I have arrived at Morris Hill Campground on the shores of Lake Moomaw just north of Covington Va. It is only a four hour drive from the house making it much easier.

The drive is still too long to commute and Interstate 81 is always a substitute for the NASCAR races held in this area. It is not uncommon to be passed by vehicles traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour. When that vehicle happens to be an 18 wheeler it can be an interesting experience as Tiny wants to wander all over the road. There are a large number of multiple vehicle accidents with a larger number of fatalities than in most places. I guess that I 81 is the primary truck route from New England to Mexico and everybody wants to have fresh produce in the North so it is important to people and the economy and of course to the trucking interests. The trucking lobby is still one of the more affluent lobbies and according to many sources truly controls the government agencies responsible for the maintenance and creation of Interstates that serve as the artery for these interests. I95 is not an attractive alternative because of the construction in the DC area.

It seems strange not to have Red with me but I will survive.

Last night the other camp host and I were sitting by the fire and we could hear what we thought was a Great Horned Owl bellowing from a close by tree. I never did get to see it but it was a eire sound.

I was set up by 1400 and working on the computer by 1700. The volunteer coordinator took me on a tour of the area, most of it quite familiar to me as I scanned the pictures of the area. The camp ground is located on top of a ridge overlooking the lake, the sites are nicely laid out with more than ample room. There are even hot water showers so I am in seventh heaven.

It was a nice day with the temperature climbing to 80. There is a front coming through tonight so it may be cooler and wet tomorrow.

I am going to hit the bed early this evening as I am tired and I know I am going to be on the computer all day tomorrow except for going on a hike if it is not raining. Thunderstorms are forecast which makes for poor hiking or anything else for that matter. It has been a long day so I think I will poop out earlier than midnight for once. After a while and especially when using an outdated prescription I will develop a headache

Day 2 - 2003-05-03

Beautiful sunrise this morning, there is something special when bright sunlight comes in through the trees and dapples everything with light green spots that shift and change with every breeze. After working for a few hours I went on a walk for an hour just taking pictures. I noticed the sky was beginning to cloud up and by the time I returned I could hear thunder in the distance. By 1500 we had a full-fledged gully washer complete with a fabulous pyrotechnical display put on by Mother Nature. Some of the strikes were very close to the camp ground - true flash-bang stuff- but I didn't notice any severe power fluctuations. I suspect the buried cables have something to do with that. I unplugged the computer equipment however just in case. The rain was very heavy for over an hour, the heavy drops were making a racket on the roof. I gave up after a while and just went to bed. It was a successful day, good pictures taken and a fair amount of imaging completed. Not that there isn't plenty left however.

Day 3 - 2003-05-04

Lord, didn't it rain. This keep up and I am going to start the search for Noah. It dropped over 2 inches this afternoon - it could be worse - I could be in Arkansas or one of the other states being plagued by tornados and other such jokes of Mother Nature. While we have had strong winds, we are surrounded by large trees which seems to ameliorate the impact. I see any number of branches down on the road yet I didn't really notice the wind other than by the noise. At least it hasn't interrupted power so I have been able to read and to use the computer continually. As much as I hate deadlines and other stress producers since retirement, once in a while there is such justification to push a project a little bit. Finishing this one imaging project is one of theses.

Later today I will walk to the nearest mountain to see if I can get cell phone coverage, there is nothing in the campground for Cellular or Sprint only ATT I am going to ask questions when I go to town tomorrow, that shouldn't be. If you get one you should get all.

Day 4 - 2003-05-05

Cell phones out here are something else. I can contact Verison using my Cellular One but they will not forward calls to other than Verison. The people next to me have Version but cannot contact them. Someone else has ATT and they cannot contact anybody. I have never had any problem like this at all anywhere else in the country.

