Encompassing 180 acres in the George Washington National Forest in Bath County, the Hidden Valley Recreation Area is one of our favorite places. It has a great, little campground that is managed by the best hosts, Toni and Judy, who work very hard to keep it clean and neat. The beautiful Jackson River runs through the heart of the valley. Originally a farm, the manor house is now an excellent bed and breakfast: https://www.hiddenvalleybb.com. “In the midst of the renovation, Warwickton was transformed into the set for the movie Sommersby, starring Jodie Foster and Richard Gere. The confluence of valley farmland, panoramic mountain vistas and historic architecture proved to be ideal for Hollywood and produced an acclaimed and much-loved classic.”

There are endless fields of wild grasses, plants and flowers. It is a paradise for rabbits, deer, birds and butterflies. I came across an area in the middle of the trail that had been dug out. It didn’t look like something a bear would do, but something had sharp claws, and it was very fresh. Around the corner, I found a large snapping turtle laying eggs. She was tired from her work, so I took some pictures and backed away as she headed back to the river. Two hundred yards away I found a baby snapping turtle, so more than one mother had been laying eggs.

We biked the beautiful Jackson River Scenic Trail that runs 15.3 miles from Covington, past the Gathright Dam into Bath County. A young bear ran across the trail about 50 yards ahead of me, up the steep hill, then turned around, sat down and looked back at me. I thought about taking a picture, but guessed it wasn’t looking at me, but looking for its mama, so I kept peddling.

One day we hiked almost all the way to Poor House Farm, then back down along the cliffside of the river. Martha does a lot more walking than I do, but we were both pretty tired when we got back. It was eight miles on a pretty hot day.

Of course there is always something that requires work. This time it was the refrigerator not keeping up with cooling. I took it apart from a door outside the trailer and found rust and a blackened burner. I cleaned the igniter and the burner tube. I didn’t see how to remove and clean the stack, but I banged it with a rubber mallet a few times. Surely there were some stink bugs in there. When I put it back together and fired it up, there was some smoking – roasted stink bugs I suspect. Anyway, it worked much better. I thought it might need recharging the refrigerant, but on further research, you can’t do that with a gas refrigerator. If there is a leak or a gurgling sound, it requires a new back with all the coils…..or a new refrigerator.

Canada is a good place to be in the summer, but if you can’t do that, Hidden Valley is a pretty good place to be. Generally it is about 10-12 degrees cooler than Charlottesville.

Love this light. The light flips up or down. It has a light on the top, on the bottom and on the end. It is magnetic on the handle, so you can stick it on iron. It’s great for working on engines and a lot of other places. It is rechargeable and holds the charge for a long time. Now, did I put it in the truck or the trailer?

One day, we went over to see our friend, Pam Bracey at her beautiful place on the Cowpasture River. She gave us the grand tour on her Mule (the ATV type).

I look forward to the next trip to Hidden Valley and Bath County..