trails day

I am delighted to discover just how adventurous Dennis actually is. Today we took him on the Virginia Creeper Trail, a 14 mile/2.5 hour bike ride. Instead of opting to cruise in a bike trailer for the ride, he chose to ride a half-wheeler, a kind of pull-behind bike that attached to mine. He rode and pedaled without complaint until just before we reentered Damascus, when he informed us "my bottom hurts and I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY hungry." He seemed fine when he realized that sore bottoms were the norm for Gran and me as well and that we were pedaling straight to In The Country to have a post-ride meal. We parked our bikes there, in fact, and ate before returning them to the rental place. I'm so proud that he could handle this without whining or complaining or crying--he's just amazing!

He fell asleep as we drove to the top of Whitetop Mountain to admire the views (and the cool mountain air), but he didn't nap too long. Pretty soon we were driving back to Elk Garden to pick up the AT hikers. First we hiked up a short summit through a cow pasture that was across the street from the parking lot (dodging cow patties on the Appalachian Trail). Then we had the idea that we'd hike to meet them on the trail (back across the road), but Dennis was too tired for this (understandable, given that his legs had already had a giant workout today). So we hiked in about 10 minutes and then hiked back out to let him sit in the car. And then I hiked in again, and about 15 minutes down the trail, just when I'd gotten my rhythm and was enjoying my first bit of solitude on the trip (and had just started to think about bears maybe liking all the berry bushes I was passing), I met up with David and Brother Larry. I was so happy to see them and was happy to accompany them on the short hike back to the van. Dennis crowed delightedly from the open van window when he spotted his Daddy. Tonight we find ourselves reunited, six of us sharing the tiny space at the guest house, all comfortable and cozy. Dennis told the hikers all about his adventure on the Creeper trail ("I rode a tow-behind bike all the way down the mountain! And it was AWESOME!"). What an incredible vacation this has been! Here's hoping we all get a good night's sleep tonight before doing a little sightseeing tomorrow and then heading home.