Day 5 - 2003-05-06

Boy, did we have a couple of whiz bangs last night. Several times last night local trees were hit, I could see the burn marks this morning. I didn't see any trees come down or catch fire but it was noisy. The camp ground is totally empty for other than I and the other camp hosts. I guess we will have more people show up at the end of the week if the weather clears up a little. Other than the county sheriff folks coming through at night it is very peaceful, if you do not take into consideration the thunderstorms that is.

I haven't heard any flood warnings yet but I am sure that I will if this keeps up. I noticed that the streams were close to being out of their banks already so it will not take much more rain to really cause some serious problems in lower areas. The camp site is on top of a ridge some hundred feet above the water height of the dam so the drainage is good and if the water gets up this high Richmond will be under water as will be most of Eastern Virginia. I do not fear the train and the water, I would just like to go outside and get some real sunshine rather than the wet kind. As I will be going home after the

weekend I would like to have dry weather so I can tackle the yard and drive home in dry weather.

I guess I will return home on the 11^th and then return on the 15^th. That will give me time to take care of some of the Honey Do’s, some repair on the computers and Tiny and maybe even some on me. Getting back on the 15^th will give me time to prepare for Memorial Day weekend which should fill the campground completely. I will be doing compliance checking almost continually over the period of the day. I do not like to distrust people but even among campers there are people who do not want to pay the $8 a night. Of course many people feel that this is funded by taxes they should not have to pay anyway.

Day 6 - 2003-05-07

We have had three rigs come in so far, way below what was expected but it was a foregone conclusion that withy this rain it was not going to be crowded. It never ceases to amaze me how ill prepared some people are when they come camping, they just do not know what to bring. I think 75% of the tents leak like mad and there are few people with repair kits. Duct tape is fairly dependable but it requires a dry surface to stick unless the hole is so large that one can obtain surface to

I know there are some people sleeping in the rest rooms and others sleeping in their pickup trucks. I allowed one couple to rig electricity from my site so they could keep their infant of 6 months warm. I think that comes under the heading of serving your fellow man, or preventing a divorce or worse.

There was a poptop that had not been used for three years that the canvass had dry rotted and fell apart if you touched it. The young couple using it were soaking wet and gave up about midnight and I think went home. There was another poptop that had a tree limb come crashing through and just about everything was soaked. I invited them in for hot coffee but I noticed in the morning they were gone.

Day 7 - 2003-05-08

I am concerned about communications up here, if there is ever a life threatening problem  it would be very difficult to contact 911. Sometimes I can raise someone with the`radio, most of the time I cannot. Cell phones are next to useless and there aren't any land lines. Fortunately nothing has ever happened, even with the swimming down by the dam, but that will not last forever. I think I would have a real guilt trip placed on me or anybody else who has any responsibly if something happened and I couldn't get help in time and a child died.

I do not know what the legal liabilities would be but I would think they would far more than the cost of the land lines. Yes, I would like to have a land line so I could use it for Internet rather than a four mile hike but I am still thinking primarily about safety. Also I know that it is becoming more difficult to find volunteers to come stay at these locations if there are not land lines. Here across the lake which is operated by another ranger district there are land lines and other forms of communications. Strange setup, their camp grounds mostly have full hookups as well. Somebody wasn't thinking in doing the planning and budgeting or to use more current buzz words, thinking out of the box. It is only natural that folks that frequent both locations will discuss and wonder why the differences and of course they will use those facilities that match their requirements as closely as possible. The additional comfort would be worth the extra couple of dollars. And these people will talk to other users and the word spreads and attendance at those areas being found short will continue to decrease and income spirals downwards even faster.

Rain, rain and more rain. This is getting stale as I want to get outside to take pictures while there are still Spring blossoms out. There is also a chipmunk living in the wood log pile that comes out frequently to thumb his nose at everybody. He was having some problems until just recently, there were birds nesting very close to the wood pile and every time chipmunk stuck his head out he was being dive-bombed by anxious parents. Hatchling have flown away now so life for the chipmunk must be quite easier now. Given the number of predatory birds in the area that must be only relative however. I have seen the crows, ravens and hawks and have heard the owls at night. I am drawing a little low on food but I suspect I will last until I get home without going on emergency rations. I could even probably live off the fat of the land for a few of those days as long as I have plenty of fluids to drink to include those of processed grape or the various grains commonly used in those fluids that have become inhibitors.

