Hike that started it all, part 1

Last May, as I approached my 18 month anniversary with my employer at the time, it was clear I needed a break. At each point where the going got tough, I'd put my head down to work through the situation, but things were just not improving. And this was despite the fact that I received two or three headhunter calls a week during my time there!

I negotiated a supervisory change, and agreed with my new boss on a turn around plan. Then Mary and I took a long weekend break to Shenandoah National Park, staying at the lodge in Skyland.

We left on Friday evening, making a stop to get a picnic dinner at http://www.italianstore.com/ and then drove the 1.5 hour route to the park and lodge. After checking in, we had our dinner on the porch of our room, watching the lights of the Page Valley come up.

There was a 1/2 mile walk to the taproom and restaurant in Skyland from our room. Here are some views of the part of the lodge we stayed in, the view from our porch, the restaurant, and the view from the restaurant.

On Saturday, we'd planned to hike, but it was raining on the mountain so we went down to Luray, where we enjoyed the Spring Festival. This past weekend was the year anniversary of that trip, and although we missed the festival this year, here is a link to the event: http://www.luraydowntown.com/festivals.html .

More to come, next post.

A moment for something important...

http://www.extremehomema2008.com/ (look for the Giunta family episode)http://www.middlesexbank.com/extremehome.asp?print=1

I dont know if this show on ABC is on your regular viewing list, but last night they featured the Giunta family of Maynard, MA...the story is that Paul, the husband and father in this family, was on the way to the hospital to meet his wife, giving birth to their third child at the time, and had a severe accident that nearly killed him. He was left with a tough road to climb - but he is committed to it and his story is one that continues to inspire.

At the time, Paul's brother Chris was a colleague at Booz Allen, and we worked hard to accommodate his need to be near the family after the accident. Chris had his own record of accomplishment - a USMA grad who went on to earn an MS in engineering - Chris eventually left Booz Allen to move to MA full-time, where he now works as a construction manager on a hotel renovation.

The ABC show was pretty moving and inspirational to see, and I wanted to share some of the info about this family's story with you.

Spring Flowers, episode 6

One of everyone's favorite Spring flowers is the iris - since I moved to the DC/Northern Virginia area, I have always looked forward to their blooming time, which is usually the end of April and beginning of May. That means that they are peaking in Alexandria, but just starting to bloom at the Hawksbill Cabin.

Our experience with irises started with a few stems at the little Linden Street townhouse - these two-toned violet ones. Starting with just a few bulbs, Mary has split them numerous times, continuously thinning them out. The result is they bloom profusely and we've been able to gift bulbs to friends. This year we have plenty in the yard, but also enough for this cut flower arrangement.

A few years back Aunt Rusti sent us a batch of bearded irises. She has a number of varieites planted in her garden in Raleigh, and she shared some of them with us. We've planted them and they are doing very well - this year it seems we will be splitting these bulbs too. The dark purple ones visible in several of the photographs are part of that group, as are these yellow ones, which have spread from a single stem last year.

Finally, we have three beds of irises out at the cabin, and we've been looking forward to their blooming to find out what we had. The color of this bunch was amazing, a red violet that tends towards orange or brown almost. Very pretty.

And there are still two beds that have not yet bloomed!

Spring Flowers, episode 5

When I took my walk around the lot last Saturday, the first thing I noticed was that the beautiful violet azaeleas were past prime, and had begun to shed their blooms. As I went around back though, I found a very nice surprise - these little red shrubs in full bloom. They only sit in full sun for a part of the day, but I still thought they might have already bloomed. Apparently they bloom a little later in the season than the others.

Back in Alexandria, the azaeleas are fading for the most part. We have this pink shrub that is currently in bloom, and some low white shrubs that are still a week or so from peak. In the background of the pink shrub photo are some irises - these will be the topic of a future post.

Also, as we drove home Sunday night, we took the old way, up US 211 through the Thoroughfare Gap in SNP. We noticed that Spring is still climbing the mountains. The trees have leafed out much of the way up but not all the way to the peaks. Also, the red buds there are just peaking, giving me the sense that Spring in SNP is about 3 weeks behind us in the Valley.

