Hungry Mother Mountain Escape
September 23rd, 2007 |
| Photo by Glynn Wilson |
| A view from the canoe in Hungry Mother Lake… |
HUNGRY MOTHER STATE PARK, Va., Sept. 23 (LFJ) - It is cool again here in the mountains at night, but there’s no Wi-Fi in range. Too bad more of these RV travelers don’t have satellite hook ups with wireless routers, open for the taking.
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| Photo by Glynn Wilson |
| Nathan’s Famous Hotdog stand at Coney Island |
The Coney Island humidity was rising as I left the Brooklyn end of Long Island over the Statin Island bridge during rush hour Friday afternoon. Not a bad crawl in a van with a majestic view of big water.
The Potomac humidity was so high in College Park, Maryland, Saturday afternoon that I just wanted to hit the mountain road south with the AC blasting and Big and Rich on the stereo.
As the sun began to set in the Appalachians, the purple peaks and pink sky lay out as far as you could see, one rolling hill after another along the old Indian trail winding through the gap.
We found a connection at a hotel lobby in Marion, Virginia, just fast enough to update the headlines. But for now, it’s time to get the boat in the water in the Hungry Mother Lake.
Legend has it that when the Native Americans destroyed several settlements on the New River south of where the state park is now, settler Molly Marley and her small child were among the survivors taken to the raiders’ base north of the park. They eventually escaped, wandering through the wilderness eating berries.
Molly finally collapsed. Her child wandered down a creek until it found help. The only words the child could utter were “Hungry Mother.” The search party arrived at the foot of the mountain where Molly collapsed to find the child’s mother dead. Today that mountain is Molly’s Knob, and the stream is Hungry Mother Creek.
Should make for an interesting float and a picture or two.
Update
We made it in and out of the lake, with photos, on the official first day of fall, but it’s time to head on down to the Great Smoky Mountains to find a camp for the night. Fast Krystal hotspot on Highway 129 on the way from Knoxville to Maryville.
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| Photo by Glynn Wilson |
| I had one last hotdog at Coney Island Friday before heading back south. The summer season is over, so the beach was not crowded at all… |
September 23rd, 2007 at 8:53 pm
I’ve been wondering how Hungry Mother State Park got its name.
Driving down I-81 we’d pass the sign and it puzzled me. You mentioned Marion, Virginia. Many years ago, we sometimes took the train from Washington to Huntsville. Kids liked the train ride rather than the long, pre-interstate almost two day drive from Arlington, Virginia to Madison County, Alabama. A little while after the train was underway, the conductor would come through asking passengers if they wanted to order a box supper. We always bought the fried chicken box (we’re vegetarians now, weren’t then). The boxes would be loaded in Marion and distributed as we got going. Tasted great. Biscuits were really good. As I recall, you got about a half a chicken. Box looked like a shoebox.
Ivan
September 25th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Wish I had another day to explore Hungry Mother. I’ll definetely stop through there again sometime. Campgrounds B and C looked like fun. Also didn’t have time to try the restaurant. Maybe next time.