January 24th - Lonely House in the Woods

During our hike through Virginia I came to a gap between two mountains. I realized that the confederate and union troupes had to drag canons up and down these mountains. Oh the history of what has gone on here. Farmers have found gravesites in these places that were seven thousand to nine thousand years old. Native Americans have been here that long. And, a sad thing I found one day hiking down a side trail. I had decided to take a side trail into a town to get more food because I had run out. This side trail was very steep and led down a narrow valley into a ravine shaped like the letter V. Suddenly, I saw a chimney, a big, two-story chimney. It was part of house that had been built in this narrow little place where there was hardly any sunlight. Years ago, somebody had built this house, brought his bride, had children, and cultivated the land. They probably had to go down the sides of the ravine with pails to find water to bring the back up to the house. But now, they were ghosts. It was so sad. All the dreams and aspirations and hard work of someone to build this house. How long ago had it been built? Twenty years ago? Fifty years? One-hundred? Two-hundred? The first settlers in Virginia in this area were probably in the late 1850's so not before then.

- Jacques d'Amboise