ocrwvdev, Author at Opossum Creek Retreat

Disney, but Dirtier: The BSA Summit is Not All Sparkle, But it Shines

Mud cakes the grounds at the Summit Reserve

Wow!

The BSA Summit is very “Disney-esque.” Very well organized; everyone knows what to do when. Amazing design, wonderfully constructed with attention to detail.

Yes, they are still studying mud.

I heard not one complaint about the mud. But there is lots of it.

But the Tree House is perfect. What an amazing piece of work! Every school kid in Fayette County needs to spend the day in it. Or better yet, every school kid in the region. Heck, the country. This is a truly world-class learning environment.

I would like a tour just to tell me about the bridge. The giant swinging bridge. Whoever thought this up was tripping for sure, and wow, is it OSSUM!

There are not many straight lines, and that is really cool. Even when they could go in a straight line, they did not, and man does it pay off in the overall feel of the place.

Could they do things better? Like have a lot more trash cans? And with every trash can a recycling bin? This is a big disconnect from the message that is so perfectly delivered in the Tree House.

Of course, “It will be better next time.”

But we saw so many happy faces, you had to smile along with them. From the fat old white guys in their scout outfits huffing up the hills talking about the wonders their troops had seen and experienced, to the solo young lady in her Venturer’s uniform from some foreign land studying every detail of the Tree House exhibit. I imagine her taking the idea back to her homeland and building something like it.

Geoff and his favorite part of the Summit!

The happy young locals laughed with the Scouts as they sold ice cream and lemonade from under little umbrellas, feeling the weight of the cash in their pockets and the newfound understanding that the Scouts are a lot like us.

Yes, business was slow for us, and all the other businesses I have talked to. Maybe that will change for the next one. Maybe we will see residual positive business from this long-term.

The most fantastic part, one way or another, no matter how distant or disjointed the connection between you and our visitors to the Summit is, this event changed people’s lives, because they came here to our WV.

Way to go Mountaineers! Gramp B would be proud.

BSA Update, Or, Melting Humans

Up and running, smooth (at least on the outside).

The BSA Jamboree is underway here in the mountains of West Virginia. There have been NO traffic hassles for the locals on the main roads. Way to go BSA. They did close that stupid exit at Glen Jean onto and off of 19. Should never have been built in the first place. Very dangerous spot.

The dreaded traffic jam has not been an issue.

I have not made it onsite of the Bechtel Summit Reserve yet because we are volunteering at the New River Birding and Nature Center located at Wolf Creek Park. Fayette County’s 1,000 acre mixed-use Live, Learn, Work and Play development with a huge green space.

We have had two groups of scouts plus Americorp volunteers there this week to help us out, and have been kicking butt.

We have three modules for the Boy Scout’s service projects: carpentry (that’s us), building board walks and Blue Bird Boxes; invasive plant removal (they seem to like this a lot, maybe because their fearless leaders make it so fun); and trail building, which I have not seen yet but hear is ‘O’ so nice!

And here’s a fun video from our day: Everyone takes their turn working on the bird house.

We have melted a few scouts with the effort in the heat and a few volunteers too.

I made a cooler filled with rags and ice water to help limit the number of people melting into puddles today.

I had mentioned duping my son and a few friends into visiting the Summit Center and that plan was foiled because my son is volunteering to be a Junior counselor at a camp for disadvantaged 7-12 year olds! ATTA BOY!

We are now shooting to be on site for one of the final days of the event.

We will keep you posted. You can check out the scouts’ Flickr feed with a few pics of our projects.

Out of my comfort zone?

What is better than a costume party?

No, really, it is hard to make a party any better than starting with costumes and dressing up. It’s like Halloween in June.

But there are a few things that really made this day in one of America’s “Coolest Small Towns” even better.

Start with a town full of happy people. (Back in the day I could have used the word “gay” in place of happy, but it has been taken over to mean other things.)

Add: puppies!

Add: a WWII Biplane. A giant Sock Monkey and some dude in a tux.
Add: lots of kids, Kids are shameless when it comes to putting on a costume. When do we lose that?
Add: a skydiver.
Add: a film crew. You are going to want to share the fantastic images later.
Add: perfect weather.
Add: some bikes, trikes, roller blades, longboards, and anything else that moves

Add: more Sock Monkeys.

Next, have everyone run around a lot, laughing, smiling, screaming, and yelling. Then…

Dance! Dance in the streets while the police block traffic for you! You will have to watch the video for this part.

