Girls weekend: Bolar Mountain

Last weekend I met up with my friends Nikki and Mia from Charlotte for a weekend of adventure in southwestern Virigina. Of course it was full of mishaps; for starters there was even less cell phone reception than any of us had expected, so meeting up was interesting. There were at least 40 miles of no contact before we got to the campsite (the closest town was Covington, VA), and our intended campground was full. Luckily I had just given up and started the drive back toward Covington as Nikki and Mia driving up the windy two lane road going toward the visitors center, so we found each other pretty quickly!

The first campground being full actually worked out in our favor; we continued around to the northern shore of Lake Moomaw (yes, that is really the name) to the Bolar Mountain Recreation Area, where the Boy Scouts had *just* finished clearing the campsites. We were the first ones to camp in our particular spot! But just as we paid our fees and started setting up camp, we were hit by a torrential downpour. Luckily I have a tiny, simple tent that went up in less than five minutes so I could help Nikki and Mia with their enormous and complicated one (and of course get soaked in the process).

We did some swimming, outdoor cooking, hiking, and hanging out through the weekend. The campground is gorgeous and well kept, and the lake is clean and refreshing - I highly recommend it! The top left picture is from the Grouse Point overlook, and the bottom one is the Twin Islands overlook . I, of course, ended up getting bitten by three ticks and have been itchy and on antibiotics all week just in case. Still, definitely worth it.

Speaking of camping, I am leaving tomorrow to volunteer in the infirmary for a week at Camp Holiday Trails, which is near Charlottesville, VA; will update when I return!

--jess