Clearing trails, staining, repairing wooden screens, planning for Cabin Work Week --- our tasks for the end of the month were varied and interesting. The work time was broken up by some fun time with the kids and grandkids as the summer drew to a close.

Fixing Up Hotel Pocahontas

One of the tasks on our list when we first arrived 2 months ago was to finish staining “Hotel Pocahontas”, a 2-bedroom furnished cabin, frequently used by state park officials when in the area. With all the work with the teens and trails, we didn’t get to start work on this in earnest until the YCC ended. It had been pressure-washed by a previous park host, who had also started staining the front, but there was a lot more to do.   

 As we inspected the work, we realized the rear deck had a hole in one board and a few others needed replacing. Also, several of the wooden screens had either rot on one or more sides or a hole in the screen or both. And many of the window sills had holes that needed filling. So, where to begin?.    

With 15 screens on the building needing painting in addition to the repairs, we decided to start on these with Brian. We helped him dismantle and repair the damaged screens, and then painted all of them in the process. We even got some help on this task from Troy and Taylor who helped by taping the undamaged screens to keep them from getting paint on them. Even rehanging the screens was not incident-free. Despite Cathy’s efforts to track which screen came from which window, this turned out to be only a guide, not a guarantee. We swapped screens between windows and changed hardware before getting all but 3 windows fitted with a snug screen. At that point, we had to trim the wood to finalize the fit. Apparently the thickness of the paint was just enough to make them too big. In the process, Dave discovered a missing board that was required to secure one screen. With Bob’s help in the wood shop, he cut a board to fit that did the trick.

We then turned our attention to the deck repairs, which proceeded quickly once the materials arrived. The next day, Dave mixed and applied wood putty to the various holes in the window sills. In one case, he had to re-build on end of the sill. With the repairs behind us, we continued with the staining work. It was obvious we couldn’t finish before we left, but we managed to put a dent in the work that we turned over to Brian and the next Park Host.  Dave did give Brian a deadline to finish the rest of the work – Sept. 30th.   

Why? Because we return October 1st!

Cabin Work Week
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At the end of October, 15 RV’s will be gathering to begin work to stabilize the group cabins originally built by the CCC in the 30’s. These cabins are unique within the Virginia State Park system and are in serious need of repair, with repairs needed to roofs and foundations just to keep them from beiing lost forever. However, the work to stabilize them will take many more years and more funding than is currently budgeted for the initial project.   

 Recognizing this, we spent time developing a fundraising video for this effort that the Friends of Pocahontas will use to help identify the need and seek ongoing funds for the materials that will make the repairs possible. You can check it out here: Cabin Work Week Fundraising. In addition, we submitted a “Preservation Pitch” to a competition sponsored by Preservation Virginia that might result in a $2000 grant if we are successful.

There will be more work weeks scheduled in future years, as well as local volunteers continuing the work throughout the year. We are optimistic that this project will be a successful one in keeping this part of history for future generations.

What Else?​

Early one muggy Monday morning, we arrived as requested at the pool. Despite the heat, we weren’t there for a swim though. The pool had closed for the season the day before to allow work to begin on the restoration of the pool house. To allow the contractor to start the next day, the fixtures inside the pool house needed to be removed and stored elsewhere. So we helped remove, move, and stack whatever we could. By the afternoon, our attention had turned to removing almost 2 dozen light fixtures that would be re-deployed elsewhere at the park. The next day, the contractor began on schedule. We’ll be interested to see the new building when it opens next year.

 And there’s always trail work. As the park prepares to open some new hiking trails, we continued the work started during the YCC weeks, cleaning up the trails rough cut by the heavy equipment. One Saturday, we joined a group of 3 dozen volunteers, sponsored by REI to cover ¼ mile of the new trail. We knew 2 of the volunteers pretty well – Adam and Droz. By early afternoon, the trail had been cleared of roots, smoothed and packed down, and the creek crossing had been “armored” with some seriously heavy stones. And the trail was one step closer to opening up to the public.   

Special Guests

Campfires, bike rides, and canoe trips. When we have that combination of activities, there must be a few grandkids nearby. We had the treat of a few days visit from Troy and Taylor and split our time between projects and some fun time. The kids were eager to help as well. And it gave us an excuse to enjoy one of the nicest days of the summer out on the water with the 2 of them. Later that week, Adam, Droz and his girlfriend Trinity joined us for an afternoon of bike riding. A last hurrah before we headed out and summer drew to a close.   

 The final 2 weeks of the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) at Pocahontas were productive and rewarding. Although Cathy was sidelined for much of it, Dave helped guide their efforts and built a relationship with many of the kids. Shortly after they graduated, Bonnie and Troy and the kids arrived for a few days of camping as their summer draws to a close.

YCC

Although the rain did its best to slow them down, this year’s YCC crew completed some big projects in their last 2 weeks. They cut a new section of trail and helped “armor” it, i.e., laying down 50-75lb stones where the trail crossed creek beds. They tore down 140ft section of fence and replaced it with a new split rail version. And in between, they removed invasive species, cleaned dining halls, and rose to any challenge given. On their field trip to nearby High Bridge and Twin Lakes State Parks, they enjoyed themselves biking and swimming in some well-deserved downtime. Graduation was a celebration of all they had accomplished. This year’s crew had bonded much more into a team than we had seen before.

 Dave also got the chance to operate a new “toy”. The Canycom machine moved the heavy stone down to their final location before the crew had to carry them to put them in place. He certainly had the easier part of the job.   

And then what?

As we freed up from the YCC, we started turning our attention to closing the funding gap for the CCC Cabin Week in October – November. We wrote and delivered letters to local businesses, e-mailed groups and businesses, and began to understand other venues like Gofundme and Kickstarter.   

 Cathy took on a sewing task, making 30 glasses cases for the new safety glasses set aside for volunteers at the park. We shoveled more gravel to remediate some low spots at a campsite, and attended our first Park After Dark planning meeting in preparation for this fun event in October. There’s always something to dig into.

Downtime?

We took some time for a goodbye dinner with Jayden before he headed north to his mom’s. And that weekend, Droz joined us for a couple of nights while his dad delivered Jayden. In return for a bed, we got the benefit of Droz’s culinary skills while he made his first pound cake. Not too bad for his first one. We look forward to the next one.

Bonnie and Troy arrived with their camper that weekend as well. We spent several days working in the morning and swimming in the afternoon or vice versa. Although the thunderstorms made it a challenge, we managed to get in at least one campfire complete with s’mores and a new treat of strawberries covered with marshmallow fluff cooked over the fire. The dutch oven dinner of chicken and roasted vegetables was yummy too.

 It’s been a fun summer, but we only have a couple more weeks before school starts and we will need to pull out for the month of September.