RV decorated for Halloween We arrived at Pocahontas on the first of the month ready to get to work on our final Cabin Work Week. (No. Really. This is the last one.) This year’s project would focus of transitioning the responsibility of the cabins to local volunteers and maintenance. We had a few opportunities to break away. Once to take a ride with Troy and Taylor and once to volunteer with Andi at her Pinelands restoration in Sussex county.
On the Tobacco Heritage Trail Riding the Trail
We enjoyed a day with Troy and Taylor, doing double-duty as chauffeur. We picked Troy up from the high school after his SAT, before heading west to South Hill and the western end of the Tobacco Heritage Trail. After a quick lunch, we put the bikes on the trail and headed east toward the Meherrin River. The first few miles of the trail are paved.
We enjoyed a day with Troy and Taylor, doing double-duty as chauffeur. We picked Troy up from the high school after his SAT, before heading west to South Hill and the western end of the Tobacco Heritage Trail. After a quick lunch, we put the bikes on the trail and headed east toward the Meherrin River. The first few miles of the trail are paved.
Stopping for a snack But shortly after leaving the small town of Brodnax, the pavement disappeared and not too much further, we decided it was time to take a break and then turn around. What the kids hadn’t realized was that we had been going downhill for quite a while. So, the trip back was a bit harder than they had thought it would be. While we didn’t make it all the way to the Meherrin River bridge, Troy only had a few miles left to have covered the whole trail from South Hill to Lawrenceville.
We made it back home just after their mom and dad, and enjoyed some time around the campfire before heading back to Pocahontas.
We made it back home just after their mom and dad, and enjoyed some time around the campfire before heading back to Pocahontas.
Dave talks to the Timbersmiths Project Work
Our time at the park was laser-focused on this final Cabin Work Week. We had the opportunity to transition the cabin maintenance to a local volunteer group, the Timbersmiths. So, we met with the group a couple of times to give an overview and develop plans for training sessions. The rest of our time was spent surveying the cabin sites, purchasing supplies, coordinating camp sites and a myriad of other details for the project.
Our time at the park was laser-focused on this final Cabin Work Week. We had the opportunity to transition the cabin maintenance to a local volunteer group, the Timbersmiths. So, we met with the group a couple of times to give an overview and develop plans for training sessions. The rest of our time was spent surveying the cabin sites, purchasing supplies, coordinating camp sites and a myriad of other details for the project.
Marguerite powerwashing the fireplace benches at 3rd Branch The Timbersmiths had planned a work day at a cabin group for mid-October, so we helped get them ready by ordering supplies and getting the decks and benches pressure-washed so they could be stained. Midway through the month, Joe arrived and began working intently on a cabin that was serving as storage near the Office. By month-end, everyone was referring to it as Joe’s shed.
2nd Branch Bathhouse One task took much of our focus during the month, as we tried to understand the scope and limitations that would guide the work by the special projects team. The work was to be focused on the interiors of the 2 bathhouses in 2nd and 3rd Branch, but this was not our usual supply list. Working through issues with our team lead and the park staff, we were cautiously optimistic we could make a significant improvement in these 2 buildings.
Our site survey didn’t reveal too many surprises – until we visited the Weyanock Lodge. Cathy moved a stack of chairs to try to look into a closet and felt the floor boards give. They were obviously thin. A review by the park staff confirmed the damage, since their foot actually went through the floor. So, the question as we started the project was whether this would even be something we could attempt to address. The unseen damage could be extensive.
Our site survey didn’t reveal too many surprises – until we visited the Weyanock Lodge. Cathy moved a stack of chairs to try to look into a closet and felt the floor boards give. They were obviously thin. A review by the park staff confirmed the damage, since their foot actually went through the floor. So, the question as we started the project was whether this would even be something we could attempt to address. The unseen damage could be extensive.
Dave, Andi and Cathy after work at the Pinelands Planting for Restoration
We reconnected with Andi, the former volunteer coordinator at Pocahontas when the first Cabin Work Week was initiated. She was quick to invite us to volunteer with others at her new work site, a tract of land managed by The Nature Conservancy near Sussex VA. We drove to almost literally the middle of nowhere and luckily managed to find the right place, along with 4 other volunteers whose ages ranged from early 20’s to 80. Our job for the day was to plant native grasses to recover some farmland, part of 10 acres that Andi is actively managing to help restore the Virginia’s native longleaf pine population -- a naturally fire-resistant tree.
