Here is the story you have been waiting for. This story about Douthat was submitted by Lee Ann Everton Dail ofCharlotte Court House, VA. It won first place in our Facebook fan contest!
On May 15th, my family began a great adventure in Douthat State Park. My husband Wayne and son Cody had signed up to participate in the first ever “Magic in the Mountains” Run, Paddle, and Bike Triathlon. Our son Izaak and I decided to come along to help, and to explore the area. I rented a cabin for the weekend in Douthat using the on-line site. A bonus to renting a cabin in the park was that we could bring our little dog with us.
We arrived on a Friday afternoon to the well staffed visitor center and picked up the key to cabin #27. After buying a deck of wildlife playing cards, we left to find our two bedroom accommodations. We drove up a hill through a lovely forest with tall, mature trees. A large lake with a beach was to our left. When we drove up to our cabin, I was surprised to see that it looked brand new with a screened in porch and picnic patio. The rooms were spacious, clean, and refreshingly quiet which provided for a great night’s sleep.
The triathlon began with a run in Covington on Saturday morning. We dropped off the guys’ kayaks and bicycles on the way. Many volunteers and local officials were available to help in every location from Covington to Clifton Forge and up to Douthat Park. The race took participants an average of two hours to complete. Cody and Wayne thought it was all challenging fun. Their finish times were 2:03 and 2:11 respectively. Cody came in first place in the youth division for his very first triathlon! We were really happy for him.
After all of the contestants finished the course, a BBQ picnic with band was given on the beach of Douthat Lake. There was a classic car Cruise-In going on at the same time. We all picked out our favorite cars before heading back to our cabin for the evening. It rained hard that night, and we were glad to be inside playing cards. I took a lot of pictures of our wonderful vacation at Douthat State Park. We’re already planning to go back next year!
Lee Ann Everton Dail won two free nights in a cabin at one of our parks. Thanks to everyone who submitted a story. We really enjoyed reading them!
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If you would like to read the 2nd and 3rd place winner stories, click the links below.