BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY--HEADING EAST

We were greeted by a clear crisp fall-like day, perfect for taking a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  This time we headed east from Fancy Gap.  There are historical sites to see all along the Parkway, including several cabins dating back to the late 1700's.  One such cabin is the Puckett Cabin.  Oreleaa Puckett was a midwife who delivered over 1000 babies from the early 1900's until she died in 1939.  She lived to be 102 years of age!  Notice how few windows were used in construction back then.

The Puckett homestead was small, less than an acre.  There were two fenced areas; one for livestock and the other for a garden.

Another cabin we saw was the Trail's Cabin, built in the 1890's.  Just look at the view they had looking south towards North Carolina.  Notice the chinking between the logs has been eroded away by time.

Mabry Mill is the most photographed spot along the Blue Ridge Parkway, according to many travel journals.  This  restored gristmill/sawmill/woodworking shop and blacksmith shop will be featured later in a separate blog entry.

Another interesting exhibit we saw was about the different types of fencing used by the pioneers who settled this land.  This photo shows three of the more popular types of fence.  From left to right: snake rail fence, picket fence and post & rail fence.

We could see the silhouette of Buffalo Mountain from one of the scenic overlooks along this portion of the Parkway.  The great hump towers 1000 feet above the surrounding terrain.  This was especially interesting since we had hiked to the summit earlier in the summer. 

The mountain ridge called the "Saddle" sits in the right center of this photo.  Can you see how the curvature of the mountains looks like a saddle?  There is evidence that this area between the Blue Ridge plateau and the lowlands of the Piedmont was settled before the Revolutionary War.

Several new colorful flowers were seen along our drive.  First, Queen Ann's Lace with an insect sitting on top of the flower.

There were lots of blooming Black-eyed Susan visible all along our 75 mile ride.  At times it was like we were driving through a yellow tunnel.

Lastly, Butterfly Milkweed with either a large blue butterfly or moth seeking nectar.

We concluded our scenic drive with dinner at the Wasena City Tap Room in Roanoke.  This was our second time eating at this restaurant, recommended to us when we visited this area back in May.

We had a fantastic day visiting historic sites as well as enjoying a nice meal. 

JULY BEER DINNER

With Ann unable to go hiking because of her ankle injury, we have been filling our days off with non-strenuous activities.  We enjoyed our two previous trips to Boondock's in West Jefferson for their monthly beer dinners.  So we decided to make the drive again to this North Carolina mountain town for another meal/beer combo experience.

Our first course was honey glazed blackened bacon wrapped scallops.  The appetizer was  served with 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat brewed by the Boulevard Brewing Co in Kansas City.  This appetizer was outstanding!  The blackened flavor highlighted the bacon wrapped scallops while the honey glaze added color to the dish as well as a bit of cooling effect.  Neither Ann or Paul are fans of wheat beers, but the hoppy flavor of this beer almost made it taste like an IPA.     

Paul is patiently waiting for the rest of the eighteen dinner guests to be served our second course.  The fire roasted tomato and corn chowder tasted like a good tomato basil soup that our daughter Wendy has made for us.  The corn gives the chowder a bit of a sweet taste. Sam Adams' Imperial White Beer was served with the chowder, which also helped cool down the heat.

The entree was a jalapeno-cheddar beer brat topped with a Sierra Nevada stone ground Stout mustard sauce. The mustard sauce was extremely flavorful while acting almost as a gravy for the brat.  This dish was served with Confluence brewed by the Allagash Brewing Co. in Portland, Maine.  This beer was a bit heavy, but it complimented the flavors from the brat and the mustard sauce very well.

Our final course was caramel-chocolate pecan cake served with Dragon's Milk beer from the New Holland Brewing Co in Michigan.  The photo below shows just how rich this dessert was.  The cake tasted almost like a ganache, while the whipped cream with chocolate chips added both color and additional flavor to the dish.  The beer also had a bit of a chocolate flavor.  This was a great way to cap off an outstanding meal.

