Crabtree Falls Pt. 1

This weekend was spent at my favorite campsite in all of Virginia, Crabtree Falls! Me, Sean and three of our friends headed into the Mountains of Tyro, Virginia for one of the best weekends I've had in a long time - and the weather could not have been more perfect (hello, fall!)

We never go on a trip without our pups, and I think that even they had a great time! They are pretty much indoor dogs, but the more we go camping the better they seem to do adjusting. I also brought my natural, homemade bug spray that I'm constantly bragging about... we choose not to use heart worm or flea medication on our pups, so this was an absolute necessity (plus we use it on ourselves as well). You can read more about that here - it works wonders and doesn't leave your skin sticky and gross!

The whole weekend was pretty excellent, but there are two things that really stick out in my mind as the highlights. First, we FINALLY made it to the top of Crabtree Falls, a 5 mile hike (we count the mile walk to/from the campsite). When Sean and I camped here last year, we only made it about halfway up because it's pretty steep and draining. I cannot tell you how unbelievably good it felt to push myself and make it all the way - the view was definitely worth it! [holy moly, my legs are sore!]

The second highlight was coming back that night and cuddling up by the fire, sharing funny stories and laughing with my friends. It was actually pretty cold outside, and it was absolute heaven just hanging out and enjoying each others company!

We grabbed lunch in Charlottesville on our way home, and the pups have been sleeping ever since we left the campsite. We came home and watched the entire first season of Entourage and I took what could quite possibly have been the best shower in the known universe. After sleeping a whopping 11 hours last night, I'm still exhausted but riding off the high of this weekend! I wanna go back asap!

I suck at taking pictures when we camp because I'm too busy getting caught up in the stress-free-ness of being disconnected from everyday life. No facebook, no twitter, no cell phone services. Ohmygosh I love it.  But I did manage to take a few, and part two will be full of pictures that my friends took! Wait until you see the view from the top of the mountain!

1. our humble abode for the weekend   2. our 'backyard'! the campsite next to us caught a huge trout from this stream!   3. Sean & Sampson   4. Samps... passed out in the car :)

I hope you had a fun weekend as well!