Nesting Hawks

Beginning about two months ago I started noticing a pair of hawks that were spending a lot of time in the pine trees around our yard. In this area, one quickly thinks that a raptor bird of this type might be a red tail or an osprey, but those are both species that are much larger than the birds I was seeing. I spent a few weekends observing them come and go and finally learned that they were nesting in this large pine tree, directly in front of the house.


I’ve decided upon reading the literature that these are sharp-shinned hawks (Accipiter striatus), which are described as living in a wide range of woodland and forest types, including our area, which is dominated by pines and other conifers, and includes some oaks and hickories. Here is a wiki photo I found of the bird.

There are several interesting behaviors we’ve noticed. First, during some parts of the day, one of the pair will station itself in one of the tall trees nearby, repeatedly calling with a “kawk” sound – very similar to a single squeak from one of Gracie’s toys. Yesterday morning, we heard this noise starting around 8am.

Also, as the parent (I assume this is the female) leaves the nest to hunt, the call becomes “kawk-kawk-kawk-kawk” – multiple repetitions, usually while in flight. I have watched the bird chase blue jays, and have seen it in the tree with prey in claw. The blue jay chase in particular was notable, as these hawks aren’t much bigger than jays – some books even describe them as jay-sized. I think the two here are slightly larger than that, maybe crow-sized.

The main prey is other birds. By the way, we took our feeders down when we first learned this, not only because of the hawks, but because we heard that feeders are bear-bait in our neighborhood!


I’ve been trying to get a photo of the hawks in action or in one of the nearby trees, but haven’t been able to. The only proof I have of them in the vicinity is a periodic feather, such as this one, which I found on the pool deck. More to come, as we try to determine how many nestlings there are.

Some Town Photos

Here are a couple of photos of businesses and attractions in Luray. These first two are of buildings near the center of the old downtown. Luray has long been a center of tourist activity because of the location near the river and SNP, an industry that was enhanced by the discovery of the caverns - now the economic engine of the town.

In a future post I will talk about local businesses and the murals that you see here, especially the Evergreen Outfitters that is located in the old Ford dealership - http://www.evergreenoutfitters.com/ .

Another item of interest is a little recreational facility that has been built along the Hawksbill Creek as it passes through the town. Appopriately enough, named "Along the Hawksbill," here is one of several parks that make a chain of stops along a paved walkway that is several miles long.

This rapid is the scene of the annual duck race during Luray's Spring Festival - see http://www.luraydowntown.com/festivals.html .

Spring Flowers, part 4

This patch of azaeleas have been blooming for the last week or so - we'd waited all Spring to find out what color they were. They have been trimmed in an interesting shape, one my mother called "old fashioned" - they call to mind an old oriental style. This view from the terrace looks out over most of them.

There is a little garden by the driveway as well that has been splanted with bulb flowers, including daffodils, snow drops, and other similar ones. There is a lilac bush there that I mistook for a crepe myrtle over the winter and paired back. Fortunately, it looks like it is going to push out some blossoms after all so we will enjoy it this Spring.


In bloom right now are these little bell shaped flowers on long stalks - there are three colors: blue, white and pink.

All in all we've been pretty lucky with the legacy plantings.

This critter showed up in the garden last weekend. We'd been waiting for the right weather to put him outside - it's a ceramic frog we found at 10,000 villages last winter. We originally bought him to position him over the septic tank, so we would always be able to point to it if it ever needed service. We'd had it serviced on the first day of owning the place, but the workers coming out had to find it first - with that done, we made a point of keeping an eye on where it is.


We later decided the frog is too small for this spot, and we moved him over by the azaeleas, where there was a place that seemed just the right size. This fork in the path leads either up to the brick terrace or down to the side entry of the pool.





















Now we have to revisit what to put in the original place. Mary has suggested a Japanese Lantern - again referencing the Asian look to this part of the garden. My idea for a wishing well didn't fly...after all, this spot is over the septic tank.

