Take me home country roads....

"Almost Heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River..."sang John Denver, and so did all four of us as we entered West Virginia about lunchtime. We struggled out of bed at 7am and managed to get away from the campground by 8.30. We got 'misplaced' once at Lexington, KY, but not a disaster, it just added some time to our trip. Both Kentucky and West Virginia are beautiful tree covered states, but West Virginia definitely has worse roads. So far we have done 381km today... we are about to pull off the interstate to treat the kids to McDonalds for lunch as they have been so good. During the long, long drive through WV we saw a few deer grazing by the side of the interstate, quite unworried by the roar of traffic going past.

Yogi bear & the kids

A fun game to pass the time while in a U.S.A restaurant: See how many times you can get the waitress to say 'You're Welcome' by saying 'Thank-You' to her.

Nearby river

Finally arrived at Yogi Bear Jellystone campground in Elkins, WV www.jellystonewestvirginia.com at about 5.30. We decided to stay for 2 nights instead of one, so we could all have a well deserved rest from driving! After dinner we decided to go on a 'Hey' ride which was kicking off from the campground's office. As we walked over there, Kate spotted Yogi Bear and was buzzing with excitement. Both kids dive-bombed Yogi and gave him a big hug. After that we jumped on the 'Hey' wagon (trailer with seats, towed by a little tractor) and went for a spin around the campground - the 'Hey' part comes in when everyone yells out 'Hey Campers!' as you putt past people sitting outside their RV's! Quirky!

Patriots

Sunday 26th August:

Lots of thunder, lightening & heavy rain last night, so quite muggy this morning. We all got to sleep in this morning, which was niiiiiiicccce! Took the kids exploring down by the river, which is picturesque, but New Zealand has rivers just as nice. We did spot some unusual butterflys - a very pretty bright yellow. No other critters spotted yet though. The lady from the office said they occasionally get bears here, and she said yesterday she saw a groundhog by the river - he must have been having a sleep in too, as he wasn't there this morning. After lunch the kids had a good swim and we played horseshoes with them. All in all, a lovely relaxing day.

Unusual butterfly

Kids by the river 1

Kids by the river 2

Kids & fake yogi bear

river by campground

Sharky, WV

tobacco fields in West Virginia

another river on the way

West Virginia sign

biking fun

Charleston, WV

Elkins WV

Josh & sharky

West Virginia mountians

dinner by the RV

Yogi bear campground

Having fun at the campground

Photo of the river that Kate took with camera

Playing Horse shoes

Fred & Josh - photo by Kate