Dismal Falls, VA and concerns about money

    Last week we tried something different, as in we went to a place we hadn't been before. At a yard sale I'd found an older Virginia Dept. of Inland Fisheries guide to various parks, falls and natural areas in the state you can visit. It's weird that Liberty University also has a natural area associated with it that looks like it's at least a half hour away from this Lynchburg college.
     But we didn't go there. We went to a tiny falls in tiny, out of the way area that is off of state route 100 and then off of route 42, in a rural, and as I said, out of the way area. You  can access the Falls at Dismal by hiking 2 miles on the always up and down Appalachian Trail, OR take the easy route, by car, that takes you within 2 tenths on a mile from this pretty little falls. On the way we passed narrow, windy road and big open area reminding us of the farmland of Castlewood in Russell County, Virginia. But, then, why  wouldn't it be like far southwest Virginia?
     It must have just rained as the little trail to the falls was rather smooth and wet near the bottom. The falls itself seemed to be composed of many layers of rectangular shaped rock, most a dark hue. Some looked like it had white paint splattered and dripping down it, but I assumed that was some kind of moss or probably a lichen. Since it was summer the falls coming off of the many angles and steps of rectangular slabs were thin and modest. It probably roars to life in the early spring!
    We met a young family there whose toddler daughter wore a swimsuit and might have gone in the pool below the falls. It has a kind of reservoir/pool below it that is maybe 3 feet deep and and 20 feet or so across. If you put your feet in the pebbly (ouch) water it really is pretty cold!
    A few wildflowers, some I can't find in "any" guidebook, were around the falls, including meadowrue, and sassafras plants 5 feet high (!) bordered where we parked our park off the road. We gathered kindling and husband Frank found some light cardboard under an overhang (was a bum there) and made a fire for hotdogs we had on branches from one of the trees, to go with our carrots and potato salad, the dressing a Maya Angelou recipe (dilly but good). I found reddish rock. Frank said there was a lot of iron in this spot.
    Except for gas this was a rather inexpensive trip. Concerns about money have me putting off going to a nearby university to advertise my writing services. It is very expensive to live and stressful in the summer when less money is coming in.