Autumn in the Shenandoah Valley

We try to make it out to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia for vacation during peak fall foliage time each year — a chance to breathe in the cold mountain air, watch the colors change and reset as a family.

We stayed this time in Massanutten (a census designated place), in the heart of Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Much of the attraction to this area centers around the ski-resort, however during the fall time it served as a great base for us to explore the surrounding region.

Massanutten, VA

One of the first adventures took us to the Massanutten Story Book Trail, located in Shenandoah County. It was a short, paved hike about 0.7 miles long. It was perfect for our family with kids of ages 5, 2.5 and 8 months. The trail is paved and very accessible for the most part. There are numerous boulders and a wide array of oak species to explore. The view at the end is pretty spectacular – with Shenandoah National Park in the far distance. We took this trail on in late October and I was surprised that there were a lot of gnats about, so be sure to pack some bug spray.

Parking area for the Story Book Trail. These mountain mites are ready to explore.
The view atop the Story Book Trail. Shenandoah National Park is visible in the far distance.

One of the highlights of our trip for the kids was visiting Showalter’s Orchard and Greenhouse in Timberville, Virginia. On a weekday, we found that we had the orchard mostly to ourselves. The kids got to enjoy some donuts, cider and apple treats. The trees in the orchard were packed with apples and were low lying. Fuji apples were in season at the time and the kids had no trouble filling up the bags. Old Hill Ciders are also pressed and made at this same farm in Timberville. We were blessed with spectacular clear skies.

The Massanutten ski resort area still had plenty of activities for the kids in the off season. There were playgrounds, ponds to fish, a water park, trails to explore, restaurants and even an area for gem hunting. The kids were never bored.

On our way back home, we made a stop in the small town of Gordonsville, Virginia for a lunch break. A local recommended The Jackson and Company Market and I’m glad that they did. It was a chilly fall day and it was the perfect place for the kids to warm up with soup and for the grown ups to have coffee. With a population of approximately 1500, the main street was where all of the action seemed to be. Shops were busy and people were getting ready to put up the town’s Christmas lights. There was even a blacksmith shoppe that we unfortunately didn’t have time to check out, but I guess it’s just more reason for us to come back to the mountains. We’ve been coming to the Virginia blue ridge and Shenandoah for years, and maybe we’re just simple folk, but it just seems like there’s endless things to see, do, and enjoy in this special place.

Main Street of Gordonsville, Virginia
A warm place for soup, quiche and coffee. The Jackson and Company Market in Gordonsville, Virginia was perfect on this chilly fall day.

In traditional dad fashion, I filmed our trip on my trusty a6000. I’ve had the camera for 8 years, and it’s still going strong.

White Oak Leaf

In the shenandoah valley, autumn rain falls on our cabin. Sitting inside, I got a great view of all the different oak leaves falling. I shot this leaf with my telephoto lens. No tree represents Virginia better than the white oak.

Shot on sony a6000 with sigma 100-400mm

Planting Oak Trees

We’ve been eyeing a dying chestnut oak tree on the side of our house for some time now. The size of it’s base is formidable and stands as a reminder of its once splendor. Over the years, the base of the tree had been hollowing out and it was time to bring it down, especially as the rains and winds approach. The kids watched in awe, as the tree surgeons dismantled this once magnificent tree. They asked me several questions: how old was it? why did it die? how long will it take for a new tree to grow here?

Chestnut oak leaf, autumn is here.
Firewood and lumber for days
Oak canopy

So, to help answer their questions, we decided to raise some oak trees from the beginning. This was the perfect time of year for it – the time when the soft thuds of acorns hitting the ground could be heard echoing between the trees. The kids gathered acorns of 3 varieties, white oak, chestnut oak and red oak. After conducting a float test to see which ones were viable, they twisted off the caps and planted them in jars with soil. It could take anywhere from 4-6 weeks for the acorns to germinate, depending on the species. Somer species of oak will not germinate unless exposed to cooler temperatures such as the red oak acorn. We will keep these in the refrigerator to simulate the ideal physiologic environment.