Day 9 - 2003-05-10

Well, today I start taking things apart for the trip home tomorrow. I will attempt to be on the road before 0700, just after the fog should burn off, and be home by lunch time so I can start on attacking the lawn. It will be a busy few days as there are numerous small things to do, I will not have much time to visit and relax.

I am hoping that there is a day or two of nice weather so I can put a sealant on the roof. I was having major problems at Blacksburg with two leaks in the rear of Tiny yet here I do not see any leaking at all. I think that at Blacksburg the lot was not flat and the axles were twisted in opposing angles causing stress on the roof. Where the lots leans to one side so any water on the counter top immediately runs to one side behind the coffee pot and under the tissue dispenser but doesn't place any stress on the roof. If this continues I will do a heavier coat of the polymer on the entire roof when there is decent weather. That should cure the problem for a long time. I hate sleeping on wet sheets or stepping on a wet carpet barefooted or with just socks on. I guess I am becoming a softy in my declining age. Red is having a tough day of it, he doesn't like the rain at all.

The weather forecast is for decent weather so it should be smooth sailing, I hate being passed by a 18 wheeler with its plume of road spray and oil and other assorted trash that is used to protect the roadway. Of course it is worse in the winter with all the calcium chloride which really smears on the glass and usually cannot be removed without washing it off with a cleanser and rag.

Home, easy trip all the way. I left the campground at 0800 and arrived home at 1205. By 1230 I was attacking the lawn, which was 16 inches high in places, and by 1730 I had eight bags of clippings stacked for pickup. I discarded all the junk mail by 2100 and felt caught up. Tomorrow it will run errands day and have some minor repairs accomplished on computers and Tiny. I also need to get my ears lowered so I look less like a very shaggy dog.

I suspect that I will have to drive to pickup stepmother and dog and bring them back to Virginia. I think stepmother will travel to NYC to see mother and it isn't the greatest place to have the dog. I certainly enjoy having him with me, it is nice to feel needed and loved.

Day 11 - 2003-05-12

Round trip visit to Maryland, stepmother and dog. Of course I hit rush hour traffic both directions but no major slowdown. While I was there the neighbor and I replace several plastic fittings on Tiny, mostly door fasteners and compartment lids holders. Pop rivets are great when you know what you are doing. We all went out for dinner when Mimi came home from work. It didn't take me very long to fall asleep watching TV, I woke up and went to bed after midnight. Driving Tiny in heavy traffic for three hundred miles in heavy traffic is not my idea of relaxing. I suspect tomorrow will be spent receiving instructions regarding the care and feeding of Red and picking up food for him. According to stepmother Red is very selective about what brands he will eat; I have not noticed this. He is usually so hungry that anything disappears as fast as he can gobble it down.

The day was spent shopping as expected and loading Tiny with it. I know that I will forget stuff, I always do, but it is less than if I wait until the last minute. Senility or worse I am sure. I will also attempt to locate some software that I will load on the computers to speed things back up. I also need to pick up some consumables that I am running low on. I suspect that it will be eat at home night as Mimi has class this evening. I should vacuum Tiny but I do not know if I will find time. It is getting late. I also have to pick up external firewire hard drive that I use for backups The one I am using gets so hot I can scarcely touch it after it has been running a few hours. That can shorten the life expectancy of the drive substantially, I would hate to think just how many hours it would take to rebuild some of these files.

Day 13 - 2003-05-14

Back at the campground, easy drive back. I stopped at headquarters in Covington for a little harassment of the staff and then back up into the hills. Red played assistant driver for the entire trip, resting his paws on the arm rest and his butt against the seat and paid attention all the way. He will sleep very well this evening as he didn't take a break the entire way.

