It’s been a while but this story is definitely post worthy.
I celebrated my birthday a few weeks ago, and by the twinkle in my wife’s eye I could tell she had masterminded something incredible.
Every day for almost two weeks I would get the rhetorical question of “do you want to know what your gift is”, and my answer was always a resounding “No, Ash, I don’t want to know”.
I knew that it was inevitable that Ash wouldn’t be able to keep her secret forever and one afternoon as we played with the dogs she divulged her master plan.
We would be spending a long weekend in a cabin nestled between the Appalachian Mountains and the New River.
The Cabin was a rental from a company we have a special history with.
Around 4 years ago we stumbled upon
New River Retreat cabin rentals while we were searching for the perfect cabin to be married at.
We found and fell in love with one of their cabins knows as
“Red Hawk Rising”.
Shortly thereafter we would find ourselves celebrating on the cabin's expansive deck overlooking Claytor Lake with our closest friends & family.
A few years later after several days of backcountry backpacking in Grayson Highlands, we crashed at another New River Retreat cabin known as the
“Blue Moon”.
The company has never let us down, and keeping with that tradition Ash rented one of their newer cabins know as the
“Suyeta”.
Suyeta sits on it's perch beside a second rental cabin at the bottom of a winding dirt road that switchbacks through thick forest and bolder fields ending at the driveway to the cabins which sit roughly 125 yards from the New River.
In the distance you could hear the rhythmic sound of rushing water as it flowed over an elongated section of rapids.
From the front deck of the Suyeta the first thing that you notice,aside from the obvious river, is the well groomed trail that cuts across the property.
The trail known as the “New River Trail” is a “rail trail” which is part of
New River Trail State Park that spans 57 miles of abandoned railroad formerly owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway.
Beyond the trail is a grassy meadow which serves as a commons area with access to the New River.
The New River is considered to be one of the oldest rivers in the world at 10 million to 360 million years old. (If that doesn’t make you feel insignificant)
The “Suyeta” is a one bedroom/one bath cabin that is masterfully decorated and has an unmistakable vibe of romance. You can’t get away from it, so it’s just as easy to embrace it.
We completely settled into the experience and relaxed with red wine, and bourbon and gingers while a new found copy of Bob Marley’s Legend played over the stereo.
Our evenings were spent feasting on Flounder fillets stuffed with crabmeat and venison tenderloin.
Saturday morning saw us strolling 2 miles downstream where we came upon several turkey and white tailed deer
After breakfast I attempted to cast a few lines, but between strong wind gusts peppered with bursts of snow and the strong chocolate colored current I yielded to the river.
Not wanting to to be driven inside prematurley, we opted for a 3 mile jog up stream with the dogs in tow, the run was invigorating and full of amazing scenery.
Sunday morning's frost came far too soon as Ash had executed her plan for an incredible weekend flawlessly.
Next up, an impossibly postponed backpacking trip through the Highlands….