What a great way to spend the afternoon. It reminds me what a lucky bunch we are. Humans, that is.

Out of my comfort zone?

No not at all. You?

Time to Finally Try The Summit

I want to go! To the Summit!

They had me at food vendors. Plus sampler-size versions of most of the activities, lots of logo gear, a concert Saturday and a huge fireworks show!

Ziplining will be one of the activities visitors can try during the Jamboree.

Besides, my Grampa B was a big-time scouter, and my Uncle Scott is an Eagle Scout. I think they would like it if I went. I was a scout, too, but I do not still fit in my uniform.

Just so you know, the Boy Scouts of America had to win me over to try again. I was really uninspired after the drive through that I tortured the family with a few weeks back.

The Summit let a bunch (1,200 cars) drive through for a tour. The line stretched forever— bumper to bumper traffic. It took us 4 hours to drive through. There was virtually no explanation of what you were looking at. What you could see was not finished, and, frankly, the place looked like a bomb site. My cousin Katie said, “Are they studying Mud?”

Don’t get me wrong. I have been cheerleading for this from the start.

I am sure it will look very different in a few days when they open the gates on the 2013 National Jamboree. I know how things tend to come together at the last minute, having had that phenomenon play out with every cabin we built. Deadlines work.

That said, I really want to see how it will be different on game day. What we learned after the first tour is much of the “under construction” stuff is not scheduled to be ready for this Jamboree. I am sure they got more grass to sprout and cover up the mud.

I am betting that the pain of the last trip has been forgotten by my teenage son, and I can dupe him into making a day of it, and even talk a couple of his buddies into joining us. My wife will not be swayed, and our daughter is out of town at camp. The boys and I will sample as much stuff as they will let us, eat “fair food,” and maybe stay for the concert and fireworks. That sounds like a great day.

We are definitely thrilled about one aspect of the Jamboree: the scouts will be doing “the largest service project ever undertaken” while they are here. Service work is good stuff. We do it, and we love the idea that a lot of good work will be done through the service projects. Wolf Creek Park will get some love from a few troops. We actually helped develop the programing by volunteering ourselves, and will be there again when they show up to cut trail and build boardwalk.

We have been invested in this event from the beginning and are cheering and helping to make it a success.

I will be there with bells on as a volunteer and a visitor. From these viewpoints, I will see firsthand how OSSUM it is, and fill you in.

We’ve Got That Old-Fashioned 4th Pride

Back in the day, 4th of July was a stay-at-home holiday. Most families did not travel. That’s why we think of the hometown, American-feel Main Street parade when we think of July 4th. All those cliches are true, and give us a warm and fuzzy feeling about our nation’s birthday celebration.

Celebrate America and the values of the good old days

As well they should!

Today, our summer vacation schedule is compressed into 6 weeks: Mid-June to the end of July. That’s down from Memorial Day to Labor Day in the good old days, when there was a good solid 12 weeks of Summer.

There are lots of reasons why the summer has been smooshed, but let’s save that for another time and just say that if you still want that hometown feel while you’re traveling over the July 4th holiday…

We have all that in Fayetteville, WV.

Bring Grama and the kids and do some recreation, some relaxing and some cabining.

We have all that at Opossum Creek.

We’re Your Free WV Wilderness Guides

Let us be your guide. (For free!)

Why should you put that kind of trust in us?

We have been guides, really, all over the world!

Geoff’s got guide experience in fishing, rafting and other adventures.

Okay, the whole world is stretching it, but a big chunk of the Western Hemisphere is accurate.

From Montana’s ice cold waters and rugged back country, to the Grand Canyon, to the southernmost reaches of South America on rivers dammed long ago, to that narrow waist of Central America. Yes, raft guiding was very good to me. There was some fly fishing guiding, and there were some pack trips on horseback that took me to places I am sure no one has ever set foot. Keith and his family have led trips to the high plateaus of Peru building schools.

And we choose to make The New River Gorge our home.

Now, we don’t guide anymore, but we know the area well, and we do love to share our knowledge. Take advantage of our free info and ask us some questions! All guides love the sound of their own voice.

We have some fun and informative videos on Youtube that will really help you plan your vacation. Tours of town, trails and restaurants, to name a few.

We also show how to tell temperature based on rhododendron leaves, if you like that kind of thing.

If you visit our website, you will see full-day itineraries for almost every situation.