Stanley Fire Update

Blogger’s Comment (added November 2009): In November, the Hawksbill Cabin blog site was visited by Terry Pettit. He read some back posts and came across these two posts on the 2008 brush fire near Stanley. Chief Pettit was concerned that my posts may not have clearly emphasized the volunteer nature of the Stanley Volunteer Fire Department, the value of its contributions, and how it is organized to respond to these events. He offered some additional insight on the process and organization – clarifications I am glad to receive. I have included Chief Pettit’s comments in full at the end of the original posts – and I invite readers to be sure and read them as well. JT

Over the weekend, as we made our stops around town and picked up the local paper, we learned that the fire last week actually involved 1,100 acres. We were surprised that you could see the burned forest land from the Food Lion (or as I like to call it, the Food Line)...here is a typcially blurry phone cam shot.

A couple of things we learned - one, the fire took 30 hours to fight and get under control. Although it rained this week out there, there was a period of low humidity that was said to have helped the fire spread. Secondly, the paper corrected the story and estimated that the fire fighting fee would be around $10K as opposed to that higher figure.

I guess one reason for the fines is that the town's fire fighter force is all volunteers, and this is a kind of assessment to run the department (Blogger's note - be sure to read the comment from Chief Pettit below about the Stanley Volunteer Fire Department).

Chief Pettit's Comments: Jim, I was looking at your website and noticed a correction that needs to be made reference to the brush fire in 2008 outside Stanley. The Stanley Volunteer Fire Department is an all volunteer department and receives no payments from any call we respond too. Donations are accepted. The Virginia Forestry Department by law has the right and will charge you for the cost of bringing a wild land fire under control and extinguishing it. The money goes to the State of Virginia. During the 30 hours the Stanley fire department was on the scene of the Lucas Hollow fire the 25 members that responded all as always donated their time and the cost of fuel and supplies came out of our budget. The department’s budget is $125,000.00 per year and the county of page supplies $45,000.00 of that total, we have to raise the rest through donations, meals, events, etc. I hope that the people that read your blog understand that we did not receive any money and get the wrong idea that we do on calls. Terry A. Pettit, Stanley Fire Chief

What dogs do at the cabin

Well, the old girls don't like the ride out to the Hawksbill Cabin, but they do seem to be envigorated by the experience of being there.



Yesterday, Mary was doing a little chore hanging a picture, and she had the actual hammer in her hand, shown here on the left. Gracie, thinking it was the toy hammer on the right, charged in and grabbed it from Mary's hand...there's a saying in the construction trade, "dumb as a bag of hammers...."

Seriously, most of the day Gracie and Sofie lounge around the place. Here they are napping on the brick terrace. Hard to see it here, but Sofie is in an ever vigilant state.

Ex-Berliners Nostalgia Moment

Back to the Hawksbill Cabin in a few...


Many readers know that I was an Air Force Russian Linguist, stationed in Berlin from 1981-1986. While I was there, I lived on Tempelhof Air Base...an installation that has been in the news of late, to say nothing of its historical significance during the Cold War era.



There are articles in several of the major papers today reporting that citizens there have decided to close the airport. There is no surprise to this, even during my time it was hard to see how it could stay open, completely surrounded by the city. Most of the airlines have moved out to the other airports in the city, and a Dulles-like major facility is under construction there.


In any case, here are a couple of photos, one from the air, taken in December 2007, and another, showing one of the cargo planes - called "Candy Bombers" in the day - that flew in and out of Tempelhof during the Berlin Airlift. Both are AP sourced photos.


In the airfield photo, for three years I lived in a part of the bulding called H2 Long which is just out of the shot on the left center - until I moved to Washington, DC this was the longest I had ever lived in one place. Then for a year and a half I shared a two bedroom suite with Greg, aka Henry, in Head Building East, which is in the top left corner near the radar tower.



You can't quite make it out in this photo, but the building was designed to look like an eagle in flight from the air - it was originally designed in 1933 by Speer as part of the new Capital, envisioned by the Third Reich as the center of Europe. It remains the 3rd largest building in Europe, and by the looks of things, will be maintained as a historic building, although the airfield will probably be redeveloped.

Bold stream, forest views

Last Sunday during the rain, we took a drive with Chris, who was visiting for the day. We'd planned to work on the downed trees, but Mickey had taken care of that so we had free time.

We decided to drive through the George Washington National Forest over to Edinburg, Virginia - just north of New Market on the other side of the Massanautten Mountains.



