I'm a little sad that I'm posting this right now because it means I am no longer cut off from civilization miles deep in the mountains. Call me crazy but I will pick a trip to the mountains over the beach every single time. I'm not a big fan of the beach but pluck me down in the middle of the woods with no cell reception, internet, television, or electronics of any kind and I'm in heaven. And obviously make sure Layla is there haha!
Me, Amanda, and our dad spent the weekend at our house in the Appalachian mountains which is about three hours north of where we live. There's a small town at the base of the mountain and then we have about a 30 minute drive winding our way up, up, up deep into the woods. I love it! There are a couple other houses around us but hardly anyone is up at the same times so you really have the mountains all to yourself. It's insanely remote but I tell my dad all the time that I'm going to retire up there. Possibly like next week haha!
It's amazing to just unplug and relax because there's really nothing else to do! Which is how it was designed and the way we like to keep it. There isn't a tv and never will be, zero internet, no data reception for your phone, and you're lucky if you get good enough cell reception to make a call that can last longer than 10 seconds. Luckily, Amanda got good enough reception to check in on our mom once a day but me and my dad were out of luck. We couldn't get any but I wasn't bothered haha!
People always ask me when I tell them about our camp and the first thing is: "well....what do you do all day?"
Honestly, that question makes me sad because our culture has gotten so caught up in technology, the newest fads, social media, and just constantly staying connected. That sort of lifestyle is exhausting to me and one I don't really find appealing. I love just sitting out on the front porch of our cabin, Layla sitting at my feet, and watching the sun rise over the tops of the trees. The sense of peace and calm that I feel is indescribable, and in that moment you can feel so in-tune with life and simply appreciate God's creation.
So to answer the question: we do tons of things! We go for hikes, do some yard work, play card games, other board games, sit around the fire and talk, cook together, make s'mores or mountain pies, re-tell old favorite family stories, crack jokes, go visit neighbors (if they're in), and just relax and enjoy one another. Something you'll often find us saying is where the day went because all of a sudden it's getting dark, and time seemed to have flown by.
Anyway, I'll stop my obsessive rant about why I want to live off the grid and get back to catching up about the past weekend! I'm warning you there are approximately a million pictures but I just couldn't help myself. It's such a beautiful place and I go a little picture-crazy. I had quite a difficult time narrowing it down to just my favorites to share. If I hadn't then this post might've been 10 pages long.
We stopped to get some groceries in town and we were so excited to find this GIANT stem of brussel sprouts for only $3! This is the kind of thing my family gets excited about haha! They were delicious and we had them for three different meals plus took home the extra.
We took another hike after breakfast to just savor our last morning there. We spooked some grouse which nearly gave us a heart attack! If you've never flushed out grouse then you're in for quite the surprise. They wait til the absolute last minute, burst out in front of you, and legit sound like a jet engine with the way their wings beat. Layla jumped about a foot and came running back to me when it first happened haha!
Amanda wanted to take a family photo before we left and I just had to share because this cracked me up. She was setting her phone up and trying to take a test picture to check the angle and well it got majorly photobombed...
Me, Amanda, and our dad spent the weekend at our house in the Appalachian mountains which is about three hours north of where we live. There's a small town at the base of the mountain and then we have about a 30 minute drive winding our way up, up, up deep into the woods. I love it! There are a couple other houses around us but hardly anyone is up at the same times so you really have the mountains all to yourself. It's insanely remote but I tell my dad all the time that I'm going to retire up there. Possibly like next week haha!
It's amazing to just unplug and relax because there's really nothing else to do! Which is how it was designed and the way we like to keep it. There isn't a tv and never will be, zero internet, no data reception for your phone, and you're lucky if you get good enough cell reception to make a call that can last longer than 10 seconds. Luckily, Amanda got good enough reception to check in on our mom once a day but me and my dad were out of luck. We couldn't get any but I wasn't bothered haha!
People always ask me when I tell them about our camp and the first thing is: "well....what do you do all day?"
Honestly, that question makes me sad because our culture has gotten so caught up in technology, the newest fads, social media, and just constantly staying connected. That sort of lifestyle is exhausting to me and one I don't really find appealing. I love just sitting out on the front porch of our cabin, Layla sitting at my feet, and watching the sun rise over the tops of the trees. The sense of peace and calm that I feel is indescribable, and in that moment you can feel so in-tune with life and simply appreciate God's creation.
