Day 5, Peaks of Otter Retry

 Note: Ward, Wally, Theo, and I are on a weeklong vacation in the Blue Ridge of south central Virginia.

The weather was looking good, so we decided to go back to Peaks of Otter to try to get to the top of Sharp Top Mountain. When we got there, all systems were go, so we decided to take a two-prong approach to get to the peak. Ward and Theo took the steep, difficult trail all the way up, and Wally and I took a shuttle van that got us 3/4 of the way there.

The shuttle ride brought flashbacks of country roads that I grew up around. The road was narrow and steep, with rock outcrops on one side and and a steep drop off on the other. Some passengers closed their eyes during the ride, and others enjoyed it. I was somewhere in the middle. Wally sat up with the driver and thought it was great.

The final climb on foot to the peak was steep and rocky but only 1/4 mile long. It was well worth the effort to get there because there were unobstructed views of mountain ridges in all directions. I'll show you pictures later, but as usual, they will not do justice to what our eyes saw. The only problem at the top was the swarms of small flies and gnats. But luckily down a little lower, they were manageable. 

Besides the view, the other great part at the top was that we met Theo and Wally there. We had talked about trying to coordinate, but with no cell service, we didn't even try. However, it worked out anyway. We all got off the mountain the same way we got up and met up at the bottom to regroup.

I wish I could tell you the different mountains and ridges you're seeing below, but I can't. There was no signage and the bugs were too annoying for me to spend the effort to figure them out. :)

The lake in the picture is Abbot Lake that we hiked around on our first visit.

After we regrouped, Wally convinced us to do the Johnson Farm Trail which was close to the lake hike we did on our first visit. It was an easy walk 2 mile hike through fields and woods to the farm. The Johnson Family owned the farm from 1852 until the early 1940s, and the farm is one of the few structures left from the original Peaks of Otter Community. We were in luck because there were interpreters at the site who filled us in on the history of the farm and area during our visit.

We had Mr. Bill all to ourselves as he eagerly shared his knowledge about the farm.
A side note: Mr. Bill and his wife live in Florida, but every summer come to the area to be interpreters at the farm. He does the outside area and she does the house. They are thrilled to be out of the Florida heat and like what they do. It got Ward and I thinking about possibilities for the future. :)

Mr. Bill's Wife

It was an interesting visit and I'm glad we did it. (My first inclination when Wally suggested it was to say no.)

After stopping on the way home for dinner, we headed back to our home-away-from home, tired but happy.

Until next time...

Day 4, Roanoke

 Note: Ward, Wally, Theo, and I are on a weeklong trip to the Blue Ridge of Central Virginia.

Today for a change of pace, we went into the city of Roanoke, VA. Thank Goodness for the GPS helping navigate around the city. Roanoke is a city of around 100,000 people, and among its many attributes, it is perhaps best known for its star. On top of Mill Mountain in the middle of the city is the Roanoke Star. It can be seen from miles around and is a landmark that everyone knows. So, of course, we had to go see it up close. 

The star is the world's largest man-made star and can be seen for 60 miles. It was originally constructed for the 1949 Christmas season to bring in business, but was popular enough that it stayed. It lights up in different color combinations every night.

From up top, we also had a good overlook of Roanoke.

Surrounding the star was Mill Mountain Park with a wildflower garden, teaching zoo, discovery center, and trails. There weren't many wildflowers blooming in the garden at this time of year, but it was a very pleasant walk all the same.

 Our next stop was the Pinball Museum in the center of Roanoke. 

Coincidentally, there was a Hispanic Heritage Month Festival going on. 

We enjoyed some of the music and dancing being showcased. 

The Pinball Museum was not exactly what we thought it was going to be. There wasn't much about the history of pinball, more a large collection of pinball machines of all ages. The best part was that the machines were operational and you could play to your hearts content. No money needed (except the entrance fee.) 

After our sights and senses were full of flashing lights and bells, we headed back to our home-away-from home. 

Until next time...

Day 3, Smith Mountain Lake

 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. 

The monument is located on the former tobacco plantation
where Booker was born and later freed.

Today, it is a working farm (minus the tobacco crops) circa late 1850s
 when Booker lived there.

They had livestock including sheep, pigs, and chickens.

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...

Day 2, Peaks of Otter

 Note: Ward, Wally, Theo, and I are on a week long trip in the Blue Ridge of central Virginia.

Since we picked our destination for this trip on the fact that Ward had always heard about Peaks of Otter, but had never visited them, we thought they should be first up on our agenda. The Peaks of Otter are three mountain peaks (Flat Top, Sharp Top, and Harkening Hill) in the Blue Ridge along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We decided that Sharp Top was our first destination since you can get 360 degree views from the top. However, there was bad fog that morning around Sharp Top, so we decided to hike the Fallingwater Cascades Trail while we waited to see if the fog was going to clear. 

The trail was rocky, wet, and slippery, but full of interesting things to see. Below are a few photos of things that caught my eye along the way. 

  

The Cascades Trail was more strenuous than we thought it was going to be, so we opted to try Sharp Top another day. Instead we took a walk around Abbot Lake which lies in the valley among the peaks. That was a pleasant, easy walk with some good views.

Flat Top Peak

Sharp Top Peak in distance

Polly's Ordinary

Today they have something a little fancier that Polly's Ordinary. You can see the Peaks of Otter Lodge across the lake.

After stopping for Mexican food on the way home, we went back to relax at our home away from home. Ward started a 1000 piece puzzle, I read, and Wally and Theo were somewhere doing something.

Until next time...

Home Away from Home

Note: Ward, Wally, Theo, and I are on a week-long trip to the Blue Ridge in central Virginia. 

The morning is quiet. Ward is working a puzzle, and Wally and Theo have as of yet to emerge from their rooms. The sun is trying to peek through the clouds in one part of the sky while fog is shrouding the landscape in another part. It is so peaceful here where we're staying.  

The house is on 6 acres with farms all around. If Zillow has it right, the house was originally built in 1800, but it has been upgraded to the modern place we are staying today. There are 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and just enough space for this family of introverts to find places to unwind after spending the day together.

Here are some pictures of our home away from home.

The house is down a long driveway from the main road.

In front is a huge cactus interlaced with morning glory.

There are cattle in the adjoining fields as well as this friendly horse
that Ward is feeding carrots.

There are abundant black walnut trees, and squirrels are scurrying everywhere with the nuts getting ready for winter.

The property has a small lake (pond) on it. Yesterday I saw a great blue heron fly across it.

This is the dam between our lake and the neighbors larger one next to it.

Ward and I took advantage of this swing last night.

And speaking of Ward, he's in the kitchen frying up some eggs and sausage for breakfast. I better go see if he needs any help. Next time, I'll tell you about some of the hikes we've been taking.

Until then...