There is a bold trout stream that runs through the woods, with a couple of choice campsites there along the way. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Now, the State of Virginia stocks these waters, as indicated on the poster below. The part of Hawksbill Creek that runs through Luray is also stocked, as are a few others nearby. I've heard they are pretty much fished out within two days of stocking. More info on the stocking program, including a stream by stream schedule, is at http://www.dgif.state.va.us/fishing/stock/troutstock.cfm ...it turns out that Hawksbill Creek was just stocked this week.

Spring Flowers, part 3

The last two weeks in Stanley have seen a profusion of dogwood and red bud blooms - here are two shots from around the Hawksbill Cabin.


In the first photo we have cercis canadensis - the Eastern Red Bud, which is a small tree that generally grows on the edges of forests, where it can compete with fewer trees for sunshine and nutrients. There are an awful lot of them in our area out there, and while they are in full bloom it is a beautiful show.


For my wiki research on this piece, I learned the following about the Eastern Red Bud, but I cannot recommend that anyone try this: "...The flowers are also used in salads and for making pickled relish, while the inner bark of twigs gives a mustard-yellow dye."




Next we have dogwoods, which have practically taken over the yard in Stanley near the house. I like these two, near the pool, for a couple of reasons, but have to confess, this may be their last year. The reasons I like them are that they are visible from the terrace and main room of the cabin. They've been a joy to see in bloom.



On the other hand, they have become overgrown with ivy, which at this point appears impossible to eradicate. Plus, on the left hand tree, the ivy blooms in late summer. This might be tolerable in the early spring - before the pool opens, but it happens in August. Leaves and flowers drop into the pool area, and there is the constant buzzing of bees doing their work with the pollen. So, it is likely they will come down later this year. Fortunately, we have quite a few others around the property.




Another beautiful site has been this patch of azaeleas. All winter I wondered what color they would be, and if they were all the same color. As a matter of fact, they are, and they began blooming just last week. Though the phone cam doesn't do them justice, it is a mound of color out there, very pretty in the sun.








Now who is this pretty little doggie walking through the posies?

Moving on - a wildfire in Stanley

Blogger’s Comment (added November 2009): In November, the Hawksbill Cabin blog site was visited by Terry Pettit. He read some back posts and came across these two posts on the 2008 brush fire near Stanley. Chief Pettit was concerned that my posts may not have clearly emphasized the volunteer nature of the Stanley Volunteer Fire Department, the value of its contributions, and how it is organized to respond to these events. He offered some additional insight on the process and organization – clarifications I am glad to receive. I have included Chief Pettit’s comments in full at the end of the original posts – and I invite readers to be sure and read them as well. JT


Last Friday morning, while I was planning my drive out to Stanley, I learned that there had been a fire nearby. At the time I read the article on the Harrisonburg TV station, the fire had burned about 10 acres. Tonight I learned that firefighters in Page County were working Saturday to put out the last remnants of the fire, which ended up burning 770 acres.

At first, the news said that the source could not be reported pending an investigation...we'd heard that there are stills around the area and were thinking that something saucy was going on. Turns out, due to low humidity this time of year, this was a litter fire that got out of control.



They say that if a fire like this gets out of control. the landowner has to pay the fees related to fighting the fire in Page County. They estimated these fees would run about $40K for this one. The Google Earth image points to the location of the fire, a few miles southwest of us.

Clarifying information from Chief Pettit (added November 2009): Jim, I was looking at your website and noticed a correction that needs to be made reference to the brush fire in 2008 outside Stanley. The Stanley Volunteer Fire Department is an all volunteer department and receives no payments from any call we respond too. Donations are accepted. The Virginia Forestry Department by law has the right and will charge you for the cost of bringing a wild land fire under control and extinguishing it. The money goes to the State of Virginia. During the 30 hours the Stanley fire department was on the scene of the Lucas Hollow fire the 25 members that responded all as always donated their time and the cost of fuel and supplies came out of our budget. The department’s budget is $125,000.00 per year and the county of page supplies $45,000.00 of that total, we have to raise the rest through donations, meals, events, etc. I hope that the people that read your blog understand that we did not receive any money and get the wrong idea that we do on calls. Terry A. Pettit, Stanley Fire Chief

