A Winter Scene at Chestnut Oak Lodge

Photo taken by Jason Miller

Ski season has started!

It looks like the ski/snow-tube season is underway at Bryce Resort.  Check out the fun on the WebCam!

Shenandoah National Park

Shenandoah National Park is about a 1 1/2 hour drive from the cabin, through Luray (a great place to have a nice meal before you do some hiking!).   

Leaves in Water

New Bryce Resort Fall/Winter Online Guide

Bryce Resort, which is just a few miles from the cabin, has published a new fall/winter travel guide. Click to see the online edition (requires Adobe Flash software to turn the pages).

Apples and Pumpkins!

My family loves to go to Paugh's Orchard, on Route 42, a couple miles south of the intersection of Route 263 and Route 42.  We were there today and had a great time picking out pumpkins.  We also got apples to make some applesauce this week, as well as a few butternut squash.

Mr. Paugh says he'll have apples through the 1st week of December -- great news!

Lake Laura in October

Fall Foliage

Here are some photos of fall foliage, taken last year. This is the view from the cabin's side deck overlooking the lake:


And, a view of the front of the cabin:


We love the cabin at this time of year -- you can't beat the Shenandoah Valley in autumn!

Autumn is Beautiful!

The view from the kitchen window of the cabin:

The Beach Is Open

Bryce Resort had opened its beach area for the summer. They have a nice swimming area with a sandy, shallow beach for young kids. They also have a couple of rafts that are great fun to swim out to. In addition, they rent paddle boats and canoes. You can either drive & park at the dam or walk from the path below the cabin. Lots of fun!

Scenes from a Walk Around Lake Laura

Spring has definitely arrived. Although we enjoy hiking, my son can't wait to go swimming! He enjoyed playing in the water at the various docks along the hike, and he definitely noticed the beach area with all of its canoes, paddle boats & rafts!

A Sunday Stroll

We enjoyed a burst of spring weather with a Sunday at the cabin. We spruced up the toy collection, refreshed the sandbox, and added a booster seat to the dining room chairs (since the cabin has to fit in with our life, it's definitely kid-friendly!).

Then, we took a little walk around Lake Laura to the boat ramp. It was great to get out and see some of our favorite spots, although the beautiful yellow barn burned down this past week (so in our directions for the path around the lake, wherever we referenced the barn, please look for where the barn used to be).

It was a beautiful day. The first signs of spring have come to the Shenandoah Valley!

Shenandoah Valley Views

Although my boys might like the animals they can see along the route to the cabin, I love the scenary.



March in the Shenandoah Valley is beautiful.

Shendandoah Cows

Whenever we go to the cabin, my boys love to have "cow sightings" from the moment we leave the main highway. Of course, there are also lots of horses and even some goats who enjoy sitting in the bucket of their owner's back-hoe, but the cows are my boys' current favorite. The boys are lucky -- there are lots of cows in the area to look at!

Breakfast of Champions!

We've made my own bread for years but had never tackled cereal, until now. We don't think there's any going back -- it's good & easy!



Here's a very flexible recipe, adapted from the Nutty Granola Recipe from Ellie Krieger, Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger:



Cooking Spray
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup chopped raw, unsalted walnuts (We don't measure, but use between 1/2 and 1 cup)
1/2 cup chopped unsalted pecans (again, something under 1 cup)
1/2 cup maple syrup (We've made it once w/ only maple syrup and another time with some syrup and some brown sugar after we ran out of syrup -- it worked fine both ways)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1 good handful of sweetened coconut (left over from holiday baking -- it's not in the original recipe)
1/2 cup raisins (or craisins, or both)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray. In a medium bowl combine everything. Spread the mixture onto the baking sheet and bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Transfer the sheet to a cooling rack and let cool completely. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

My family especially loves it served with yogurt (which we have yet to make ourselves).

We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!