Tomorrow I will start the Blacksburg travel report and maybe even some of the imaging. I haven't done a travel report since last year so it will be learning all over again. There are many pictures to insert so I will be busy. There is a learning curve as there are many methods that can be used that result in the same thing. I have hours however thrashing around attempting to figure out which way is best and in many cases, how to have the pages look the same regardless of which browser and version is used. Then, if one is using AOL, that can mess things up another way. Standardization, despite Microsoft's attempt to standardize everything the way Microsoft thinks it should be , still is not the strongest ambition of the industry.

Day 14 - 2003-05-15

It started raining last night and didn't let up all day and night. There are flood warning all over this area of Virginia. The rain drops seem to be very large and just pound on the roof. Mix this with thunder storms and you get some idea of what I have been experiencing. There has only been one power outage and the only reason I knew about that is that the Microwave clock was just blinking at me. The computer gear was still functioning. thanks to the two UPS I have installed in Tiny. Wonderful things they are. I have been using them since we were in Europe and believe in them devotedly. Anybody who has a computer that they allow to run 24/7 is totally idiotic if it is not so protected. In this day and age not using them and a firewall is tantamount to disaster.

Day 15 - 2003-05-16

Imaging is completed for Prince William Park, I have to run a proof listing for them to look at. That should take about two hours but it will be a great time to take a practice nap or read. I see no need for the stress of deadlines around here. There is nothing worth doing today that cannot be procrastinated until tomorrow or maybe even the next day. What are they going to do - Fire me or reduce my pay?

Day 16 - 2003-05-17

The rain hasn't slackened that much, I managed to half drown myself walking down to the dam office and back. Even with rain jacket and pants I was soaked. When I get back I stripped and put on my warm fuzzy pajamas and climbed into bed. I am sure that dinner will be some form of hot soup, a hot drink or two or three then back under the eider down quilts for the rest of the night.

The forecast for tomorrow is more of the same, yuck! I hate to think about what it is doing for the lawn, Mimi will get attacked again when she goes outside to go to work. It will be a full day of cutting again. I feel bad as the grass needs a lot of work to recover from last year’s drought and there are some very large bare spots in the front where the sun just pounded on it all day.

Day 17 - 2003-05-18

No surprise, it has been raining all day again. No thunder storms so far so I guess that is a consolation. Nor has the power gone off so for these small things we are grateful. It would really be bad if we lost power as the humidity is so high. It has been in the 60s during the day dropping to the low 50s at night but 100% humidity all the time. When I returned from the Visitor's Center this morning I was just wringing wet to the extent that I changed clothes. I suspect there will be many disappointed people this weekend if this weather continues. It isn't all that much fun doing anything outside when it is raining. All of the reservation sites are booked and we have people arriving early for the first come, first served spaces. I do not know if it is in compliance with local regulations but I notice there are sites occupied by tents etc but no vehicles even as early as tonight. As far as I am concerned as long as they are paying they are not "reserving" the site. It would be almost impossible to police such a situation as people do stay out overnight fishing. If they are not paying then it would serve them right to have their gear stored at some location and maybe there would be no sites left. I know, I am cold hearted.

I do not know just how many people spend the night here without paying the appropriate fees but I suspect it is higher than it should be. I also doubt that it would be cost effective to spend a lot of money on compliance issues. It irks me that people do not pay but I have to admit there are people to whom cheating the government is a game and fun and something to brag about. Defrauding the government is stealing my money.