Battle of the Species 4 - Snake in the Laundry

We begin with an article from Wikipedia:

“This species is a constrictor, meaning it suffocates its prey…though they do consume mice and rats, the Black Rat Snakes also willingly consume other snakes, chipmunks, squirrels, birds, and bird eggs. Adults can become quite large and are known to reach up to eight (8) feet…the record length for a Black Rat Snake is 101 inches (2,600 mm), making it (officially) the largest snake in North America. When spotted by humans, Black Rat Snakes may freeze and wrinkle themselves into a series of kinks. If cornered, they may attempt to mimic rattlesnakes' behavior by vibrating the tip of their tail, giving a buzzing low-pitch sound. Black Rat Snakes are usually non-aggressive, but may strike at anyone who tries to capture or harm them. They are non-venomous, and bites are not usually serious.”

So on Saturday morning, for the second time, I heard Mary say, “Jim, a SNAKE!” There it was, coiled up clinging to the wall in the laundry room. Further research will let you know that the rat snake is also a climber. I contemplated it for a moment to make a plan…I wanted to know, did it recognize me from last time? If I forcibly removed it from the house again a second time, would it remember and not come back?


Meanwhile, Mary dissappeared and I did not see her again until Sunday.


Looking around, I chose a weapon – a broomstick that I was able to quickly detach – visible in the battle photos here. I reached over the snake, still coiled, and unlatched the dead bolt from the back door, pulling it open. Then, I knocked the snake to the floor.


It was still sleepy when I took the first photo here…it decided to go hide under the dryer instead of the happy outdoors that I was showing it. I blocked it from the dryer, hooked it with the broomstick and flung it outside…only making it to the stairs. I needed some practice to perfect my flinging movement. Sorry for the blurry photo - this is an action shot!


Meanwhile the snake considered whether to go on upstairs and out into the sun, or whether the dryer would really be a better place for it to rest.


Nothing doing from my point of view, this time, I hooked it with the broomstick and got it all the way outside to the path, second photo. I believe this was the same snake we’ve seen three times now, first under the back shed during some demolition last Fall, and then again in November when it first came inside through the hosebib in the laundry room.


I decided this snake wasn’t going to learn anything after all, and that I was going to have to send it to the forest. From where it lay, probably another forty feet. I figured three flings would do the trick.


The snake was still not overly upset about going airborne. So I hooked it with the broomstick again, this time flinging it about fifteen feet. It landed and turned around to see what was sending it sailing through the air, this time noticing me with the broomstick. The displays above were all demonstrated for me, including the coiling – see picture three from Wikipedia, and the whipping tail. As I mentioned, Mary was not around to enjoy seeing this display.


As I approached, I figured two more tosses and this snake is in the woods. Just then, he struck at me. I dodged. He recoiled and restruck. I dodged again, but before he could coil for a third strike, I hooked him and threw him most of the way to the woods…only about six feet left.


Two more strikes – one time, he got a mouthful of broomstick – and then I hooked him a final time and got him to the woods. As with the last time the snake was in the laundry, it stood coiled to defend itself for a long time after I walked away.


About 15 minutes later I went back outside to make sure it was headed in the right direction – into the woods, not back into the yard – and so it was. It was moving slowly off, stretched to full length…we had a five footer there.


It’s gone from the yard for now. I have my misgivings about this, because it is a good thing to have this particular kind of snake around. I can only hope that he will stay nearby, eating our mice and helping keep other snakes away.

Deer Damage

Deer LOVE hostas.

That's what we have been finding out - at the Hawksbill Cabin, one of the main garden features has been extensive plantings of hostas all over the property. There are more than 50 spread in the various plantings around the house, all are mature and make for a wonderful display once they have fully leafed out and when they are in bloom.

We know that there are as many as four deer frequenting the hollow across the road from us, and from time to time we've seen them crossing the street into our yard. We already had learned from last year that they come up into the gardens to feast on our plants.

So far this spring they have been coming up, most likely during the week when we aren't there. The damage is confined to the plants along the driveway further down the hill, where the deer have been munching on the tender shoots as soon as they come up above ground.

