Holy animalia!

Here are some pics of Ol' Virginy and her associated wildlife....and have I seen some wildlife! Holy smokes, it's like things get more scenic and more "wild" the further north you move, although turkeys, garter snakes, box turtles, rabbits, and deer may not sound very wild. That fantastic orchid you see is called a pink lady's slipper, and is thus far one of the coolest plants I've seen yet. I believe the large black snake there is a king snake. I said to myself "Hole ee shit," as I stepped backwards after nearly stepping on him. Fortunately, they're constrictors!

So, I'm now 162 miles north of Damascus, in Pearisburg. Actually, I'm currently in Blacksburg, at a friend of Grandpa Joe...I actually met Grandpa Joe this morning as I was resting before these awful switchbacks to descend into Pearisburg. He's a young guy from Pittsburg and he said that he has a friend who offered to take him into town to eat and offered that I come along. I thought that was mighty generous. Vicki has been a big help - she took us out for hamburgers and gave us a campus tour of Virginia Tech . . . I must say, Athens still has a big place in my heart....I intend on mailing the Hokie football schedule to Savannah Mike, since he's a huge Almost College Conference fan..haha.

In the health department, I'm feeling amazingly better than that first day out from Damascus...I mean, crazy better...like, "wow, I didn't realize how much more fun hiking can be when you don't hurt!"...I don't want to jinx my knee so I'm going to stop talking about it.

I passed through the Grayson Highlands (ponies! neighing! surreal...) and the Mt. Rogers Area - fantastic, and through lots of fields like those you see...I'm obsessed with fields now and I don't know why...

I covered a lot of terrain in 9 days, and that's certainly due to Virginia's laid-back topography...no kidding, Virginia does have its flat stretches, but there's still climbing to do....

Still walkin' and tarp tentin' solo...met a few more folks, leap-frogging each other and hanging out from time-to-time, but Gonzo still prefers to do his thang. I'm now taken to dry camping - find a spot on top of a mountain to finish the day, and pack in all the water you need.

I'll send out some hand-written letters; those are easier as a medium for me than writing on this thing.

Oh yeah, this is something I do want to write though: funny joke that came to me. Mom and Charlie, after having dropped me off at Springer Mountain on April 22, subsequently get lost trying to get back home. After a month and a half on the trail, I find out they still haven't returned home. Instead, they have converted the Ford 4-door into a shelter. Mom has cavewoman hair and is blowing on a fire. Charlie returns to camp, with a slain deer over his shoulder and wearing a loincloth.

Hope that makes you smile.

And I just learned: is Obama the candidate?

As Jerry says, take care of yourselves, and each other.