UCUMC Family Camping Trip 2026

As we all gathered on Friday evening in Fancy Gap, we got busy setting up camp and getting a campfire going.  Trinity is quite the fire craftswoman!  As we sat around the fire, we connected with each other over stories of our week and a few spooky ghost stories.  Including our traditional "Taily Bone" that is requested year after year.  Even though we ended the night on the spooky side nobody had trouble falling asleep after such a great time around the fire.  

On Saturday morning, we had a delicious variety of pancakes with sausage and bacon made by Chef Tori and Chef Kristi.  The coffee was flowing, and the group was excited to go exploring.  Once our day trippers arrived and breakfast was cleaned up, we posed for our group picture.  After that, we piled into the cars and headed out for an adventure at Mabry Mill and Rocky Knob.  Aly and her adults stayed behind to tend the fire and nap the rest of the morning away.  
Mabry Mill is on the Blue Ridge Parkway and was built by Ed Mabry, who lived there along with his wife Lizzy.  We were able to go inside the mill that still functions today, although it doesn't get much use any longer.  In their time the Mabry's used the mill's power to grind corn and buckwheat.  We really enjoyed our step back in time at this beautiful spot on the Blue Ridge.  

From there, we hopped back in our cars and headed to the Rocky Knob Visitors Center, where we enjoyed a picnic lunch.  We even spotted a couple of deer; luckily, the dogs didn't really notice them.  After lunch, we enjoyed a lovely 1.5-mile hike on the Rocky Knob Picnic Area Trail.  It was a loop trail through a mature forest of large oaks, ashes, hickories, Fraser magnolias, hemlocks, and other native trees and shrubs.  Coan enjoyed picking up some of the largest acorns I have ever seen!  

It was a beautiful drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway as we headed back to camp.  When we arrived, the kids all ran off to play a big game of hide-and-seek, and the adults decided a rest or nap in the shade was our best option.  At some point, I decided I needed to start supper before the crowd got too hungry.  That night we dined on tacos with rice and black beans.  Leah and JB were unable to beat their PR's in their taco-eating contest.  We ended our evening together around the campfire eating an absurd amount of s'mores while we read spooky stories from a book that Miriam and Chris bought for Coan at the visitor's center.  Sleep came earlier for everyone that night after a long day of adventure.  

On Sunday morning, we began our day with another delicious breakfast made by Tori and Kristi with an assist by JB.  Bacon, sausage, hash browns, and farm-fresh eggs.  Then we had a great worship by the campfire.  God was with us all weekend long, and we had an amazing time building relationships with each other.  The church family bond is strong with this group, and we hope that you will consider joining us on next year's trip to Fancy Gap.