Our summer plans didn’t quite pan out and had to cancel most of our Summer 2024 adventures. So when we finally had real plans to get back into Talley for a week in August we were all beyond thrilled. It did start out a little shaky however because of the effects of hurricane Debby that ran up the interior of the mid-Atlantic region bringing with it high tides, wind and rain (most of which fell west of us). The main wind events occurred Friday (the day we were leaving) and our neighbor towards the entrance to Duvall had a tree fall across Duvall Rd blocking us in and severing power lines. Needless to say we were trapped until the tree was cleaned and we had power restored to the house.
The power came back on Saturday before noon and the tree was cleared. So we hopped in the truck and headed to our first stop, Riverside BMX in Cumberland MD where Ryder was participating in a couple races. The weather had a bigger effect on that area with lots of rain, cancelling the first day of racing. Since we were leaving mid-day we missed most of Day 2, so we were at a comfortable pace of arrival, setting up the rig for dry camping and then enjoying the evening in the field adjacent to the track. Ryder raced hard the next day, but unfortunately did not make his main event, so we packed up and headed towards our old stomping ground in WV. We drove right on through Davis (where we frequently stay) but progressed another half hour to Parsons for a private campground spot along a river.
Five River Campground is an expansive campground on the edge of town along the Black Fork of the Cheat River. A location I have read about many times in my Fly Fisher’s guide books and I can see why. I knew the moment we arrived that I would regret not bringing any fishing gear, but that’s ok… I’m sure we will return. The campground was founded around the development of a local Bluegrass Festival. Over the years, the campground and music festival grew enormously with this year hosting 140+ separate acts. The owners were down to earth, accommodating and easy to get stories out of and I’m sure there are many. We spent the next several days enjoying a significant break from the mid-Atlantic heat and I purposefully made sure I set aside time to sit on the shore and watch the water lazily drift by with nothing more than a book in hand. The boys frolicked in the water and explored on their bikes. We made a few outings into Parsons to explore as well as further back over the pass to Davis and Canaan for daytime activities, a couple mountain bike rides for me… and of course ice cream. Our week flew by as it always does but we vowed to be back.