It is good we are about a 90 minute drive from West Jefferson.  If we were closer, we would most likely be eating at Boondock's at least once a week--not good for maintaining our weight.  The food is excellent, and they have over 30 beers on tap.  We have truly enjoyed each of our beer dinners at this fine restaurant and look forward to one or two more before we head home in September.

THE ROAD TO "THE SHOW"

We visited Pulaski, a small Virginia town about 30 minutes from Hillsville, to watch the Pulaski Mariners play an Appalachian League game.   The drive through town on our way to the ballpark was somewhat depressing.  Pulaski isn't doing well financially in today's economy.  There was a decent crowd at the ballpark, perhaps because of the ticket price of $5 for general admission.

The Appalachian League is one of three Rookie leagues sponsored by major league teams.  Paul has been to a game in Elmyra, NY (NY/Penn League) and Paul and Ann have both been to Idaho Falls (Pioneer League) several times to watch games.  The vast majority of these players were playing either high school or college baseball this spring until being drafted by major league teams in June.

A nice summer evening, so we headed to the closest ballpark to Hillsville.

The ballpark in Pulaski is known as Historic Calfee Park.  It is the 9th oldest minor league stadium and was last renovated in 1999.  There was a small sign which said, "The road to the show" on the side of the grandstand.   

The major leagues have often been revered as "The Show", the goal of every player who signs a professional baseball contract.  "The Show" comes from the travel experience when you compare major league team travel to that of minor leagues.  Major league teams travel by specially designed chartered jets with lots of leg room, deluxe chartered buses (always 2 buses for a traveling party of about 45) from the airport to the hotel and again to the stadium, and stay in five-star hotels.  Daily per diem for meals, cabs, and incidentals is nearly $200 per day.  In the minor leagues, teams travel by one chartered bus from city to city and teams stay in 2 or 3-star hotels, the kind without restaurants.  Per diem for minor league players is about $40 a day.

From the view from our seats below, it looks like most any other older minor league park with a city park beyond the left field wall, 338 feet from home plate.       

Right field at Calfee Park is unique.  The 20 ft. high fence is only 301 feet from home plate.  There is a road beyond the fence with some houses along the road.  

There are family boxes along the first base line that are set up like open air suites.  There are several rows of chairs with a round table in the back of each box.  The names of each family were on a sign along the walkway.

Along the third base side, the box seats end near the on-deck circle.  The original covered grandstand with bleacher seats extends down to the end of the infield.  The press box is the tan structure on the left with the sign "rooms" which is actually "restrooms" pointing down and to the left.

It was military night so they put up some cheap plastic bunting along the rails.  You can also see the grass is not well taken care of.  After only 4 weeks into the season, the grass on the right side of home plate is very worn.

People watching was good as well.  Many of the fans seemed to know one another, which makes sense being in a real small town whose residents probably have lived here all their lives.

It is always good to see a baseball game, especially one played with wooden bats.  Even though we didn't know any of the players, we still had an enjoyable time.  

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN HIKING AND BASEBALL

Have you ever wondered how hiking and baseball can be compared?

We read so many wonderful things about the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail.  This trail follows the route of assembly of the American patriot army which decisively defeated an American Loyalist army at the battle of Kings Mountain, SC in the fall of 1780.  Part of this trail was in Elkin, NC, near another winery we wanted to visit.  We followed these markers from the parking lot to the Yadkin River before heading into the woods by the river.  The markers were impressive.

The temperature was warmer than we were used to, probably because we were at a lower elevation.  Most of the trail leading to the river was out in the open so we were also exposed to full sun.  Then we got a glimpse of the Yadkin River.  Is this view picturesque?  

No!  We did hike another 20 minutes along the river, but the trail was still mostly in the sun and partially overgrown with vegetation.  And the views didn't get any better.  We decided to turn back way before the end of the trail, something we rarely do.  But there were better things to do that day than sweat and not enjoy our hiking experience.

