This morning I decided to change things up from my schedule a bit and went to visit Polyface Farms. This was featured in The Omnivore's Dilemma because of the farmer's creative efforts to create a sustainable farm on a site that was complicated by hills and rocks. It was fascinating to read about (putting it very simply) his whole cycle for having the cows graze, then rotating the chickens in to use the cow flop as natural fertilizer (chicken claws rooting for bugs stir it in well), and then growing crops. I immediately recognized the style when the couple from The Biggest Little Farm movie described it even before they identified Joel Salatin as a resource. I was glad to see it. On my way around farmland territory, I was really surprised to notice, in the hills, a tiny patch of a cornfield — perhaps a third of a football field. What a difference from what we used to see in Indiana!

On my way to the farm, I decided to try the D & L Donut Shop in Staunton. The selection was paltry by 10:00 or so, but everything is made fresh. I asked the lady (Loretta, the "L") if they'd seen the Donut King movie and asked about the intensiveness. She said that they worked from around 10PM on prep (8 hours before store opening) and cleanup was another two hours after selling out (probably by 11AM today). It sounded like 4 hours' sleep was the norm. This was their retirement! It turned out that they were from near my parents: they both worked at the Madison hospital, then she moved to work for the News Herald and he continued as a pharmacist. I tried name-dropping my dad, and that didn't get anywhere, but they were familiar with the Madison Food Center where my parents still volunteer.

I went to Shenandoah next. It was fun again. I enjoyed seeing the park ranger at the admission gate give a dog treat to the pup in the car in front of me. He said that he buys a big container at Costco at the start of the season and it usually lasts him, and it was a lot of fun. I realized — very late in the trip planning, like, yesterday — that my previous visit to Shenandoah was also south-to-north, but it was later in the summer, so some of the views may have been different.

I definitely didn't remember this one: Bacon Hollow? That just sounds tricky to prepare, unless it's one of those hollers, and maybe it's just a mistranslation? I can understand hollering (yelling) for bacon!

Oh, there was more Appalachian Trail stuff again!

I have mixed feelings about the vacation ending, but it's nice to want to go home. Years ago, I visited Arkansas to help my parents clean out my aunt's house, and even though I had a job, friends, a dog, and a house in Rochester... other things in my life were harder. I don't remember the interstate fork, but I do remember feeling like the car tried not to go back and I had to intentionally correct it.