Endless Caverns

Earlier in the year at the RV show in Richmond, VA, we signed up for the camping special at Endless Caverns. Essentially, you prepay for seven nights of camping. On a per night basis, it was less than the state parks and it was full hook up. They allow you to split the seven nights as you see fit for the upcoming camping season. You can even share your nights with a buddy if you so desire. I also learned that they allowed a change when you have to change your reservation. With family in the area, it was a win for us.

With our 45 ft Beast, our first trip was a bit unnerving. The registration parking lot is on a significant grade. The campground itself has graveled roads and sites. The sites are terraced up and down the hill. Many are pull-thru. They keep the trees well-trimmed and the rocks edging the sites and roads add to the natural look of the campground. I'm not sure I'd advertise it as big-rig friendly, but they do.

On our second trip, we got a site that was much closer to the campground entrance. It was a super long pull-thru. Even so, we opted to hook up outside the campground at a nearby gas station.

Site E59

Campers get a discount on the caverns tour. Caverns are always fun. The tour lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes. It was interesting to see how many stalactites had broken edges. Long ago, guests were encouraged to take home a souvenir. We toured the caverns with Elizabeth's brother, Scott.

If walking the campground hill isn't enough of a challenge for you, you can hike the perimeter trail or the trail to the sign.

The perimeter trail is maintained since it follows the fence line. Even so, it is very steep in some places. We read in a campground review post that the grade is over 20% in places. Walking sticks or hiking poles are a definite plus.

The view from the sign is wonderful. They recommend it for sunset viewing. There's a firepit and picnic table. I'd have a flashlight and the aforementioned hiking poles for the trip back. We hiked the perimeter trail with a stop at the sign in the middle of the day. Once was enough for us!

$65.99 nutcracker

You know you are in America's heartland when the hardware stores carry unique items like this $65.99 nutcracker. 

It is no ordinary nutcracker, nor is it decorative like those made in Germany by Stienbach.

It definitely does not dance with sugar plum fairies. It is pure function. Note it has a compound lever mechanism for great power multiplication. This makes the workload lighter, and once the nut cracks you cannot squash the nutmeat for a greater yield.

The jaws are concave to keep the nuts in line with those high compressive forces. Note the smaller set of jaws on the wooden base. I would assume these are for pecans.

Since I saw this nutcracker in the Shenandoah Valley, I would assume that it would be used on black walnuts and hickory nuts gathered locally. They are quite hard to crack and could benefit from great nutcracking power.

I would like to see how this nutcracker works on macadamia nuts, as when Elizabeth, my father-in-law, Wade, and I toured the Moana Loa macadamia nut farm on the big island of Hawaii, we learned that the macadamia nut is the hardest nut to crack.

On the shelf next to the nutcracker, was another unique item. As I did not grow up learning animal husbandry, I had to search the internet as to how this next item is used.



You guessed it, it is a hog scraper....

Wikipedia did not have an article on hog scrapers but did on hog scraper candlesticks that refers to its "resemblance to an antique device," the hog scraper.

By the way, what is a hog scraper used for? I didn't want to show my ignorance to the helpful hardware folks, so I took a photo and moved down to the pellet grills as I think I know how to use one of them.

Is it used for scraping a hog's hooves? Maybe it's used to clean a hog's tusks. Or maybe in preparing hog chow. Just by looking at it I could not figure it out.

After watching a YouTube video on the proper use of a hog scraper, I now know how they are used and that I currently do not have a use for one. When we are visiting one of you, and we need to use one, I'd be more than willing to lend a hand but I'll bet that Elizabeth will pass.

So if you have some hard nuts to crack or a hog that needs a good scraping, Rocking R Hardware in Harrisburg VA has got your needs covered.