We, and the dogs, are in the other parts of the garden too often to make those attractive, although if they are hungry enough and we are not around, nothing is safe!

Tree Clean Up

Our friend Mickey came out to clean up the felled trees last week. I was finding it hard to put the time together to get this done, so we decided to take him up on getting the two trees taken care of. As it was, I would be working on this project until April 2009...

Mickey cut both trees down into firewood sized sections, then moved them up to the garage/shed to cure for the summer.

For the branches too small to use for this purpose, he burnt in place down at the bottom of the hill, near the edge of our lot - preventing another "unsightly" brush pile.

This wood will need the summer season to cure, and then we will use it in the firepit during the fall. Also, I've offered a share of it to Chris, who will use it while camping in the GW National Forest over in the Massanautten range.

Preliminary Project List for 2008

In a couple of past posts I've mentioned some of our prospective 2008 projects. We've begun to make progress on two of them - estimates are in for completing the paneling in the addition, and the pool estimate is being put together as well.

Here is the list of interior near term projects, meaning they are the focus for this year.

Addition portion of the house:

• Insulate (to R18) and panel ceiling, panel over old adhesive mirrors, and add recessed hall lighting and outlet
• Insulate walls with blow-in insulation
• Install MBR door
• Install hallway closet doors
• Fix moldings on window vent and baseboard in MBR
• Relocate dryer vent (currently vented below house)

Original/stone portion of house:

• Relocate electric box and complete necesary rewiring
• Repair living room outlet near fireplace
• Install weather stripping on front door
• Replace kitchen counter lights
• Install new window A/C units in main room and MBR

And for exterior projects we have the following:

• Complete pool retrofitting and necessary repairs
• Relay bricks on front terrace and repoint retaining walls
• Remove built-in planter near pool and repave with bricks
• Replace foundation board on rear exterior of addition, install new flashing
• Remove remaining siding on facia boards, repair any damage, and stain to match the rest of the house
• Rescreen porch
• Repair carpenter bee damage on window and door frames
• Repair porch and ramp to rear entry where needed
• Replace exterior light fixture
• Install new drain cover at rear door
• Reattach downspouts to stone walls and bury new black drain tubes

There are a few prioritized long-term projects, but with the completion of this list we will be substantially far along with everything.

New Nats Stadium

My friend Dennis has been a season ticket holder with the Nats since their arrival in 2005. We've been to a few games together and they've really been fun - he has good seats in the new stadium and I am looking forward to joining him for a game soon. When we are able to get to that game, I'll post an update - his seats are very good, I hear.









It's still early in the season, and another friend, Yiming, was in town from Denver on business. Early in the week he asked if I'd like to join him for a game at the new stadium and so we went.





Over the years, since we met in language school in Monterey a billion years ago, Yiming and I have been to 20 or 30 games in various venues, including Baltimore and spring training - the Dodgers in Vero and the Astros in Kissimmee among them. We also took a week long baseball trip to Chicago in 1989 for the last O's game in old Komiskey, the All Star game, and the Cubs second half opener with the Dodgers.





Here are some photo highlights of our game last Thursday. The stadium is definitely an improvement over RFK, although the old stadium had its charm. I wasn't as impressed overall as I was with Camden Yards - there had been a lot of hype building up the new place, but I just didn't find it all that exciting.









Our seats were in Section 106, just inside the left field foul line. We were rewarded with a home run coming down in our section in the third inning, and being able to catch the first metro train home after the game.



Definitely had a good time and I am looking forward to catching quite a few more games here.

the beer I had for breakfast...

Well, not exactly - but hopefully my readers will join me in a sing-along to finish this line from the Kris Kristofferson song: "...wasn't bad, so I had one more, for dessert."


On Sunday morning we decided to go out for breakfast. We were up early and though we might beat the crowd to the Hawksbill Diner, but by 9:30 it was nothing doing over there. I counted 20 pick-up trucks in their lot, ensuring that every table was taken.


We drove into Luray, where the choices would be Uncle Bucks or the new place - Farmboys - which opened two months ago and has already established itself as stiff competition there.