Let’s just say you want help with some questions about certain activities or the best time of year to come bird watching or to Girls Club. Okay, maybe we are not Girls Club experts, but… well, yes we are. At least the planning part.

Call us. We are good guides.

And did we mention it’s FREE?

Want $100 Off Your Next Stay?

UPDATE, JULY 17, 2013: This promotion is now closed; we had a great response to our question. Thanks to everyone who provided feedback to us. We’ll be in touch!

Our first Boy Scout reservation!

YES! Direct economic impact. One of the groups helping run the 2013 Jamboree booked 2 cabins for their VIP’s. This is our first reservation related to the Boy Scouts Summit Betchel Reserve.

The event is just 4 weeks away.

This raises lots of questions in my mind. Not long ago, we would have people call and book (pay a downpayment) months, if not a year ahead of time. That time frame has been shrinking and shrinking to the point we have had large, multi-family groups call the same day and book for a week.

Yikes!

Bribe time.

I am hoping you can help us understand this phenomenon. If you are so inspired to answer any or all of these questions we have, or pose some of your own, we will happily give you $100 off your next stay at OCR.*

No fine print. $100 off.*

So this is the strange part: why did they wait until now, the very last minute, to make a reservation?

Okay, it’s not completely last minute; we have 4 weeks to go. But they had to take cabins that we had, not the ones they wanted. And, well, we just do not, not, not like not being able to give people what they want!

Has our society as a whole become last-minute planners? Are you?

Or might it be that you have done your research, and just do not pull the trigger on a reservation until the last minute because, well, who knows what might come up?

What would compel you to pull the trigger and confirm a reservation well in advance?

If a national organization that has been hands-on involved with the Jamboree for years waits to the last second, why shouldn’t you?

UPDATE, JULY 17, 2013: This promotion is now closed; we had an great response to our question.Thanks to everyone who provided feedback to us. We’ll be in touch!

Hitting the Halfway Point

Halfway.

We don’t do things that way. It’s just that we are halfway through the year. Sweet and sad at the same time.

It’s no wonder the Boy Scouts chose to set up here. Beautiful, wild and wonderful!

For the next few months, we are jamming! And for good reason: it is Ossum here in the summer.

If you have not made a summer trip to the New River Gorge, we still have a few holes in the calendar.

If you don’t like what we have to offer, you need your pulse checked. This area is rich with excitement and relaxing options side by side that you can’t normally find all in one place.

Our variety is so great, The Boy Scouts of America “bet it all” on Fayette County and the New River Gorge. If you have not heard, BSA has made us their new home for “the next 100 years,” Former Gov. and current US Sen. Joe Manchin was quoted as saying, “This will be a billion-dollar project.” The BSA has said they are going to spend $400,000,000.00 (That is so cool, typing all those zeros).

The contractors I have talked to have say we have been tasked with building “best in class” on every project. That means best bike trail in the world, best shooting sports venue in the world! We already have best rafting and climbing.

Whatever they are building has to be the very best, and this is thrilling, especially if they allow the public to use these fantastic facilities when the Jamboree is not in town.

2013 is the first run for the National Jamboree here in Fayette County, WV, on the Bechtel Summit, and The Scouts will be here in numbers too big to ignore in a few weeks.

No one knows what the Jamboree will mean to our area or Opossum Creek Retreat as a business. We hope it will be a big positive.

They punched the ticket; now all we can do is take the ride. Hope it’s best in class.

Mowing Grass is Our Least Favorite Chore at Opossum Creek Retreat

I hate to mow! Especially hate it in the spring when all the pretty flowers are coming up. Only two of the cabins really have yards; The Meadows and The Farm House. All the others are in the woods.

But even with just two yards, we still have to mow.

The Farm House has rich bottom land and a lush yard that requires constant mowing or it will quickly become a jungle. Good thing it is a small, oddly-shaped yard.

The Meadows is another beast entirely. We have worked very hard to get grass to grow on the hard clay ground there, and now it does. Too well sometimes. There are several acres of grass to cut, hence the name The Meadows. The old garden spot is truly a meadow at this point, and we have never mowed it.

It’s not that we don’t appreciate nicely mowed grounds, especially if there’s a tee box and green on either end of it. Those long, even, alternating stripes are beautiful and hold such promise and challenge.

But we don’t have the patience to make our yards look like a golf course. After all, these are cabins in the woods in the country. So, just keep this in mind, and don’t be surprised if the grass is a little tall and the flowers a little taller when you show up for your cabin vacation.

See you soon?