Woodland Turtles, part II

On day 5 we left the Smokey Mountains and drove North until we hit the Tennessee/Virginia/Kentucky border. Our next stop was Wilderness Campground in Virginia, within the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park. The park was first-come-first-choose, and we had arrived on Thursday. It was practically empty. We took out time cruising the park and inspecting most of the sites, weighing the pros and cons of each, before finally choosing one out of the way and near the bathroom, with a nice level area for the tent. After a quick trip to Middlesboro, KY to do some laundry, we checked out the visitor's center and Pinnacle Overlook, where you can see Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee at the same time. We were greeted that night by a faulty water heater at the bathroom closest to us, resulting in a hike to the next one for well-deserved hot showers. It rained lightly most of the night, but our tent managed to keep us dry.

Day 6 we awoke to a cold, cloudy morning. We did our best to warm up and then headed out hiking again. I was nervous about the wet conditions and temperamental weather, but everything went well. We hit Gap Cave, which was a very short hike to a very small, but historical cave. Back at the campground, we struck out to Skylight cave, which was large and much more fascinating.

--Mental note: Hand powered flashlights are great for finding your keys in the dark or lighting the path to a restroom at midnight during a half-moon. They're crap for caving. I made it back about 150 feet before the struggle to overcome irrational paranoia was too much and I decided to head back. I might as well have been carrying a Bic lighter. Next time I will not forget my Mag Lite. Guaranteed.--

Next was lunch, and then a problem: We had used half the day and all of the short trails. On top of that, Twerp was getting bored with hiking. I couldn't blame her, and wasn't about to push our luck. We packed up and took off on what ended up being a great drive way too far. We were headed to Martin's Station at the Wilderness Road State Park. Unfortunately, the website doesn't give the best pictures or description, so the first time we drove up, decided it wasn't the right place, and kept going.

That turned out to be an interesting twist of fate. As we cruised down the highway with no real schedule, my 10 year old daughter started asking me about politics. Not just simple questions, but real, inquisitive, intelligent, questions and concerns not just about politics in general, but the way people around her had been reacting to it. She knew there was something less than genius about adults saying things like, "If Obama wins, the white people are gonna be in trouble," etc. (and for the record it sounds like her mom had been pretty fair and was not contributing to the ridiculous comments, either). I did my very best to give her my most objective views on politics, race, the campaign process, primaries, the electoral college, and both of the presidential candidates. It was harder than I thought it would be not to interject more of my opinion, but I think I came across fairly balanced. The number one point that I did try to drive home, was that for the rest of her life I wanted her to question everything. I want her to be a thinker, not a follower, and that every big decision in live should be truly hers. She should feel confident that she has investigated an argument from every angle before committing to a side, and that the majority isn't always right. The most encouraging part was that it appeared she was already mostly there. It was in her, emblazoned in her DNA, and she was merely seeking validation that it was okay to feel differently from everyone else. That she wasn't crazy.

I don't think I've ever been more proud of her than right then (and she consistently brings home straight A's). We were cruising down the road, partially lost, and I was answering her questions about politics and philosophy. And all I could think was, "Keep asking questions - forever."

So eventually we found Martin's Station. It's very small. Being the history buff I am, I thought it was very interesting and engaging. After about 40 minutes, you've seen it all though. That left us with plenty of daylight. So I gave her another chance to blow me away with her maturity. We found a nice wide dead-end back road, and I let her drive the $31,000+ full sized truck. You know, blow off the rental agency, my insurance company, and surely several state laws among other things for a father-daughter bonding session. This was not a new event though. We have had several sit-on-my-lap-and-steer-while-I-drive sessions over the years, and this summer I had her shift my truck while we drove Now if you head to the California desert and you'll see kids driving dune buggies, 4 wheelers, motorcycles, and anything else off-road. There are few limits in off-road driving or boating, and even no minimum age for pilot training (16 for the actual license though), so I shouldn't be so surprised that she did such a great job and was fairly capable. I wouldn't turn her loose anywhere with traffic, pedestrians, parked cars, or witnesses though. ;) We practiced starting, stopping, accelerating to 25 MPH, gentle turns, and backing onto a driveway. All-in-all it was fun for us both and there were no flashing lights or damage to wayward yard gnomes.

Day 7 marked the end of camping, and we reluctantly packed everything and headed back to central KY. Thanks to my neurotic GPS which is much better for hiking trails than freeways, we went about 50 miles out of our way on backroads instead of back along the parkway we should have. By now I should know to always double-check it's routing suggestions. I actually prefer good-old paper maps, but that stupid contraption is so pretty and shiny that I'm compelled to use it. My daughter knows how to navigate with the paper road maps. I brought a navigator and used a gadget instead. Sound familiar, anyone?