It should come as no surprise that it is still raining. I would not be too surprised to hear of land slides as the ground must be supersaturated. No impact on us here at the campground although an access road could mess things up for a while. I walked to the dam this morning and managed to get wet to my waist from the wet foliage but it was no worse than taking a cold shower. Red is doing well, he has figured out how to jump to the ground and then from the ground back up into Tiny. It took him a while but he does it easily now. Of course he just ducks underneath Tiny and then it is back inside and underneath one of my sweatshirts to get warm again. I guess he is as bored with this weather as the rest of us. If it was warm and sunny he would be outside looking for the sunniest and hottest spot. He does enjoy his creature comforts. Of course he can be a pest as he has for the last twenty minutes, it is his Milk Bone time which is is almost out of. I guess Thursday I will go to Walmart and pick some things up. I might even pick up a couple of steaks to grill over the weekend. It would seem almost unpatriotic not to have a grill going at least part of the time.

It hasn't rained all day but I suspect it will this evening. It was overcast early this morning but that burnt off by midmorning and it was a great day until 1600 and the clouds came back it. The forecast is for rain at night and then the`remainder of the week. Yucky! Red `spent most of the day by the picnic table stretched out on a piece of carpet just enjoying the rays. All he needed was sunglasses to really look like a "cool" dog. He wasn't even paying attention to the chipmunk or squirrel that roam the area. The birds were even closer to him, I had left out birdseed and these seeds were spread around quite a bit. The was one bird that was within a foot of Red and I thought there for a while the bird might try to walk on Red. I would love to have a picture of that. Red would have been several feet off the ground until he figured out what was going on and it would be a scramble to me for protection. I do not think he would appreciate the bird doing that. Just no sense of humor. I think I hear thunder very faintly, I hope it isn't a really noisy one.

He barked once or twice at dogs going by on the street but it was just too much effort. He would bark once or twice and then go back to sleep until he was thirsty, have a drink and then back to sleep .I hope he will be able to sleep tonight. I have been working trying to figure out how to make a digital CD from an analog audio source. I think I have followed all the instructions, the instrumentation tells me it is working but when I try the CD there is nothing. I will try one more time and then I will just watch a movie for a while until I drop off to sleep. I guess I am getting lazy or something.

Day 20 - 2003-05-21

Heavy rain started at 0230 and continued to almost lunch time. It was a real gully washer the entire time. Red would not go outside until it slowed down; when he did he stood in one place what seemed to be five minutes. Poor pup! It slack off sufficiently that I walked to the visitor's center and back to do my Internet. Ed Fiege still sends me large files that take forever to to download, it is easy to forget that not everybody has cable or DSL for downloading. I know I am guilty of this

more frequently than I care to admit.

The raining slowed down after dinner and Red and I did our compliance walk; he was quite frisky, he enjoyed being outside and doing all the sniffing he wanted without getting wet. We walked about two miles with Red probably doing twice that as he was going from one side of the street to the other sniffing for the most interesting ones. Once back it was a fast grab at food and then sleep. I can hear thunder in the distance so I guess his sleep will be interrupted as will mine. the folks next to me have a great grand fire going but I suspect it will not last much longer, once that rain hits it will go out rapidly. They have up a very large tarp for cover but it doesn't cover the fire area completely. At least there are no radios outside and not that many people. When I start seeing groups of twenty people at one site I know it will be a difficult night as everybody will be competing for attention

Day 21 - 2003-05-22

So far today is overcast and cooler than it has been. I had to put on my fuzzy outfit to stay warm. Red is back on the bed under the covers, he isn't going to get away with that for long, if I am up, he will be up. I am glad that I was up early as I have had two separate visitors, both on the same issue however. One lady just wanted to know why there isn't an emergency phone line here in the camping area, she is afraid for her kids who seem to be accident prone. I referred her to the district office in Covington as while I agree with her completely, there is nothing I can do except to report it. The gentleman who stopped by had the same questions, he has a severely asthmatic child that requires 911 calls frequently and he was upset that a public place like this does not have emergency communications. I informed him that ATT cell phones

do reach Covington, his response was that patrons should not have have to rely on privately owned communications. I referred him also to Covington. I agree with both of them. He was under the impression that there was a law that required emergency communications but I am not an expert in that area but he did look litigious.