On the way back from Elkin, we visited the Round Peak Winery, where we enjoyed sampling several of their wines and also some craft beer.  A nice way to end a mediocre day outdoors.

Now, back to the comparison.  In baseball you don't usually get more than 2 or 3 hits every 10 times you come to bat.  Well, we struck out with the Overmountain Victory Trail.

We hit a home run the following day hiking to the Cascades - with a foul ball type ending.  

Jake, our co-worker who took us to Buffalo Mountain, recommended we take this hike.  After about a 70 minute drive, we arrived at a large parking area operated by the National Forest Service in the Jefferson National Forest.  There are two trails to the Cascades.  We choose the lower more scenic trail to hike to the falls and to return via the faster trail going straight downhill. 

Most of the time we were very close to Big Stoney Creek.  The water flowed swiftly among rocks of various sizes.  Notice all the moss growing on these rocks.  We wondered how old some of these rocks must be.

We soon came to this old portable boiler that was used to power the saw mill in the 1920's and 1930's when this area was engaged in heavy logging.  When the logging ceased, this boiler was left behind.

Whenever there were small pools of water, we would look for trout swimming.  Finally we did see about a 12 inch trout, but the fish swam too fast to be photographed.

We passed this tree and thought it must have been struck by lightning many years ago.

In 1996, springtime floods severely damaged this trail.  Below you can see just how jammed the creek can become from fallen trees.  Imagine floods from melting snow and heavy rains and you can readily visualize how damaging the rushing water can be as it picks up fallen trees on its way down the mountain.  Three bridges were washed out along with much of the trail that year.  Thankfully, the U.S. Forest Service decided to rebuild the trail.

Here is a view looking down at Big Stoney.  Some of the boulders are very large and all appear to have some moss growing on them.

The area below was one of the longer straight stretches of rapids.  All along our hike we could here the roar of Little Stoney, since we were hiking so close to the creek with fast moving water.

Here is a view of some of the boulders that are not in the creek bed.  Notice how green the vegetation is.  Most of this hike was in the shade because of the dense forest of trees which had grown back after the loggers nearly destroyed this forest.

Paul is standing next to Big Stoney with the trail on his right.  You can readily see how rocky the trail is, as you can see some of the countless stone steps (far left of this photo) we climbed up.

Finally, we came around a large boulder and were excited to see the Cascade waterfall in view.  This majestic waterfall flows down from Salt Pond Mountain. The large pool of water below is surrounded by 200 ft. cliff walls.  In the winter, the waterfall freezes in ice formations.

You can see some other hikers relaxing after the 2 mile hike to the top.  This scene is both breathtaking and peaceful as the falls combine both power and beauty.  The wooden steps on the left give hikers a chance to get a close view of the falls.

While there is "no crying in baseball", Ann twisted her ankle badly about 50 yards short of reaching the spot shown above.  We did take the easier upper trial back to the parking lot, with Paul strolling and Ann limping all the way down.  The upper trail hugs the top of the gorge as it wanders back down.  While we walked back down, we talked about how this hike was the best hike we have taken in the past 2 years; despite Ann's ankle injury.  The views were priceless as we made the total elevation gain of 740 feet to the Cascades.

We did get to experience a trip to an Urgent Care facility in nearby Christiansburg, VA.  The x-rays showed a level 2 sprain with a small chip broken off the bone.  They gave Ann an air cast and a set of crutches.  The doctor whispered into our ears that we should go to Goodwill and get a walker for about $10.  As you can see from the photo below, we took her advice.  This photo was taken on top of Pilot Mountain, NC a week later.  Too much haze because of the warm day to get any good photos of the scenery. Ann is now in a walking boot, so there will be no serious hiking for a while for her.

