"SUNSHINE" Stories: 2017 Fall Camping - Week 1: Shenandoah NP and the Blue Ridge Parkway

Week 1

Thursday, September 14, 2017 We’re Off!

After completing our final chores, we left from the Woods at about 1030 hours. We arrived at the northern entrance to Shenandoah National Park and the famous Skyline Drive at about 1430 hours. At about 1630 hours, we pulled into site 9 at the Lewis Mountain Campground at MM 57. We quickly unhitched and leveled the Scamp 13 (aka Lucky 13).

In about 1/2 hour we were back on the drive headed north. We decided to have dinner at the Skylands Lodge at MM 42. The day became overcast causing the spectacular views from the myriad overlooks to be somewhat muted.

There were plenty of White Tail Deer on the side of the roadway and frequently, cars would stop to take pictures. We even took a shot of two young bucks banging their antlers together.

Dinner was nice, but my toothache prevented me from enjoying it to the max. I was a bit chilly too. Sadly, we forgot to pack our sweaters. We thought about purchasing a couple of sweatshirts from the gift shop, but the prices are sky high.

Friday, September 15, 2017 Toothache, Big Meadows Lodge and Rapidan!

My toothache caused a change of plans. We went to a nearby (within 30 miles) Rite Aid in Elkton, VA, to get a prescription for Penicillin that my dentist faxed to them. After an initial dose of 1000 mg, I thought it was working. The pain was gone, replaced with a lethargy that made me feel tired. The trip to Rite Aid knocked out our planned Meadows hike. Too bad, that would have been nice, but frankly, I was in no condition to enjoy it. We were able to lunch at Big Meadows Lodge and had more food than we could eat! The vegetarian chili was delicious.

At 1400 hours, we boarded a minibus for a ranger led trip to Rapidan, the “little White House” used by Herbert Hoover. I was still very lethargic and couldn’t really enjoy the trip. I got some pics, but I was glad when the trip was over. I think we returned to the Boyd Visitor’s Center at about 1730 hours.

Saturday, September 16, 2017 Loft Mountain and the Mother of All Toothaches!

We left the small but quiet Lewis Mountain Campground this morning and after a short 23 mile drive, we entered the Loft Mountain Campground, the largest CG in Shenandoah NP. The Ranger expected the CG would fill up today.

My tooth really started to bother me. In fact I rated the pain to be a 9.2 on the Richter Scale. We abandoned our plan to visit Monticello in favor of finding a pharmacy and a dentist. The folks at Rite Aid in Waynesboro sold us all kinds of stuff and suggested we go to the local hospital because they provided dental care. That turned out to be false, but the combination of Ambesol and Quick Relief Tylenol knocked the pain down to a reasonable 1 or 2 on the pain scale. After a stop at Panera Bread for a bite to eat. We headed back to Loft Mountain so I could lick my wounds.

We’ll try to get dental care on Monday.

Sunday, September 17, 2017 Monticello or Hang Out at Loft Mountain? Neither… Read On!

We’re up at 0200, then again at 0400 and 0700 and finally stayed up at 0900. We had oatmeal for breakfast and my toothache seemed to weather the onslaught of food particles. I rinsed with Listerene and applied some Ambesol and felt pretty good! We decided to explore the area, but as we were putting our hiking shoes on, it clouded over and started to rain. Hey, maybe it’s just a passing shower!

Well, the showers stayed with us into the early afternoon, so we decided to head back down the mountain to check some things out for tomorrow’s attempt to find a dentist who could do a root canal rather quickly. I’m not feeling good about this, but I can’t go on with the pain and, even though home is only six hours away, my dentist there can’t see me until the end of the month. I'm hoping to find a really good dentist so I can get a root canal as a trip souvenir! Along the way, we unsuccessfully tried to transmit some medical information.

We made it back to the campsite and I lit a fire from a nice stack of wood I found earlier this morning. It was very nice of those campers to leave it for me, don’t you think? As I was lighting the fire, the neighbors adjacent to us introduced themselves. After exchanging pleasantries, they went back to their site. About ten minutes later, I got the Uke out and started playing some tunes. Our neighbor Mary happened to walk past in search of water, and upon hearing the Uke, got a big smile on her face. She offered that she had her travel Uke with her. A few minutes later, she returned with her Mahala tenor Uke and some song sheets. We had great fun strumming and singing a few songs.