Red can be a character, if he has been fed before taking him on a walk he can stall more than any dog that I have known. He has to check out every leaf and every branch. If I didn't feed him, it is a race to get back, he is out in front the entire distance and as soon as we are back he is looking for a place to go to sleep after he wets his whistle and eats. The hike before eating lasts almost two hours. Yesterday, he had eaten and the hike was almost three hours in duration. He just dawdled the entire distance, of course he probably hiked twice the distance as well. He sleeps well however even if he does both talk and snore.

Rigs have been coming in since 0630; at this rate we will be filled by lunch time. I have talked to a few of them, all are locals and have had experiences with arriving too late. Most are far more laid back than in our area in Northern Virginia and have an easy approach toward life. It is refreshing when compared to the hectic feeding frenzy of the larger metropolitan areas. I do not know how long I would survive as I have always depended on stress as a motivator.

The weather forecast just announced states that we will have rain most of the weekend. Just what we need. I have a scratchy feeling under my chin that makes me check for gills frequently. Red doesn't seem to care, he walks to the screen door and if it is rainy he is back on his chair in a heartbeat. If it is not raining and otherwise to his specifications, he is anxious to go outside and explore and do his thing. It isn't sunny at all today so he doesn't care if he goes out or not. He will dig under the covers and find a warm spot and stay there until there is a possibility of food or drink or maybe even some goodie.

Just returned from shopping, I know I have sufficient food for the both of us. They didn't have the small Milk Bones, I had to get medium which are larger than what Red is used to. He eats them of course without any problem but he looks silly. They had giveaway packages of the large size which are for German Sheppard and Saint Bernard's but Red didn't have trouble munching one of them. I will save the rest for an evening snack. He looks sillier than usual with the big bone half the size of his heading his mouth but he has a great time with it.

Much to my surprise we haven't had that many more people come in yet, I guess people are holding off because of the weather. The forecasts are not promising but little can be done about it. except complain. I just woke up from afternoon practice nap so I will take Red out for stroll. He will have another walk when I check for compliance later in the evening. I do enjoy talking to the people and I think it is good public relations as well. Most of the people that I talk to are"good ol' folks" that are enjoyable to be around; they are not pretentious or phonies such as one might met at more prestigious campgrounds.

I will admit that I am more apt to be listening to the latest country and western singer than I am to hear Wagner or Bach but one cannot have everything. Drinking is more apt to be Budweiser Classic than Chateau de Nauf but it is honest appreciation rather than some of the phoniness that one can see in a better restaurant. It appears that many if not most of these people have worked hard with their hands and have not lost that appreciation of life that come from that effort.

Day 22 - 2003-05-23

It rained last night after midnight but stopped before Red woke me up at 0500. He insisted that I get up and let him outside. And, as long as I was up, I might as well feed him and give him some TLC for putting up with me all night.the temperature is in the 60's and the forecast is for scattered showers. The last time we had that forecast all the scattered showers collected overhead and it rained all day.

There is a bass tournament this afternoon and I guess I will go down and take some pictures if it isn't raining. I assume there will be a number of the twenty and thirty thousand bass boats with a multitude of electronic devices to discover where the bass are, what they are eating and maybe even what they are thinking. There is big money involved and a win can make the entire season. I guess I should turn on the radio and attempt to catch up.

I do not enjoy the local radio, they will play the same twenty songs fifty times over the day. This gets very boring. It may very well increase ratings for the singers - if you want to call it that - and maybe local revenues but after a while the mind becomes saturated and the music just fades into the background as does the advertising. I think the methodology is counter productive for anybody who can think. There are only two stations that I can receive and they sound almost identical. I was receiving a Public Broadcast Station but it faded and I have never been able to get it again. I think at Massanutten I should be able to receive my favorite FM classical station from D.C. I hope so. If I have to listen to Aguilar singing many more times I will break down and throw the radio away.