So to answer the question: we do tons of things! We go for hikes, do some yard work, play card games, other board games, sit around the fire and talk, cook together, make s'mores or mountain pies, re-tell old favorite family stories, crack jokes, go visit neighbors (if they're in), and just relax and enjoy one another. Something you'll often find us saying is where the day went because all of a sudden it's getting dark, and time seemed to have flown by.
Anyway, I'll stop my obsessive rant about why I want to live off the grid and get back to catching up about the past weekend! I'm warning you there are approximately a million pictures but I just couldn't help myself. It's such a beautiful place and I go a little picture-crazy. I had quite a difficult time narrowing it down to just my favorites to share. If I hadn't then this post might've been 10 pages long.
We stopped to get some groceries in town and we were so excited to find this GIANT stem of brussel sprouts for only $3! This is the kind of thing my family gets excited about haha! They were delicious and we had them for three different meals plus took home the extra.
Once we got up to camp, we settled our stuff in then took a hike for about an hour while we let the cabin warm up as the fire started. It was pretty overcast and chilly in the mid-30s but Sunday and Monday we got much better weather.
This is our view from the side yard to the left of our house. There's a trail to the left of this picture (you can't see it) that leads to our freshwater spring where we get all of our water. There's no running water so everything is old school.
The trail is straight back between those two larger trees in the center.
We took a hike out to our neighbor's farm a couple miles away to see if the trees had produced any apples like last year. Sadly there weren't any but it was still a great hike!
It's crazy how much quicker it gets darker up there compared to Pittsburgh. It was only about 4:30ish while we were out there, and already the sun was going down.
I was up around 6:30 am Sunday morning, and sat out on the front porch with Layla and my coffee while watching the sun rise. It was absolutely beautiful! And such a peaceful way to start the day.
Oh and me and Layla played with the filter on my camera :)
I walked down across the road to the hollow across from our house and loved how the light was coming through the pines so I took more pictures! Layla didn't mind, she was happy to go crashing through the leaves smelling everything haha!
After our morning photo shoot, we had breakfast and headed out around 8 to go for a hike. We went out to the point where you can look down the side of the mountain to the valley below. It's an amazing view!
Before dinner we headed up to the fields about half a mile from our house to see if there would be any animals out at dusk. Usually if we're lucky we can spot some elk but nothing was out!
The sunset was still worth the walk up even if we didn't get to see anything.
Then we got started on dinner! On our way up it's tradition for us to stop at this little butcher where he cuts the meat fresh for you. Hands down he has the best steaks I've ever had. I really don't eat a lot of red meat (the last time was probably last year on our trip ha) but these steaks hit the spot! They were also HUGE. We had to split them in half so we ended up getting six regular sized steaks out of the three he cut us.
She likes to think she's the best sous chef in the biz haha!
We cook the steaks over the fire outside and it never fails to be delicious. I told my dad he better not cook them any longer than medium-rare and these were perfect! To be honest, I actually prefer my steaks on the rarer side of medium-rare but since we got delmonico steaks (aka the besttt) they were nice and tender. I might not eat steak all that often but I am well-aware that I am a steak snob haha!
After dinner, we had a round of s'mores out by the fire before heading inside for our nightly tournament of Yahtzee. Pro s'more tip: place your chocolate on the one half of the graham cracker then put it on a rock in the fire ring next to the fire. That way the chocolate gets all nice and soft which makes the s'more out of this world good! My family has always done that with our s'mores and it's delicious. You can also use mini candy bars like twix or snickers instead of plain chocolate which I would highly recommend. Just melt them a bit just like you would with the chocolate!
Monday morning was the usual routine: coffee while sitting on the front porch before breakfast. We all have to drink decaf now #heartproblems but I don't mind because I just love the taste of coffee. It's great to just sit out there in the peace and quiet plus Layla always provides lots of entertainment as she spazzes out running around the yard.
Amanda wanted to take a family photo before we left and I just had to share because this cracked me up. She was setting her phone up and trying to take a test picture to check the angle and well it got majorly photobombed...
The second one was much better!
It was a weekend that I desperately needed and even though I'm sad it couldn't have lasted longer I know I'll be going back soon! My dad promised that we would not wait a whole other year until we go back up. All three of us are going to be more purposeful in finding the time to make an escape back up to just un-plug and savor life together.
I can't wait until then! Where's your favorite place to go and unplug?
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