After forty minutes or so, she retreated to her site for dinner. We enjoyed Anna Marie's fabulous bean salad, sat around the campfire until the embers were all that was left. Once in the Scamp, we played a few games until bedtime.

Monday, September 18, 2017 Finding a Dentist!

We left Loft Mountain with the purpose of finding a dentist in Waynesboro who had time to “squeeze” in a root canal. We found Crowder and Crowder, DDS, who said we could come in at 1500. We lunched at Panera Bread and set up camp in the Staunton KOA, about 15 miles from the dentist. We arranged for Ocean Family Dental to email the x rays of the tooth.

We arrived at about 1440, welcomed by a friendly receptionist. I completed the required paperwork and was escorted to the examination room by PA Christel. She was very pleasant and professional. Shortly after taking notes about my situation, Paige Crowder, the dentist came into the room. She introduced herself and and some discussion, we agreed the she would to a root canal and a temporary cap, leaving the permanent cap to be done when I get back home. She also mentioned the the decay might have compromised the tooth, but we won’t know that for sure until she “digs in.” “If it is too deep, we might have to extract the tooth. I didn’t like that option at all!

Much to my chagrin, it was necessary for her to pull the tooth. I was dejected! I went back to the camper with a mouth full of gauze and a prescription for Tylenol 3. Anna Marie filled that promptly for me. Once back in Lucky 13, I just relaxed and rested for the rest of the evening. I was in too much pain. I was sad to have lost that tooth!

Tuesday, September 19, 2017 Not a Lot of Fun on the Blue Ridge!

We left the KOA at a little after 1000 hours. At about 1030, we stopped at a McDonald’s for breakfast. I need soft food, so I thought scrambled eggs might do since syrup on pancakes didn’t seem like a good idea. The scramble egg was a circular fried egg that they use on breakfast sandwiches. That’s what passes for scrambled eggs after 1000 hours!

Afton, VA, is the southern end of the Skyline Drive and the northern beginning of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We are going end-to-end yet again (Note: They have a club and Facebook page for “End to Enders.”) Humpback Rocks is the first southbound Visitors Center. We stopped for information and to walk around the old farm, typical of life on the Blue Ridge back in the day.

We drove to Otter Creek CG (mm 61) on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I needed food, and wanted to make scrambled eggs. Since we don’t usually eat eggs, we needed to buy a few. Before heading to the Peaks of Otter CG (mm 86) (they have a camp store), we stopped at the James River Visitors Center. The Ranger told us where to get a fishing license, where to fish and where to buy eggs. That info allowed us to stay at the Otter Creek CG.

I whipped up the eggs and they were delicious! After our late lunch, we lit a campfire and enjoyed the fine day. I was a bit wobbly while setting up the trailer. This lightheadedness is becoming a concern.

My lightheadedness seemed to get worse as the day went on. In the evening, I expressed to AM that we might be heading home tomorrow. After analyzing the situation, I concluded that the Codeine in the Tylenol 3 might be the culprit. I stopped taking it and about eight hours after the 1300 dose, I began to feel a difference.

Wednesday, September 20, 2017 Peaks of Otter and Dr. Paige Crowder Follow-Up!

I’m feeling a little better this morning so we’re continuing on our journey. We decided to vacate our nice, quiet campsite at Otter Creek. Even though I bought a fishing license, we thought it better to move down the road to Peaks of Otter CH, a distance of 27 miles.

On the way, we stopped for a short hike along the James River to the lock.

Dr. Crowder called (how cool is that?) as we were getting back into the car. She asked how I was feeling. I told her I was feeling fine and that there was still some swelling. She said the swelling should begin to go down today and that it might take a few days to vanish completely. She directed me to call her if there were to be any change in my symptoms.

We had nice lunch at the Peaks of Otter Lodge and visited the local stores. Later in the afternoon we returned to the Lodge grounds to walk around Abbott Lake.