ocrwvdev, Author at Opossum Creek Retreat

Wet!!

I have an idea: volunteer vacation in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia!

There really is a thing called volunteer vacations/ voluntourism. You can sign up for trips to third-world countries online, and pay big bucks to do so. Lots of people do it every year.

Here is the great part: you don’t have to go to a third-world country to help. And West Virginia needs your help.

So here is the deal: you can stay in our really nice cabins, and we will give you 1 night free for every day you volunteer to help with flood cleanup. (There is some fine print to go with this offer— namely weeknights only, unless you stay for a full week, and it’s 1 free day per paid day.)

It will make you feel really good.

Volunteer part: We will help you get signed up with the local agency, so you have meaningful work to do each day.

Vacation Part: Then come back to your cabin in the woods to rest and relax. Take a river trip or some other adventure, and go out to dinner in Fayetteville.

Volunteer Part: Back out the next day to volunteer, because it made you feel great!

Vacation Part: Spend another night thanking your lucky stars and enjoying your cabin. Maybe head home after a morning zipline or Bridge Walk. Or just maybe do another day of helping out.

Warning! Some people get addicted to the volunteer work. (I have)

Most of the New River Gorge Area is up and running back to normal, minus a couple of trails and a backroad or 2. Summersville Lake is open again. We understand how the news would scare some people away. But it is not the whole state that got flooded, just some parts of 44 out of the 55 counties that make up Wild, Wonderful West Virginia.

Opossum Creek Retreat was unharmed by the floods. The latest numbers only tell part of the story, and many places will never be the same, never fully recover. The volunteer coordinators tell me they will need help throughout the summer, and in some places, much longer.

Come help. It will feel really good.

Halfway there. OUOUOU, livin’ on a prayer….

Almost halfway through the year, and Monday the 20th of June was the first day of Summer. That Strawberry Moon was amazing. (Kept me up. How about you?) Not to mention it was West Virginia Day, too. Oh, and the record-breaking heat wave out west— yikes!

We are cooler than most places. I am not talking about Fayetteville, WV, “Coolest Small Town,” and lots of cool restaurants that do farm-to-table. I am talking about the temperature.

The New River Gorge is a breeze machine. Yep! It is so big, it creates its own wind. We are up there (more than 2000 feet). That helps cool things off.

Your Cabin in the Woods is at least 10 degrees cooler just because it is in the shade of the forest canopy. Up here on the plateau, we rarely get over 90 degrees, and the nights cool off nicely, thank you.

Then we have lots of cool, cool waters: Summersville Lake, the Gauley River and of course the New River, although she gets pretty warm come August (but still very refreshing.)

It is half way through the year, and you need a break. Call us to book a cabin, and we promise it will be cool.

For the Birds

That’s what the next couple weeks are all about here at OCR! This week is bird banding class, next week is the legendary New River Birding and Nature Festival!

We just finished up a Beginner Bird Banding class taught by certified instructor from The Institute for Bird Population. This is an intense (too intense for me) week-long course that puts everyone through the paces. They learn everything they need to get a certificate to work under a master bander. This intensive, all-inclusive event is limited to 8 people. We have had this event before, and hope to make it annual. You can learn more; just call Keith at 888.488.4836.

This week is BIG in a small way. Small birds, small groups, big fun! The New River Birding and Nature Festival is a unique event that allows our guests to spend quality time with lots of birds and each other. Yep, bird nerds are social creatures in the right environment, and man, do we have fun.

The New River Birding and Nature Festival is in its 15th year. From the beginning, we have used the proceeds to fund educational programing for the Students and Teachers of Fayette County. Our flagship program is Leadership Fayette County. We also put on a week-long middle school academy and close to a dozen other events throughout the year.

We are very proud to be part of such an OSSUM event that gives so very much back to the community.

See you in mid-May. Till then, look at a bird and smile.

We will be.

Fools me, April

Every time! I am so gullible! The spring flowers pop out like these beauties I found while driving along in The New River Gorge National Park over the weekend.

And then one afternoon it is so hot I turn on the AC in my car and boom my mind, body and soul are falling all over themselves to get in summer mode.

And then it freezes and snows, and I walk out the door barefoot, and it feels like my feet just had the bottom layer ripped off them. And my mind, body and sole are confused: WHAT HAPPENED? How do I get my feet unstuck from the ground? I am afraid to move; it hurts! I have to move; it hurts! Where did I put my ski gear?

Anyway, I have learned how to help fix this cruel joke called April. I need some relief from this, and thought you might, too. My recipe for getting back at April (Not you, April; the month of April). All through April you would really get into this type of weekend.