I have just marinated some steaks, it would be unpatriotic not to have burnt steak on Memorial Day Weekend. I will fire up the small grill and charcoal this afternoon, I might even have a bottle of red wine with it - lets live it up. Think big! I will not go so far as to have a Bud Lite and I know I do not have any good beer with me so I will not be able to be the All American Boy. Shame on me, I also do not drive a pickup truck that doesn't have a muffler and that I need a step ladder to climb up into the cab. Do not have a shotgun either and I have a foreign dog with me rather than a coon hound. I just aint with it.

It has started a drizzle which isn't good news for the fishermen. It isn't all that great either for the mothers that brought 10 children and are staying in a 10 x 10 foot tent. Kids, and mothers, do need to get outside and run to they are exhausted. Then there will be a little time lapse there in which to relax. This one kid I saw had a backpack of electronic toys unusable out here as there isn't any electric hookups. He was pestering his father to go buy a generator. I hope not as they are noisy during the day and unbearable at night. I know that Assateague there was one loop of sites that were generator free and I

had to call the police when this one clown insisted in using his after 2200. I think he wound up with a $100 fine. It was a costly lesson for him but I doubt that he learned anything. His type rarely do, they just hire lawyers that eat up money anyway as they think they are above the law.

It has been dry most of the day, I noticed on the walk back from the dam that more sites are full but there are still a number of empty sites so the weather forecast is scaring people away. The fewer people the quieter it is, the quieter it is the more I enjoy it. I am sure Red enjoys it more when it is quieter as well. If it gets noisy he tends to bark more. I have caught up with e-mail for the day, had lunch, read for a while and all is well with the world. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing special just totally relaxed. If it were earlier I would go hiking on one of the trails but it is getting later and the weather is still threatening. When I come back here in the fall I will have to hike-travel to more of the photogenic locations. Taking down and putting back up the computer equipment is time consuming and I am lazy. I do not want to have to do it again till I leave for home. I might have to of course if I run out of propane but I hope I have sufficient until Monday at least. I will leave on Tuesday for home I guess, that will give me two days before I have to take off again. Not much time but sufficient to do the lawn and a few other small things.

The weather remains rotten, it isn't raining but there is no sunshine, at least not yet anyway. It is foggy and that might lift after a while but I am not forecasting this. The camp ground is about half filled, the spots closed to the restrooms were the first to go. The bulk of the campers are intents, followed by poptops, then trail trailers with a few Class C RVs. I suspect that RVs do not come here because of the lack of hookups. There are two class A RVs but both of them are hosts and therefore have hookups. I am going to the dam earlier than usual, get back and do a longer hike that goes down along the lake for a while. Red will enjoy the exercise. He is already bugging me to go outside. I will take my camera but it will be wrapped in plastic and in my backpack. I do not trust the weather. It is turning muggy now as it warms up, I do not think it will be an outstanding day. I haven't seen any significant boats leave heading for the lake and only a very few people up and stirring around. From my camp site I do not see any camp fires so it appears many are just sleeping in, I do not blame them at all, great day for it.

Something I have noticed and which bothers me a little bit. I do not believe I have seen a single minority family here in the camp ground. This is not limited to the National Forest but to the National Parks as well. The government is not reaching out with sufficient strength to reach these groups. I feel that until such time that minorities feel comfortable in all environments that the US will have disharmonious relations between the minority groups. While I think progress has been made, especially within the government, just how much of this is "tokenism" or is perceived as this, I do not know. I do not know that answer, I do see the impact which I have learned to identify. I know we still have a long way to go as a nation, as a people, and as a international standard setter.

Whether one agrees with the policies of the current administration or of potential new administration, It should be more and more apparent that the world is looking to the United States to be its police department, more and more effort must be placed on being worthy of this.

I worked in the government for almost fifty years and have watched the system work We still have a long way to go, all of the communities must labor at it very hard as it impacts us not only domestically but in our international political and economic relationships as well. In education, with the emphasis being placed on affirmative action, which I think degrades the system creating disharmonious relationships aI feel that the value people place on any achievement in is the direct relationship between the achievement and what the value of that achievement is perceived to be, ergo what they paid for it, either financially or by effort. Gifts, I fear, have little value.

