When I met the wild ponies last year, I fell in love all over again.

A tense moment when 2 rival stallions had a few words over a fence regarding mares

I guess I'm surely considered a romantic and a dreamer by those who know me. I daydream, act like a kid, and almost always forget I turn 50 this year. I grew up around horses, but not mountains.

Luck threw me an amazing roll of the dice early on, and I met the girl who would become my best friend all through school at age 4. Kelly had horses, eleven of them, I was in love. 

The wild ponies of Grayson Highlands State Park are on the petite side, but roam a landscape that has a grand ruggedness that puts a comforting perspective on life; the world in no way revolves around you. The combination of the herds munching their way through the windy landscape and the distant mountain peaks vanishing into a blueish mist just puts me at utter peace.

If I lived in Southwest Virginia, you'd find me on those windswept slopes more often than not, communing with the ponies.

Although my trip this year was just 2 days and 1 night of camping, I got to visit with the ponies a full 14 hours. Believe me, my legs feel it. 

I got to enjoy nap times, a quiet sunset with them, and a tense moment when 2 rival stallions had a few words over a fence regarding admiring each other’s mares.

Here are two short videos you may enjoy:

It was an amazing time, and I do have to thank all the kind campground hosts throughout our park system. I had no cash, forgot to bring any source of light, and it was dropping to 52 degrees that night. Larry, the campground host brought me abandoned wood left behind over the previous week by other campers. 

So, I had light and some warmth for my tired joints before curling up in a feather comforter inside my chilly tent when quiet hours started. It never fails, I meet kind people at all the parks.

Next, I want to see the ponies against autumn color.

Editor's note: Near Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain, Virginia's two highest mountains, Grayson Highlands offers scenic views of alpine-like peaks more than 5,000 feet high. Facilities include a visitor center, campgrounds, and hiking trails leading to waterfalls and overlooks. Scenic horse trails and a horse camping area with electric and water hookups, stables and parking for trailers are available. The park provides year-round access to the Appalachian Trail and the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail.

This page's recreation section has specific information about hiking the high country. August is a beautiful time to visit the park, you can pick wild blueberries and watch the leaves begin to change.

Location: 829 Grayson Highland Ln., Mouth of Wilson, VA 24363; Phone: 276-579-7092. Click here for a Google map.

Drive Time to Grayson Highlands State Park: Northern Va., 6.5 hours; Richmond, 5.5 hours; Tidewater, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, 7.5 hours; Roanoke, 2.5 hours; Winston-Salem, 1.5 hours; Charlotte, 1.5 hours; Raleigh, 4 hours.