Color splashes across the sky as the sun slides down toward the mountain tops. This is the way to experience sunset. Sunrise ought to be amazing too. The low moo of cattle in the distance makes its way to our ears. We heat up our tasty jambalaya as we watch the darkening sky. There is a bit more light on the horizon than we anticipated but right overhead is dark and star filled including a huge swish of the milky way. That is the image as we lay our heads on our pillows. Rest is fitful as it is a bit chilly and Gilbert, a very ambitious and persistent field mouse, makes himself know through much of the night.

The brightening sky rouses us with the promise of our first sunrise. Cozy, wrapped in our warmest sleeping bag we prop up on our cots and pillows to watch the artwork as it is painted across the sky. Good morning world. What a way to wake up. Sun warms the cabin as we sip our coffee.

This evening sunset #2 is more of a “got dark” event. It is followed by a warm campfire and gooey s’mores.

Deer move near in the clearing around the tower. One snorts in irritation at Kent taking night photos. Stars blink in and out among thin clouds creating a marvelous night light as we climb under the covers, long johns and all tonight.

Our farewell sunrise is magnificent as the color sweeps all around us. What a fantastic ending to the stay.

Around 1PM we roll up to the State Forest office and meet Janet, our contact on this adventure from day one. She is the perfect ambassador for this adventure as she talks excitedly about the tower and area. She hands us our keys: after we sign a lengthy waiver that includes the admonition that we realize that there are steep steps and it will be dark up there. Guess they get city folks for this trip!? Off we go. The forest route is a bit rutted and rocky and there are more than a few switch backs, just about what we imagined. One last turn and I am anxiously watching for the first glimpse of the tower. Oh cool, a neat little white cabin on really high stilts. It looks perfect. Key one, that opens the woodshed with lots of dry split firewood, nice. Key two: that opens the padlock on the outhouse….didn’t think there would be plumbing up there did you? There is a picnic shelter and a nice fire ring. Time to see what is upstairs

For years Kent and I have talked about an over-night at a fire tower. The majority of the towers that allow overnight guests are out west and many with considerable hikes lugging all our gear and provisions. We found a chance to take baby steps with a couple nights at Thorny Mountain Fire Tower in Seneca State Forest nestled within Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. We still have to take all our stuff but can drive to the base of the tower. In July we booked two nights – late October – hope winter doesn’t come early in West Virginia. We have been anxiously looking forward to it ever since.

Prep – keep the provisions simple. We have a camp stove and open fire so limit “cooking” to heating soup and boiling water. There are S’more fixings of course for campfire night. There is no water on site so we fill thermos and water bottles plus a couple gallons of bottled water just to be sure. It is chilly so lots of sleeping bags and warm clothes. Lawn chairs are a must for our time on the deck taking in the views. Packing is just about like a tent overnight – without the tent!

If you have it, you wind up working on it! Today is moving day and everything has gone quite smoothly. It has been over a year since we loaded the car into the trailer but even that went without a hitch. Traffic wasn’t bad getting out of town and in just a couple hours we find ourselves settled into camp near Morefield WV. Kent turns of the bathroom faucet to wash up. The pump runs but no water comes out of the faucet. Only a couple causes for that: the tank is empty – we just filled it or the water is coming out somewhere else – not good. Turns out it is indeed the latter and Kent spends the afternoon doing plumbing work. I will let him share the gory details as he feels compelled. Suffice to say here that we once again have working plumbing.

We checked out pretty much every exhibit at the National Zoo. Lions prowled about. Leopards napped. Elephants paraded. The tiger roared – actually it is more of a bellowXmoan. Mama Panda snoozed and the youngest one sat and snacked on bamboo. A silverback gorilla showed off and the orangutan seemed to play with the visiting kids through the glass. There is an enclosure for a hairy screaming armadillo – I would have loved to see that creature but he didn’t make an appearance. I was surprised to find no bears – black, grizzly or polar; only a cool Andean bear and those adorable Pandas. I got my critter fix. Got my carousel fix too. I rode a lion!
To add to the fun, they have the ground decorated for Boo at the Zoo. Those are some really creative volunteers.