Mission: Shenandoah (Day 3)

Our third day began with a short drive to the Greenbelt Metro station, just a few miles from Cherry Hill RV Park. Parking was free (thank you, weekend!), but the ticket kiosks? Not so user-friendly. We missed a train trying to figure them out – but with trains arriving every eight minutes, it wasn’t a…

Mission: Shenandoah (Day 2)

Day two of our journey took us from Nashville to Cherry Hill RV Park just outside Washington, D.C. – a ten-hour drive that tested our endurance but rewarded us with unforgettable views. We started the morning with a quick breakfast and coffee, then hit the road after topping off our tiny gas tank. The route…

Mission: Shenandoah (Day 1)

We finally hit the road Friday for our long-anticipated trip to Shenandoah National Park – a journey we’d been dreaming about for years. Though we left about 45 minutes later than planned (because, well, life), we were excited to begin the adventure. Ten-plus hours of driving lay ahead, with our first overnight stop at the…

Hope in Dark Times

This weekend, we found ourselves reflecting on the life of Jane Goodall, the legendary primatologist and conservationist who died on Wednesday while on a speaking tour in California. Her life changed the world as we understand it. Her death marked the end of an era. As we followed tributes across social media, we watched Famous…

Our Musical Journey Begins

There’s something special about the open road — the way it stretches out with promise, the stories it whispers through desert winds and mountain air, and the memories it helps us create one mile at a time. For us, the road has been more than a path — it’s been a canvas for love, adventure,…

Touching Grass

At a Friday press conference, during which the governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, announced the apprehension of a suspect in the murder of Charlie Kirk, he reflected on the internet influences on young people like Tyler Robinson (the suspect). “Social media is a cancer on our society right now,” he said. “I would encourage people…

When the World Turns Upside Down

We returned to Loyd Park’s Loop G in an attempt to shake off the weight of the week’s political chaos. We needed a distraction – something to pull us out of the churn and give us space to breathe. As the fire crackled and the lake shimmered nearby, we found ourselves talking not just about…

AI Can’t Build a Campfire

It’s been two years since Jon asked his colleagues about whether his institution was planning to put rules in place for governing the use of ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed and released by OpenAI in November 2022. He was concerned that it was not only a short-cut but a short-circuit of the…

A Change of Scenery

We had heard from some fellow-campers about the benefits of Loop G, so we swapped our site 6 reservation in Loop A for site 195 in Loop G. The change of scenery was refreshing. Not only is Loop G closer to Joe Pool Lake, it’s also more heavily forested, which exposed us to a slightly…

Much Ado About Nothing

Like many people around the world, we spent much of Friday anticipating the meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their first face-to-face meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022 ended faster than expected and without the cease-fire Trump had insisted was necessary to secure a peace deal. While…