Hungry Mother SP, VA

Hungry Mother State Park is one of the first six state parks in Virginia.  Many of the facilities were built by CCC and the dam, which creates Hungry Mother Lake, was completed by ACE.

The name comes from a local story of Molly Marley, during the early Virginia history.  She and her small child were taken by Native Americans but she escaped and tried to make her way back home with her child.  She became ill from hunger and stopped but her child kept on going and was rescued.  When the search party found him, all he could say is “hungry Mother”.  Molly was eventually found, but it was too late, she died.  The local creek and eventually the lake was named in her memory Hungry Mother.

The park is set along the lake, right in Blue Ridge mountains.   We hiked to the top of Molly’s Knob, it was a pretty steep climb.  The views along the way and from the top were great, We could see our campground, the lake and park facilities.

I’m adding more vegetarian meals to our routine, I found this recipe for smashed chickpeas sandwich and it was a hit. Toasted sourdough, mashed chickpeas, tahini, sliced tomato and drizzle of balsamic glaze. Yum!

The weather is warming up but it is still pretty chilly at night.  Tomorrow, we are off to Tennessee, just west of Knoxville.  Can’t wait to start wearing t-shirts only!