropped the bottle in the water and was doubtful if the water was free of microorganisms like giardia. I rinsed it out a little with some more pumped water. Dang, that river water tasted horrible. As nasty as the nastiest. The Katadyn pocket filter (only removes microorganisms), not a purifier which can also remove the bad taste by having some chemicals in the filter. It was quite difficult to drink the gallon of water; in fact, I wasn't sure if it was even filtered correctly with such a horrendous taste.
I actually spent some time wading through the clear water to see if I could catch fish with my bare hands, but there wasn't many fish to be found. There was an area where crawdeads sheded, and that would have been a source for food had I needed it.
While driving along the Potomac and stopping many times, I wished I had another couple of days to spend here. The drive was beautiful and the roads were not congested. Next time, I know better, and will spend more time in West Virgina.
Nothing worthwhile to note except that at some points, a stop sign will pop up around a curve without any warning, which is a little dangerous at high speeds.
I stopped in the town of Richwood, who's only claim to fame is some Olympic medalist in 1968, to fill up with gasoline and to get something to eat. Surprisinly, the gas at the stores in town off the main highway, Highway 55/20, was much cheaper than the Conoco on the highway. I stopped into a Food Rama to get some food after stopping at a Subway which was closed down because the gas station containing it was closed.
As I was on the edge of town leaving, a group of 3 cross-country cyclists were trying to make a steep uphill climb. Two of them started walking, while the strongest cyclist made it further up the uphill road waiting for them. The elevation here was pretty high since we were practically in the low hanging clouds.
I pulled out to one of the many pull-outs and started eating in the light drizzle. I had forgotten how good, warm, and cheap a meal at a grocery store could be. I wished I had done this a little more often instead of eating at McDonald's. Sometimes, I worry about going into small towns and doing any shopping because an Asian-American person really stands out in most small towns.
Most of the day was spent driving slowly and stopping all over the country roads. I had even considered sleeping in the car at one of the many pull-outs, but decided against it and drove to a state park due mainly to wanting to use the toilet- I think the Potomac water had something to do with it, or maybe I didn't rinse the bottle well enough after dropping it into the water. Bluestone State Park was along the way near the border of West Virginia and Virginia. After using the bathroom, I entered the office which closes at 10 p.m., and inquired about the cost, and it was only $9- not too bad, it could have been a lot more since this was along a huge lake.
The lady at the camp reservation desk was making a personal call to a friend and I stood there for about 3 minutes waiting for her to get off. Then the lady who took care of the customer buying a t-shirt came over and assisted after she rung the lady. I smiled to myself, wondering if working here was too boring for the camp reservation lady. I drove down to the camp area, picked a camp site after seeing a gazillion people (which turned out to be terrible), and came back to the office and paid.
The park was full of kids, which wasn't bad. Of all the noises in a park, I actually don't mind the rowdiness of children, it brings a good feeling to my heart to know strangers can instaneously be friends and get along without worrying about people's hidden agendas, unlike most adults. They were kids, and they needed to roam and have fun, and it was a good opportunity to meet other kids trying to enjoy the outdoors, or at least their parents are forcing them too. I love the children, but only hope that they don't hurt the wildlife, which I love more. This park was packed with families, but somehow I didn't feel like I belonged here, but I went ahead and set up the tent since the campsite was already paid for and I knew this would be better sleeping than the backseat of the car. Just about everyone had a campfire going which caused the whole area to be filled with smoke. (One of my rules of camping is to never set a campfire unless it is a necessity for survival; many insects use the dead wood as home, shelters, and food, and it's not fair to take that away from them so that we feel a camping experience is only complete if there is a wood burning camp fire. It's okay, if a park cuts the wood themselves and sells it to the campers, but still I wouldn't set a camp fire.)
Since this was the primitive side of the camp, the bathroom with flushless toilets had no lights or electricity. The doors to the toilets were shower curtains, which I liked. There was no ceiling. I took a cold shower with a flashlight under the moonlight and stars- I'm pretty sure I've never done that before. Right outside, a group of kids were rollerblading in the dark. One of the kids told me before I entered the bathroom that there was warm showers over in the other camping area, presumably the developed area for RVs.
I went back to my site to get ready for bed because it was well past 10:00 pm. The people next to me were still up and chatting around their campfire. Now, don't take me wrong, but the park has quiet hours after a certain time, and this was past that time, so campers need to be considerate to each other campers. It was a big family outting with about 5 cars packed into their camp site, and not only were they up late and talking, they were constantly going back and forth to their cars. I am puzzled sometimes as to why people visit their vehicles so frequently, can't they get all their camping gears and necessities in a few trips? That kept me up for a while. Personally, I don't mind if people stay up late, but they should attempt to talk quietly, but of course, I'm not the type to say anything, because I could still fall asleep, but maybe other campers can't.
Later on that night when all the park visitors finally were asleep, a truck of college-age students came in playing loud music and talking loud a couple of camp sites down. Only one of the members in that group was not a nimrod, she told them to turn the music down. This must have been well past midnight. They turned the music down to an acceptable level too me, but still clearly audible, and they kept talking for a while.
I really like West Virginia, I really love the scenery, and I really enjoy the people, but this has got to be the worst camping experience in a long while. It's close to as bad as those freezing nights alone at some parks in 1998 without a warm sleeping bag- that was unforgettable. The park was polluted with smoke and the people were a too loud. People, I guess, will be people sometimes. I have this old Archie comic in which Archie and Jughead are at a camp site and they are surrounded by tons of people, and Jughead asks Archie, "Where do you go to get away from all the people trying to get away?" This state park definitely was not it. The attendant had told me it wasn't too crowded on weekdays. This was a Sunday, shouldn't these people be at home getting ready for work tomorrow?
After all the ruckous, I was able to sleep, but the rowdiness would continue first thing at sunrise.