Off the soap box but only to ask the questions as to why minority groups are not participating in the volunteer programs. Is any attempt being made to reach these groups? I have not see nor heard of any such program. I see more international tourists than I do Americans of these minorities. Just a thought on my part, hope it might jog something.

I and Red went on long walk today along part of the lake, I guess it was about 8 miles up and down hill. Red is racked out completely, just a growl or groan once in a while .I may have to rub his leg muscles later. I do not know if he will make the nightly compliance check with me or not. I will have to check the both of us this evening for ticks, I have taken three off me already.

The day turned out to be lovely, sunny and warm. I guess one couldn't ask for a better day. I have the windows open to catch the breeze and the scent of burning wood and meat. I think will go take a shower and then think about what I want to eat. I do not want to use the stove as I am low on propane so I am limited to outside grill or microwave. I should have

Happiness is a long hot shower followed by a cool glass of wine and a tasty snack. It just doesn't get any better than that. Of course now I do not know if I will make the last compliance walk either. I am just barely moving. The compliance walk is just about a mile.

I did do the compliance walk and so did Red. We groaned about it for a while but did it. Red has discovered that sites with children are more interesting than others as kids drop food or will offer food to him. I have to watch him continually or he plays vacuum cleaner. He is learning how to stick up for his rights, he will tell other dogs that he isn't going to get pushed around. There was a very large Irish Setter puppy that wanted to come over to play, he was rapidly told who was boss. Big Red stretched out on the ground upside down, and little Red went over to make friends, no problem.

I will have to clean this place up for a while while I make up my mind whether to go home, go to Covington to refill propane and return, or just stay here and suffer without hot water for two days. The radio forecast was inconclusive, possibilities of scattered rain showers. Talk about a waffle!

It is closer to 1300 and the sky is lightening up so I guess I will go to the dam, do the Internet and then make my mind up. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Too much stress for me to handle. Back from Covington loaded with propane so I am good for the night. It is now my intention to leave Tuesday morning so I should be home lunch time. I may even attack the yard at that time. I will have to re wash some dishes but no big thing. There is some sunshine so Red and I will probably take a long walk this afternoon. I need the exercise and I know I will not receive any from Red as it increases the sniffing possibilities.

Lord, it rained again last night, it was pounding on the roof so hard that Red wanted to be under me. While there wasn't any wind to speak of just the sheer energy of the falling water was sufficient to bring down tents and tarps sent up to keep rain from reaching tables and the like. Mother Nature had a field day, I am glad that I did not have my awning up. The rain slowed down at 0400 and the both of us returned to bed and sleep. Red and cold nose woke me up at 0730 as he had to go outside. Red can be very persistent aboiut waking up a person. That cold nose seems to be in twenty places at the same time, it is a great game.

It was very sunny until lunch time but now it is overcast again. I have never seen as changeable weather as I have around here. If you do not like the weather wait a few minutes as it will change. Many people have left the camp ground so it is much quieter. There are still a few families left but not many. I do not think I would want to be out on the major Interstates this afternoon. I 95 is probably backed up from Woodrow Wilson Bridge at the Potomac River to Federicksburg, I66 probably from I81 to Fairfax. I guess I could go over on I64 to Charlottesville and come up US 29 but right now I am content to stay here, listen to music, play with Red and generally take it easy. It is a rough life but somebody has to do it. Three or four days back home and I am ready to come back out.

Arrived home at 1300 on Tuesday, easy drive back with light traffic and light rain most of the way. It is great to be home but there is much work to be done before Sunday morning. Tiny needs a lot of cleaning. I am hoping that the lawn dries so I can cut it, it is almost a foot high in places. This means of course that I have to do it twice to do a decent job. I have to run errands so it will be minteresting.

Red has done little but sleep since he has been back but I wore him out the day before.