A Hiking We Will Go

Sam and I tried out a new hiking spot last weekend. This one is in Virginia - only about 15 minutes away. Gorgeous weather, beautiful scenery....and then I see the snake sign AND the drowning sign! Nothing says welcome to the park like two deadly warnings. Ha! But the real kicker was that as we were leaving the park, we stopped in the visitor center (this next part is why you should go there on your way IN to the park!) and met Park Ranger Frank who proceeded to tell us the signs are exaggerated to scare people. No joke!! Although there are copperheads in these parts, they are scared of people unless provoked and the few they have seen, actually live on an island in the park where people don't have access to it. As for the drowning sign, Frank said they just want to scare people into staying off the rocks ~ only 2 people have actually died. So there you have it --- lesson learned: ignore posted park signs! :)