Mt. Pleasant

     A good weekend indeed. Saturday morning, Peyton and I woke up and hit the road headed towards Mt. Pleasant. Mt. Pleasant is located about 2.5 hours south west of Richmond, toward Buena Vista. As we got closer to the mountains, we could see from a distance that there was significant snow accumulated where we would be hiking. The final three miles to the trail head was windy with close to a 1.5' accumulated. Luckily we were not the first to arrive that morning as a truck had paved the way for us up the mountain. The Subaru preformed well on the snowy roads. We ended up parking about half a mile from the trailhead and hikedthe rest of the way to the trailhead parking lot.

      When we arrived at the trailhead, there was another car parked and we could hear some guys in the distance. They ended up starting the section of the trail that we would return on, so we figured we would probably see them at the summit. We hiked the 3.3 miles to the peak and were met by a father and son making coffee on the windy peak. Ah, nothing like a lovin spoonful on the top of a snowy Virginia summit. I'll have to admit, I was a little jealous as I crunched down on my somewhat icy pb&j I had dropped in the snow.
The views were impressive and equally humbling. The flute playing did not work as well as it was extremely windy and the wind blew into the key holes, stifling any sound I was trying to create.

We decided to complete the loop instead of going back the way we came, which added another mile onto the hike. The snow was pretty deep in some spots making the hike more challenging, but definitely a lot of fun.
We stopped by Staton's creek, a micro creek flowing into the Pedlar River. This is a creek I paddled about a year ago with some friends from Charlottesville.

      As we snakedour way over the mountains via Rt. 56, we stopped at a small country store to grab a drink. Peyton ordered some mac and cheese. I'm not sure if we were both just so hungry from our hike, but it was by far the best mac and cheese I have ever had. Can't wait to go back there as it's about two miles from one of my favorite hikes- St. Mary's Wilderness. We continued past Spy Rock, Crabtree Falls, and The Priest on Rt. 56. Once we reached 151 we stopped at Blue Mountain Brewery to pick up some drinks for Joe's birthday party we would stop at on our way back to town. All in all, a good day hiking, driving some scenic byways, and of course, eating mac and cheese was the highlight.

The Savannah Cat

     The Savannah Cat is a mix between the African serval and a domestic cat. It really didn't gain its popularity until the 1990's. The first known Savanah cat was "achieved" in the Mid-1980s by breeder Judee Frank.  The F1 female resulting from this breeding was named "Savannah," and most appropriately, is the official name of this fascinating breed today. The breed was actually named after the savannahs of Africa: the grasslands from which the breed's serval ancestors originate. Savanah cats are considered one of the largest breeds of domestic cats. They can weigh as much as 20-30lbs. but most breeds weigh in between 10-15 lbs. The coat of the cat depends on the generation of breed. Some have a lighter coat wiht darker spots, and some have a dark coat with evry light spotty patterns across the body.
     Savannah cats are often likened to dogs in their loyalty to their owner. They can be trained to walk on a leash and even fetch toys. Owners are often impressed with their keen sense of intelligence. One of their most distinguished characteristics is their ability to leap up to eight feet from standing position. Savanah cats love water and often take baths with their owners..(kinda creepy- but cool).
Here are a few more pictures for your Savanah cat viewing pleasure:

Biking to Work

 The last couple of weeks, I have tried to be more intentional about riding my bike to work. There are many reasons, a few being the following: I only live about 2 miles away from work, so there is really no reason I need to drive; I use less gas in my car, I get exercise, I'm less likely to run errands over lunch where I'll spend money; I use my lunch hour to read instead of driving somewhere. Most of these are pretty selfish reasons to ride, except the eco-friendly part, I guess..
I was on a roll, four work day mornings in a row, and then this morning came. I looked outside when I woke up to see puddles of water and a cold rain falling from above. I had the rain gear, the bike panniers for an extra pair of shoes, flashing lights on my bike, and a beard..(don't know how that fits in, but it does). Was I going to "brave" the elements all the two miles two miles to work. Yes, I did. It felt invigorating. Was this the first time I've rode in the rain? No, but for some reason, it felt really good today.
Although I wish the above picture is what this morning's commute looked like, I'm afraid it looked more like this, without the cycling partner:

Doc Watson

 As many of you know, Doc Watson is one of my favorite musicians. I think part of music appreciation includes knowing some background about the artist or group you listen to. Where did they get their inspiration from? Was it from their childhood experiences, a mid life crisis, an old truck they had, or a psychadellic trip they took?
When I first heard of Doc Watson, I was actually driving through his home state of North Carolina, on Doc Watson highway. For me, the mountains of North Carolina make me think of a certain type of music- bluegrass. North Carolina is home to many bluegrass groups- Red Clay Ramblers, Kickin Grass, Paul's Creek, and others.
Now, a bit about Doc- The sixth of nine children, Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson was born in Stoney Fork,Watauga County, North Carolina on 3 March, 1923, to Annie Greene and General Dixon Watson. When he was born, he had a defect in the vessels that carry blood to the eyes. He later developed an eye infection which caused him to completely loose his vision before his first birthday. He was raised, and still resides, in Deep Gap, North Carolina.
Early Days of Playing-
Doc has said that his earliest memories of music reach back to his days as a young child being held in his mother’s arms at the Mt. Paron Church and listening to the harmony and shape-note singing. The first songs he remembers hearing are "The Lone Pilgrim" and "There is a Fountain." Singing led to an interest in making music and Doc says that he began "playing with anything around the house that made a musical sound." At about the age of six, Doc began to learn to play the harmonica and from that time was given a new one every
year in his Christmas stocking. Doc’s first stringed instrument, not to include a steel wire he had strung across the woodshed’s sliding door to provide bass accompaniment to his harmonica playing, was a banjo his father built for him when he was eleven years old. His father taught him the rudiments of playing a fretless banjo, the rest Doc learned by trial and error.
Soon after, Doc borrowed a friend's guitar and was hooked from the first chords he learned. It was only days later that Doc was holding his very own Stella uitar his father bought him from Sears.
Doc is 88 years old and still on tour each year. I had the opportunity to see Doc last year in Arlington, VA.

Below is one of Doc's finest- Deep River Blues

Change of Pace

 I've decided as part of my blog, each week I will do three things: Introduce a figure in history- they may be dead, alive, from anywhere in the world, famous, ordinary, bearded, well-groomed. Next, I will introduce a creature of some sort- bird, butterfly, mammal, fish, etc. Just some characteristics that stick out. And finally, I will introduce a quote, song, verse, phrase.
 We'll see how it goes.

Documentaries

What are a couple of your favorite documentaries? Some feedback would be awesome.

Last Saturday, Nate and I took off from Richmond headed for St. Mary's. We had both hiked the wilderness several times, never completing the "loop" on many topo maps we've looked at. We arrived to find most all of the creek running thru St. Mary's completely frozen. WE had a full day of hiking up past the falls, as well as boulder hopping through the creek bed. I brought my flue in the bag my mom handmade me for Christmas. The bag definitely was handy for hiking. We stopped various places along the trail to play the flute and offer up some melodies. We have so much to be grateful for. I am reminded every time I am in nature of all that I take for granted so often. Virginia has some amazing views to behold and I feel lucky every time I am able to get out to enjoy the beauty. Below are some pictures from the hike:

 A couple nights ago, a couple of the guys came over to play some music. Ended up with a bigger group than expected. Having a couple extra guitars is never a bad thing. By the end of the night, we had a menagerie of instruments to include guitars, a mandolin, a banjo, acoustic bass, accordian, bongos, and even a turkey call which made it's first bluegrass debut. Thankful for music, creativity, instruments, and friends!