In the mean time, we got to work trying out a cross cut saw. I recently purchased a Lynx 4′ cross cut saw for simple tasks around the property that would not require a chain saw. Safer and also a whole lot of fun. We cut a cross sectional cookie slab, and the kids got to work counting the rings…..104 in total! This tree had been around for more than a century. We applied a generous coating of pentacryl (a wood stabilizer to it) and will let it dry for another season.

Chasing frogs
Lynx 4′ crosscut saw. A lot of work, but a lot of fun.
Pentacryl is wood stabilizer, it can help reduce “checking” as the wood dries. Wood “checking” refers to the splits and cracks that happen when the wood shrinks as it dries. Wood shrinks much more along the growth rings (radially) than it does across the rings (tangentially), so this can lead to cracking or “checking”. Pentacryl is applied while the wood is still green to help stabilize the wood. In many cases, the checking of wood is unavoidable.
104 year old chestnut oak slab with pentacryl applied. I will let this dry for another season before planing and sanding. It could make a cool charcuterie board or table/stool.

So while we wait for the acorns to germinate, the kids have learned a lot about oak trees, and their livespans and how like all things can be susceptible to disease. An adult tree could provide enough oxygen for 2 adult lifetimes. With the felling of this tree, we hope to raise several more in its place. Time will tell! Stay safe and healthy out there everyone.

Awaiting germination….
This is a neat Timelapse I ran across online.

Horizons of the Outer Banks, North Carolina

The Outer banks, a string of barrier islands off the mainland from North Carolina is a slice of heaven. We come here every year. I was lucky enough to be able to spend two weeks here this past summer. Here are some of my favorite shots of the horizons of the Outerbanks. Shot on Sony a6000.

Beach in Nagshead
Nagshead
6:00am, Nagshead
Finished for the day
Sunset
Crimson
Storm approaches
Town of Nagshead

Old Town (1929, 17′ OTCA) Wood Canvas Canoe Restoration – Part 4 – So it begins…

With the final weeks of summer upon us, I’m glad to say that we’ve finally broken ground on canoe rebuilding. I’ve been delving into the depths of wood canvas canoe construction books, YouTube videos, discussions forums and phone calls, to figure out the next steps. Of course, we spent a lot of times outdoors as well. It’s been a pretty mild summer in Virginia thank goodness.

We spent a good amount of time, first doing some careful demolition. Removing one piece at a time to get to the guts of the canoe. The outwales were rotted for the most part, these came off pretty easily. What was left of the stem bands and the keel were removed next. I was just amazed that overall, the wood seemed to hold up well, despite being stored in the Virginia elements uncovered for several years.

We had to cut out some of the old bolts to remove thwarts and seats.

The keel proved to be rather tricky to remove because the heads of the screws were corroded. Once upon a time, they were flat heads. Using a utility knife to carefully score out the old slot and then a few gentle raps on the head with a hammer loosened it enough to get purchases with a screw driver. Another approach would have been to use a Dremel tool to basically create a new slot in the screw head.

After numerous trips to lumberyards, Facebook marketplace searches, I made the decision to purchase my lumber already milled from a canoe builder. When it comes to Old Town Wood Canvas canoes, why not go straight to the source. Island Falls Canoe in Atkinson, Maine is run by legendary canoe builder Jerry Stelmok. He wrote the book: The Wood and Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide to its History, Construction, Restoration and Maintenance (1987). I had a few pleasant discussions with him on the phone and after a few weeks, our supplies arrived! It was like Christmas, boxes of white cedar planking, ribs, new thwarts, tacks, bolts, canvas and much more. We also had to acquire some new tools as well as a clinching iron, purchased from Northwood Canoe Co.