We reconnected with Andi, the former volunteer coordinator at Pocahontas when the first Cabin Work Week was initiated. She was quick to invite us to volunteer with others at her new work site, a tract of land managed by The Nature Conservancy near Sussex VA. We drove to almost literally the middle of nowhere and luckily managed to find the right place, along with 4 other volunteers whose ages ranged from early 20’s to 80. Our job for the day was to plant native grasses to recover some farmland, part of 10 acres that Andi is actively managing to help restore the Virginia’s native longleaf pine population -- a naturally fire-resistant tree.
Andi, Dave and another volunteer look over the recently planted grasses. We worked hard to plant several hundred plants before time ran out. We then took a tour of the property before heading back to Pocahontas, about an hour away.
Our scary pumpkin man on top of the RV. Dave vs Squirrel
Our campsite at Pocahontas appears to be near a nest of squirrels that love to run around on our roof. Amazing how creatures that small can sound like a heard of elephants when running around above your head. But it wasn’t the noise from their feet that was worrisome, Dave was concerned more about their teeth, and what on the RV they might find to gnaw.
So, he tried scaring them off by beating on our ceiling when we heard them. That seemed to have little effect. Next, he would charge out the door and climb the ladder to the roof to yell at them. This was problematic, since they would start early in the am, and we weren’t always around the RV. So, he stepped it up a notch.
We have 2 inflatable Halloween decorations. Dave decided he would put one of them on the roof of the RV. Maybe the scary pumpkin-man would be a deterrent. To try and ensure this, we made up a 2nd set of eyes and a mouth that would face the woods and stare down the squirrels.
Our campsite at Pocahontas appears to be near a nest of squirrels that love to run around on our roof. Amazing how creatures that small can sound like a heard of elephants when running around above your head. But it wasn’t the noise from their feet that was worrisome, Dave was concerned more about their teeth, and what on the RV they might find to gnaw.
So, he tried scaring them off by beating on our ceiling when we heard them. That seemed to have little effect. Next, he would charge out the door and climb the ladder to the roof to yell at them. This was problematic, since they would start early in the am, and we weren’t always around the RV. So, he stepped it up a notch.
We have 2 inflatable Halloween decorations. Dave decided he would put one of them on the roof of the RV. Maybe the scary pumpkin-man would be a deterrent. To try and ensure this, we made up a 2nd set of eyes and a mouth that would face the woods and stare down the squirrels.
Dave yells at a squirrel through the Blink app on his phone. Again, this seemed to have little effect. It was time to up the game with a high tech approach. Dave bought a set of Blink wireless cameras that he could position at 2 different spots on the roof. They were set up to give him an alert when motion (aka a squirrel) was detected in their view. He could then view the live feed of the squirrel, and – here’s the best part – yell at the squirrel through the phone. You know he’s committed when you hear him yelling into the phone while shopping at Walmart, “Squirrel, get off my roof!”
Inflating the pumpkin man to scare a squirrel. Again, the squirrels quickly learned they were in no real danger from the voice. So, what to do? A trip to Home Depot yielded another tech toy. This was a wireless timer that Dave could control with the phone. He plugged our pumpkin man into the timer. Now, when the Blink camera alert sounded, he could inflate the pumpkin man and yell at the squirrel. They would surely run for cover. Well, sometimes they did, but often they didn't.
What could be better than a bucket of water? Finally, he came up with a very low tech solution. He got into the mind of the squirrel. What was it that they wanted on the roof? Apparently, it was the water that collected in the slide toppers after a rain. So, he started brushing the water off after a rain, and, more importantly, he placed a bucket of water on the outer edge of our site away from the RV.
Finally, the squirrels spent more time in the bucket and less on the RV. Problem solved with a free paint bucket and some water. But the entertainment value of all the more sophisticated approaches can’t be discounted.
Finally, the squirrels spent more time in the bucket and less on the RV. Problem solved with a free paint bucket and some water. But the entertainment value of all the more sophisticated approaches can’t be discounted.
Parting Shot
Love these colorful fungi when they pop up after a rain in the park.
Love these colorful fungi when they pop up after a rain in the park.