MIND: It is tax time, and this weekend, you could use a getaway.
BODY: take a stroll on some of the 70 miles of trails, get a massage in the cabin, or soak for too long in the HOT TUB.
SOUL: Surrounded by nature and eating really good food in Fayetteville, WV and doing all of the above, the soul knows what to do.

We can only offer this until the 20th, because we are full after that until mid-May, because some folks have figured out just how OSSUM this time of year is here. One group is a Bird Banding Class and the other is the New River Birding and Nature Festival, which has a couple of spots still open.

Choose the package and take ⅓ off— yep, 33% off— because we are about ⅓ of the way into 2016.

Thanks, April. I needed that.

Ossum the opossum meme

Memes are kind of like fact checking the candidates. “Mostly true, and a very good sentiment” is how I would rate this one.

Don’t get me wrong! Opossums are very good at what they do, and mostly go unnoticed. (Except for on the highway; that they are not good at)

Do they eat lots of ticks and other bugs? Yes, and really any little thing they can catch.
Not often would they open your trash, but they will check out the open bag. (That was probably your dog or someone else’s, or maybe a raccoon or the crows and ravens. Yep, they do that)

Opossums are hidden in plain sight during the day under a rock or porch or in a hole in a tree, and only come out at night to do their good deeds.

I believe Opossums to have an inferiority complex. They are nocturnal, because they don’t think they look cute like their buddy the racoon (Who is also nocturnal). So they hide in the dark doing the hard work of finding and eating ticks and other bugs and mice, and cleaning up fallen fruit.

Just like the meme says, they won’t hurt you. They just want to be left alone. They rarely carry rabies, and are not aggressive. Give them some space, and they are happy to do your dirty work.

The soul of a place

The soul is not the flashy “attractions” that first draw you in; it’s that part that brings you back.

You may not be able to put your finger on it or see it. Sometimes you can tell just driving by, sometimes within a few minutes of being somewhere, and sometimes it just grows on you. You know it’s there by the way it makes you feel.

The constant is there is just something about it that you like. Something that makes the little oddities and imperfections feel right; it speaks to you. Without these, there is no soul.

Sometimes soul is built in from the original vision, or what that has morphed into. The big souls are contagious because everyone gets it: the staff is infected, and carrying that feeling on to you. When you get it, you can’t help but share with friends and family.

So enjoy the snapshots and jingles. Let them work their magic. Just know that some places have more— a whole lot more— than first meets the eye.

The New River Gorge has soul, one as old as time itself. Come feel it.

Hush

Hush,
It will all be over soon.

Winter, that is. Enjoy it while you can.

I love the muffled, soft quality of the woods when there is a fresh spring snow sticking to everything. A “quiet snow” is different— comforting, calming, giving everything all of its cool embrace and letting us all know to be patient, to hold on a little longer before we bust loose with the exuberance of spring.

All throughout the New River Gorge National Parks, the roads are open, making access to the muted wonder of winter’s last hurrah easy.

Take a driving tour or a walk in the woods, then enjoy a wonderful meal in Fayetteville, WV, and a relaxing hot tub session before cuddling up by the fire. Give us a call. We’ll be here even after the snow is gone.

We have room for a couple lucky groups to get in on this weekend’s hushed winter wonder. Give us a call. 888-488-4836

Planning season! (Not planting season, but similar.)

Planning Season is the time to put those vacation seeds that you have been dreaming about out in the light of day.

Share your dreams with others by planting these seeds with overt suggestions, pretty pictures and links.

Some “friends and family vacation” gardens are so fertile and grow so fast that this may only take the mere suggestion of your dreams, and you will be ready to call us to book your West Virginia Cabin Rental and adventures. Begin to fertilize the others with photos of your last great adventure. Tend your garden of vacation dreams over lunch with your prospective travelers to plan and talk about your vacation.

Some gardens need more time and attention, and we are happy to help you cultivate these any way you might need. We have special skills in this area.

To help you with planing season, sign up for our newsletter, like our facebook page, bookmark www.opossumcreek.com.

We will fertilize your vacation garden, and you will reap the harvest of fun and relaxation.

Its an avocado!

This is the best 21 seconds of youtube ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5x4Clxh7HM

I want to be more like this tot.

You know, happy. I am a very happy guy, but that is Yoda-level happy. (Okay, Yoda is not a good example of a happy guy, my kids just pointed out.)

Lucky for us, we like making people this happy, and we get to all the time when they book a cabin with us.

So if you did not get this kind of reaction during your gift giving season, give us a call. Booking a relaxing weekend in one of our “cabins in the woods” can fix that. She may even bring you along.