Note: Ward, Wally, Theo, and I are on a weeklong trip to the Blue Ridge of Central Virginia.
Our destination today was Smith Mountain Lake. Smith Mountain Lake was built in the early 1960s by the damming of the Roanoke and Blackwater Rivers for hydroelectricity. It is a large lake of approximately 35 square miles. Our first thought was to see the dam and an exhibit about it at the visitors center. Turns out there are three visitors centers around the lake, and we went to the wrong one, but found very helpful people where we did stop. After talking with them, we decided that we would go to Smith Mountain Lake State Park for some hiking. We hiked the Turtle Island and Chestnut Ridge Trails which go out onto peninsulas in the lake. Trees along the way were labeled which was very interesting for this tree-identification ignorant group. BTW, every place we go, including where we're staying, we are seeing some really big trees. Below are a few pictures from our hikes around the lake.
After our time at Smith Mountain Lake, we toured the nearby Booker T. Washington National Monument. In case you've forgotten, Booker T. Washington was born a slave, but became an educator, author, orator, and founder the the Tuskegee Institute.
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| The monument is located on the former tobacco plantation where Booker was born and later freed. |
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| Today, it is a working farm (minus the tobacco crops) circa late 1850s when Booker lived there. |
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| They had livestock including sheep, pigs, and chickens. |
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| This was a replica of the cabin Booker and his family lived in. His mother was the plantation's cook. |
Then we returned to our home-away-from-home for another evening of relaxing with games, puzzles, books and a Bop-It. More on the Bop-It another time. Now it's time to get on the road for today's adventures.
Until next time...