We remain loyal to Uncle Bucks but enjoy both. However, as we rolled into town Sunday, we hadn't yet made a choice, until we encountered this sign.







It turns out that "Rednick Benedict" is a creative mixture of southern breakfast cuisine: a biscuit layered with a peppary sausage patty, scrambled eggs and gravy. And they dressed up the plate with an orange slice to boot. What's not to like?

Bridge Construction - part 2

Just as traffic was moved onto the new span over Overall Run, which I posted about yesterday, I started noticing heavy construction equipment moving into place at Jeremy’s Run, which is in Page County and only 10 miles north of Luray. Mary and I were concerned at what appeared to be a widening of US 340 – and impending development – a constant concern in what is mostly farm country.

There are also some pretty rigorous and spectacular hikes along these two tributaries of the Shenandoah – here’s a photo of the only waterfall on Jeremy’s Run. There are two 10-mile plus hikes along this stream that feature climbs, stream crossings, and other adventures.

It turns out that the JR bridge is a deck truss bridge, similar to the span that collapsed in Minneapolis last summer. It's a coincidence that the bridge needs to be replaced due to age on the heels of the other bridge's collapse. Page County transportation officials recently announced a $7.7 million VDOT project to construct a replacement, to be completed in 2009. In this case, the old span (built in 1938) will be demolished, unlike the one at Overall.

Bridge Construction

Since we changed our normal driving route to the cabin - we take I-66 to Front Royal and US 340 down, there has been an ongoing bridge construction project at Overall, right on the border of Warren and Page Counties. There have never been traffic jams here, although you must slow down because of the tight constraints on the road there.


This new route replaced how we used to drive out last summer - we may return to the old route as summer approaches - we used to take I-66 to 647 at Marshall, then US 211 over the ridge at SNP. Since this route goes through Thoroughfare Gap, a major park entry, we did encounter traffic there from time to time.


In any case, the bridge construction is nearly complete - the new bridge deck has been opened, but there are some final lane changes that need to be completed. According to the local Northern Virginia Daily, "The two-lane bridge about 10 miles south of Front Royal was needed because of the age and condition of the existing span."



Here is a photo from the paper of the new bridge.



Also of interest, 'The contractor won't destroy the old bridge because of its historical significance..."The Overall bridge is just one of two steel, arch truss bridges left [in the state]," said Bob Chidress, VDOT Luray assistant residency administrator, in January. "The other one is in Jeremy's Run in Page County."'


Passing under the bridge is Overall Run, which has headwaters in SNP and flows into the South Fork of the Shenandoah right next to the bridge. There is a popular waterfall hike in the Park that follows Overall Run, and Virginia DOT has included a pedestrian observation platform in the construction at the new bridge.

Carbon Dating

We've noted earlier what we know about the history of the little Hawksbill Pines neighborhood, that the original plan was to sell small quarter acre cottage lots for weekenders. We've learned that the developer was involved in the CCC efforts during the Great Depression, and some of the houses may have been built by the CCC'ers in training to build Shenandoah National Park. All of this is still heresay, we haven't found specific documentation.


There are more than 20 lots in the development - thankfully, it was never fully built out - and the vacant lots are either unbuildable or owned within the community. In terms of newness, there is the recently completed cabin next door to us, another dating to the 60's or 70's just up the hill from that, another dating to the 50's, and ours, which we know was build from 1949 to 1951.



How do we know that, you might ask? Fortunately there is an inscription on the concrete foundation in the stone portion of the house, shown here: "Thanksgiving 1949" ...



As I took a walk around the neighborhood yesterday, I took a closer look at the stone house that is currently for sale. It was built in either the 20's or the 30's and is a charmer. The lot backs up on some pastures, allowing a view to the north with both the Massanautten and Skyline ridges in view.

While I was in the back of the house, I found this hand built picnic area and stone barbeque pit...it is a nice surprise and reminds me of so many "greatest generation" projects I've come across. What you can't see in the picture here is a marble placque on the chimney, with the fellows name (I'm going to write it down next time and Google it) and the date the outdoor area was built - 1947. Pretty nice outdoor space all in all - for a family enjoying some well-earned recreation and relaxation in the Post War times.