Snowshoe (West Virginia)

The season's winding down, but our final trip to Snowshoe was a burner!



Snowshoe experiences the Fall colors just a few weeks before most places, and our timing was perfect to catch the first glimpse of the vibrant colors.



Ian, Joey, and I caught up with Nate just as he pulled onto 64 West near Gum Springs on Friday night. He was headed to Snowshoe to take part in their final race of the season. On race day, he suffered a flat, but the four of us got plenty of riding in to make up for that disappointment.







By Sunday afternoon we were all having a tough time holding onto the handlebars, but we still logged a respectable number of runs before packing up and heading home.

Sherando Lake (Lyndhurst, VA)

Rebecca and I decided to take my brother and his girlfriend Shahrzad to one of our favorite camping spots in Virginia - Sherando Lake. We drove to our usual campsite near the Bald Mountain Overlook on Friday night, but found that it was not vacant. This was probably due to the Lockn Festival in nearby Arrington, VA.

We tried a campsite down the fire road, near the top of the infamous Sherando Lake climb, and were luckily met with an available site stocked with a pile of firewood. That night we made smores by the fire and enjoyed a few drinks before retiring to our tents.



On Saturday morning, after a quick breakfast, Rebecca and I rode mountain bikes to Sherando Lake while Dave and Shahrzad drove my Jeep to the lake to meet us. We had an unexpected challenge on the trail when I tried fixing a flat only to find a slash in my replacement tube. Luckily we were able to stretch Rebecca's 26" inner tube into my 29" wheel and carefully navigate the remainder of the trail without another puncture.



Once at the lake, the four of us made lunch and took turns swimming while the other two watched the dogs.



We originally planned on hiking Three Ridges after our time at the lake, but when we finished relaxing on the shore it was nearly 5pm and another couple hours before setting up our next camp site seemed a bit too much for one day. We wisely decided to return to our site above the Bald Mountain Overlook. This time we lucked out and were able to use our first-choice site.



The rain moved in as we finished preparing our dinner, so we retreated to the back of the Jeep to devour our "hobo packs."

The next morning we drove to Boylan Heights for lunch and Walnut Creek Park for a quick game of disc golf before finishing the drive to Richmond.

James River (Richmond, VA)

This Labor Day weekend Rebecca and I stayed in town since her brother Matt was visiting. They planned on driving to Winchester on Monday to see their siblings and watch the University of Miami game that night. That left me with a free day to do whatever I pleased. When my friend Alex suggested tubing on the James River I jumped at the idea.



Alex, Jason, and I made our way to Pony Pasture by noon and were on the water shortly after that. The water level was low, but our short float to Reedy Creek didn't take too long even at that slow pace.



Ruprecht was such a hit. Everyone that spotted him in his life vest was enamored and it actually served him well, keeping his ears out of the water and allowing him to swim for extended periods.