One of the issues I ran into, that I haven’t really come across in any of the discussion forums or videos, is the fact that probably 80% of the canoe plank tacks were so severely corroded that they were literally falling off the canoe. When the canoe was first constructed, eastern white cedar was used to plank the canoe. These are thin 5/32″ thick boards that were steamed and tacked onto the ribs to create the shape of the hull. After 90 years, most of these were literally popping right off! As a result, the planking unstable. To preserve the shape of the hull, I started removing these corroded tacks and placed a few tacks to stabilize the hull, until they can be addressed properly. I did NOT fully clinch these tacks.

Clinching basically means that these specialty tacks (designed with a taper) are hammered into the plank and into the rib. A large piece of iron (the clinching iron) is held against the rib on the other end where the tack would exit. As the tack is exiting the rib, the tack hits the clinching iron and it curls upon itself back into the rib. The problem with working with nearly 100 year old white cedar, is the risk of splitting the planking. So to prevent this, I wetted the planks with water and then steamed it using a fabric steamer. Some people use irons. This softens the wood, making it less brittle, and less prone to splitting. The thwarts and seats were relatively easy to take out, once again, corrosion left very little to work with for the nut sand bolts. I ended up cutting several of the bolts to get the seats out.

My son got to work cutting out the old cane, and we stripped the old finish and got to sanding. The seats seemed to still be in decent shape and we worked on bringing them back to their old glamor. We were actually working on the seats while we waited for the lumber to arrive from Maine.

After a few trips to the local lumber mills, I decided to purchase my lumber, right from Maine. Island Falls Canoe, in Atkinson.

Once the hull was decently stabilized, we were now looking at taking out the stern, stem of the canoe . This is especially difficult to do, because the canoe was essentially built around the stem. This area of the canoe is especially prone to rot. In many scenarios, only one section of the stem would need to be replaced (perhaps 1/3 or 1/4 of the stem). There are different ways to scarf the new stem into the old, however, gauging from the amount of rot, I knew I needed a whole new stem. This is the part I’m working on currently.

Was it necessary to fill all of the old tack holes in the ribs? Probably not, but it gave the shop mites something fun to do.

It is becoming more apparent to me that there is no cookie cutter way to restore/rebuild a wood canvas canoe. I found this interesting posted on the “Wooden Canoe Heritage Association” YouTube channel. It details the restoration of an “Old Town Ruston” wood canvas canoe. Through watching these videos, I gather different types and tricks to help with my restoration.

Interesting video posted on the WCHA channel about the restoration of an Old Town Rushton.

The weather has been getting milder and we spent many grand days outdoors. My daughter was able to go on her first canoe trip and I do believe she is hooked. She is asking for her own paddle like her brother’s. We will probably have to carve one of those as well one day. Alas, fall is approaching and we are ready for more! Stay safe and healthy everyone!

Taking my daughter out for her first canoe trip this past summer.
Canoeing in Pocahontas State Park, Virginia.
Side projects keep the kids interested. Like this canoe sign made from a CNC machine.
Fall is approaching with cooler temperatures. We are looking forward to spending more time in the shop.

Box Turtle Hatchlings

I never would have suspected that the bottom of our dogwood tree would the site of a turtle nest. It is actually a high traffic area for the kids so I’m not sure when a female would have found the time to dig a nest and lay her eggs. Nevertheless, life somehow found a way.

My son was the first to notice a small hatching, crawl out of the soft dirt. Behind it, the earth seemed to start to crack and cave, as others behind it began to stir. There were remnants of leathery egg shells and tracks out of the hole. I was amazed at how mobile these little guys were right out of the gate. My suspicion is that they are Eastern Box Turtles however I will need to investigate closer. The kids got a huge kick out of it, and they were mostly amazed that the eggs were here the whole time. The nest must have been deep enough for the soil to blunt the impact, because this was a heavily trodded area. It was an inspiring thing to see.

This little guy is scurrying off to explore this huge new world.