





My first full day off in awhile, so we decided to go to Grayson Highlands State Park near Mouth Of Wilson, Va. This is a nice state park on the top of Mt. Rogers, but what makes it special is the wild ponies that roam the ridges in the area. They are Shetlands and are truly wild, grazing the balds and high pastures in the park.[singlepic id=87 w=320 h=240 float=right] The weather was really windy with the feeder bands of Irene blowing over, making it chilly, damp, and VERY windy. Caleb finished petting one of the ponies and turned away quick to move on towards the rocks and the pony nipped him in the chest. The nip bruised him pretty good, but all Caleb said was, “Ouch.” Later, he said he wanted to shoot that horse for biting him. [singlepic id=85 w=320 h=240 float=left]We moved on to some rocks (which Caleb loves) and climbed around a bit.[singlepic id=89 w=320 h=240 float=right] [singlepic id=90 w=320 h=240 float=left] [singlepic id=91 w=320 h=240 float=right] After being blown around the rocks, we picked up some “fans” on the way back down the trail. We petted the ponies for a bit then headed back to the Jeep picking and eating blackberries along the way.[singlepic id=88 w=320 h=240 float=left]
Grayson is a great place to backpack for beginners and fun for the kids because of the ponies. We had a great day!