another camping trip

at the beautiful Shenandoah National Park.
We left later than we meant to on Friday evening, and then hit traffic going out of town, of course. So we got to our campsite late, with just barely enough time to put the tent up and gather some firewood before it was dark. We had a little fire, and spent most of our time keeping w1 away from it, while trying to roast marshmallows. I had forgotten how sticky roasted marshmallows are...

In the morning, w1 found a rock to climb on:
We took a hike to this beautiful waterfall:
Then, we hiked to the top of the highest peak in the park, with a breathtaking 360 degree view. Almost to the top we met a ranger who told us about the peregrine falcons that they have been reintroducing to the wild. They had just released 3 more in the last week. And then we were lucky enough to spot them:
And speaking of wildlife, r1 claims that he saw a bear on the side of the road as we were driving. I'm not so sure. It could easily have been something else, a hiker wearing all black walking on all fours, an extremely obese squirrel, a sasquatch. And r1 is always making stuff like this up...

We did see plenty of deer, squirrels, and (more than enough) gnats. All in all, it was a great trip!