VIRGINIA CREEPER TRAIL

Ann's sister, Kathy, and her husband John live in Bristol, about 100 miles west of Hillsville.  They suggested that we spend a day together to ride bikes down the Creeper Trail. We met them on a sunny summer morning in Damascus, VA.  Paul is shown below with Kathy and John, with the bike trailer and van in the background loaded and ready to go.  We rented bikes and then were driven 30 minutes up over steep, windy roads to the Whitetop Station (3,576 ft. above sea level).  This was once the highest railroad passenger station east of the Rockies.  John and Kathy assured us that we were up to the task of riding 17 miles on the trail, as the trail is a 3% downward grade all the way back to Damascus.

The Virginia Creeper Trail is an abandoned railroad right-of-way which was dedicated by Congress as a National Recreation Trail in 1987.  This rail line was built to help the lumber companies export their product in the early 1900's.  Passenger travel was a by-product for those who worked along the railroad.  The trees along the trail are second generation, since the area was logged heavily between 1880 and 1976.

We got on our bikes and began the ride, stopping often to enjoy the beautiful forest and mountain views.

Our first rest stop was at Green Cove Station, built by the Norfolk & Western Railroad in 1914.  The train, and the line, became known as The Virginia Creeper because of its slow speed going up and over the mountains.  The interior of the general store at Green Cove Station was left "as is" when it closed in March, 1977.  Ann and Kathy recognized many of the small cans and boxes on the shelves from their childhood home.  Paul is sitting on a railroad maintenance trolley outside of the station.

As we rode along, we did find several old railroad markers.  Notice the moss growing on the side of this marker.

Here is one of the longer trestles along the Creeper Trail.  We rode across at least 20 trestles during our ride, enjoying the views of river gorges and forest valleys below.

As we rode along, we were very close to the "Offset", a shift in the Virginia-Tennessee border just west of the trail.  Legend has it that, in 1749, surveyors ventured off the 36°30' parallel of latitude, the planned northern boundary of Tennessee where it meets Virginia, to the north in search of a moonshine still in the woods.  These surveyors enjoyed the fruits of the mountains before continuing their work, with the new boundary line now several miles from where it was originally supposed to be.  Not all surveying jobs can be perfect when fueled by moonshine.

Much of the trail follows Whitetop Laurel Creek.  We enjoyed some great views of several small waterfalls and rapids along the trail.

A second set of rapids.

John is shown below walking back to the trail from examining this waterfall.

Rock cliffs are adjacent to the trail in many areas.  Here you can see the layers of sandstone which are mixed in among glacial deposits left behind by an ancient ice age which ended about 10,000 years ago.

As we approached Damascus, we heard thunder rumbling through the mountains and decided that our strategy for taking the ride early in the day had paid off.  We rode our bikes into the rental parking lot, checked in the bikes and then rushed to our cars as the rain began to fall.  

Fortunately, the rain was over by the time we finished lunch, so John suggested taking some scenic hikes close to town.  We drove across the border into Tennessee to take a short but very steep hike up Backbone Rock, which is locally know as the world's shortest tunnel.  Around 1900, the Beaver Dam Railway Company blasted and drilled the tunnel to provide railroad access from Damascus into Shady Valley's rich manganese and iron ores as well as timber.  You can see how high this tunnel is by observing John and Paul standing along the side.

In 1924 the tracks were taken up and the route was opened up for automobiles.

While we didn't get any photos of the climb up the steps, here are two photos of the steps going back down on the other side of the road.  Kathy is behind Paul as they navigate their way down these narrow steps.

A side view showing the steep drop off beyond the railing.  Ann is in the foreground with Paul and Kathy further back.

You can see just how narrow the top of the tunnel is as Paul and Ann maneuver along the top.  Notice there is only a railing on one side.

Paul and Ann admiring the view from the top of the tunnel.

Notice how small this motorcycle and rider look from the top.

The primary reason for climbing these steep stairs was to get to this small but powerful waterfalls on the other side of the road from the parking area.

It was great to experience these outdoor adventures with John and Kathy.  This is a milestone in that it is the first time we have completed two adventures in two different states in the same day.