The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 96
Treasure Hunt
We found Christmas in
the unlikeliest of places.
M
Y YOUNGEST WAS STRAPPED in a
Baby Bjorn the first year our family cut our
Christmas tree at Roll Out Farm in Pilot, Va.
It wasn't the first time we'd trekked to a Christmas
tree farm. We had visited other places that were
closer, and flashier, with horse-drawn carriages and
wreath-making barns and larger-than-life blow-ups
of chimneys and elves.
But on that sunny December day when my sevenyear-old and four-year-old tumbled out of our minivan
into the high grass atop a tall knob, we were hooked.
The big sky and kindly smile of the teddy-bear-of-an
owner called to us all.
We cut down our tree that day, but we also bobbed
and weaved through a stand of tall pines, ran up and
around stair-step junipers and spruce. We gulped in cold
mountain air, collected piles of pine cones, then warmed
our toes in a little hut near our car. By the time we left,
96
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
WRITTEN AND
PHOTOGRAPHED BY
CHRISTINA NIFONG
this place had found a home in our hearts.
The next year we slid our CD of Christmas carols
into the player and made the long drive through the
country back to Roll Out Farm. I think that was the
December we began our traditions of rolling down the
impossibly long hills and playing a never-ending game
of hide-and-seek among the tidy trees.
We were often one of only a handful of families
racing through the rows. The owner at Roll Out
would marvel that we drove so far, year after year,
to cut down seven feet of boughs. But somehow, his
farm became our farm.
The following year we traveled over the river and
through the woods to find the farm blanketed in
several inches of snow. There'd only been a few slushy
flakes at home but we'd hoped Roll Out might have
more. So, along with our snacks and coats and gloves
and saw and ropes and Christmas tunes, we'd packed
our red plastic sled.
We chose our tree first. My nine-, six- and threeyear-olds gallumping through the wet fluff. We
hauled it to the top of a hill to be later carried out
TheRoanoker.com
http://www.TheRoanoker.com
The Roanoker - November/December 2019
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker - November/December 2019
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - Intro
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - Cover1
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - Cover2
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 3
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 4
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 5
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 6
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 7
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 8
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 9
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 10
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 11
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 12
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 13
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 14
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 15
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 16
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 17
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 18
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 19
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 20
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 21
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 22
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 23
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 24
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 25
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 26
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 27
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 28
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 29
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 30
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 31
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 32
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 33
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 34
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 35
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 36
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 37
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 38
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 39
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 40
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 41
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 42
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 43
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 44
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 45
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 46
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 47
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 48
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 49
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 50
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 51
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 52
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 53
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 54
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 55
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 56
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 57
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 58
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 59
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 60
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 61
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 62
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 63
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 64
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 65
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 66
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 67
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 68
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 69
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 70
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 71
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 72
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 73
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 74
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 75
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 76
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 77
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 78
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 79
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 80
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 81
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 82
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 83
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 84
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 85
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 86
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 87
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 88
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 89
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 90
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 91
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 92
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 93
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 94
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 95
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 96
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 97
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 98
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 99
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 100
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 101
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 102
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 103
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 104
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 105
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 106
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 107
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 108
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 109
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 110
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 111
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 112
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 113
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 114
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - Cover3
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/the-roanoker-march-april-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/the-roanoker-january-february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/RKRND21
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/RKRSO21
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/TheRoanokerJA2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20210506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20210304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20210102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_2020_1112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20200910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20200708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20200506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20200304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20200102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20191112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20190910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20190708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20190506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20190304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20190102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20181112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20180910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20180708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20180506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20180304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20180102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20171112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20170910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/TheRoanoker_JulyAugust2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/TheRoanoker_MayJune2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20170304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20170102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20161112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20160910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20160708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20160506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20160304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20160102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20151112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20150910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20150708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20150506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20150304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20150102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20141112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20140910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20140708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_20140506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_201403
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/roanoker_201402
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com