In May 2024, we flew to Washington DC, stopped for a night at our friends’ place in Virginia, and drove together to the latest addition to the national park list – New River Gorge National Park, park #62 for us. I think Stefan was more excited about the one night we spent at our friends’ place than the park, but he was content that the older kids joined us on the trip. He was inseparable from Arianna the whole trip.

The main attraction in the park is the river. Lots of vendors offer white river rafting. We found one that allowed kids as young as 5 to participate and booked a tour.

The sun was shining so we made sure we had our rash guards and hats and covered everything in sunblock, but we were in for a surprise. About half way into the trip the clouds starting coming in. We were relieved at first, but then the wind started blowing and a torrential rain drenched us. Poor S got so cold he couldn’t stop shivering. I was getting concerned for him. The wind was so strong, that the trees around us were cracking and falling down. And on top of that, right behind us, on top of the canyon a small tornado seemed to be forming. We wanted to be out of there quickly. The rest of the trip was about paddling as fast as we could to get to the end. It ended well. The rafting company had a bus waiting for us with the heat turned on. They offered everyone beers on the ride back and everyone was relieved.

The house we rented had a firepit so we enjoyed some time around the fire in the evening.

The kids got their junior ranger badges.

We did a couple of hikes with everyone.

Fun was had by all.