Blue Ridge Parkway Mid and Southern Sections

On a sunny October 23, we left Waynesboro, VA and started down the Blue Ridge Parkway. In many places we felt like we were driving through a cathedral of trees, with sunlight glowing through the yellow and gold leaves. I don't think the photos really show the vibrancy of the colors in their full glory.

We stayed two nights at the Peaks of Otter campground at milepost 86. Eighty to ninety miles is about as far as we drove in one day on the parkway, as the narrow, curvy road with many up and down hill sections is far more demanding than our normal routes - throw in having to pass bicyclists on the blind curves and it gets really interesting. We were able to maintain the speed limit of 45 mph in most places, but many cars were going far faster than that.

When we arrived at Peaks of Otter on Sunday afternoon, the area was crowded with people enjoying the nice weather during the last weekend that the park was fully open. Our walk around the small lake was more like a stroll on a city street, there were so many people out. On Monday, the crowds were gone and we enjoyed two hikes:

In the morning we did the 2.2 mile loop to the Johnson Farm, a fairly typical example of an Appalachian family farm in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The same family owned the farm from its inception until the early 1940's, when it was gifted to the National Park Service. The staff were packing up the house for the winter, so we weren't able to tour the inside, but we were able to explore the outbuildings and have a picnic lunch on the grounds.

That afternoon we did a steep 1.6 mile hike to the Fallingwater Cascades - a very pretty series of cascades that were worth the walk down, but the climb back up was a challenge (at least for Barbara - Shelby wasn't fazed).

We traveled the 86 miles down to our next campground, Rocky Knob, on Tuesday. At first we weren't sure we would find a campsite we could fit into, as most of the sites are C-shaped arcs with too small a radius for our 37 feet to fit into. We did finally wedge into one of the longer sites, but it took some careful maneuvering. This area along the parkway also has some nice trails, but after doing the 1-mile "easy" picnic loop trail and a half mile "moderate" loop up to Rocky Knob, we decided that the park service definition of easy and moderate is not the same as ours!

Just south of Rocky Knob is the Mabry Mill, a combination gristmill and lumber mill that is reputed to be the most photographed site along the Parkway. The area around the mill is set up as a farm museum, with interesting demonstrations of antique equipment. We marveled at the ingenuity required to harness the water from two small creeks, funneling it through several hundred feet of sluices to operate the water wheel. After touring the mill, we stopped at Chateau Morrisette, a winery just off the Parkway, for a nice lunch followed by wine tasting.

With snow and sleet forecast for the Linville Gorge area of the Parkway, we decided to forego our planned drive between Fancy Gap and Asheville, and instead dropped down about 1000 feet to just south of Mt. Airy, NC, where we stayed one night each at two Harvest Hosts wineries. Since it was raining, we went wine tasting instead of hiking. We had a nice lunch at one of North Carolina's oldest wineries, and sampled the wines at several others in the area - the wine industry in North Carolina has expanded greatly in the 14 years since Barbara lived there, and the quality of the wines has definitely improved.

On Saturday, Oct 29 we went on to Asheville, NC, where we stayed at a small RV park perched on a ridge north of town, with a great view out over the French Broad River and the mountains beyond. The approach to the campground was a narrow, one lane gravel road with sharp turns - I'm not sure how motorhomes longer than ours can get up there, but there were a few in the park. The nights were very cold, but daytime temps were in the 50's.

On Sunday we drove about 40 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Asheville; the fall color was still good here, but the haze made photography a challenge. We had our lunch overlooking Looking Glass Mountain, which apparently gets covered with ice and shines like a mirror in the winter.

As we drove further south and up in altitude, we encountered a north-facing rock face covered with frozen seepage. The icicles and sheets of ice were falling off the warming rock and shattering on the road below - we were glad we were in the other lane. This picture was taken at about 1 PM - definitely cooler than we like to be!

On our last day in Asheville, we toured the Biltmore Estate - subject of the next post in this blog.

Skyline and North Blue Ridge Parkways

During our 3 days in Front Royal and 3 days in Waynesboro, VA, we traveled the 105 miles of the Skyline Parkway in Shenandoah National Park, and the northernmost 86 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The weather while we were in Front Royal was not great, but we did drive two sections of the Skyline Parkway when it was only overcast, then on the one rainy day we visited a Civil War museum in Front Royal, and 3 of the many wineries in the area. We really liked the Viogner and Seyval at Fox Meadows Vineyards. Linden and Rappahonnack Cellars also had some very nice wines - Linden makes a 100% Petit Verdot that is deep, thick, and luscious. At the museum, Tom discovered that his great-great grandfather was part of Stonewall Jackson's Shenandandoah campaign during the spring of 1862 - perhaps we'll return someday to trace his steps through this region rich with history and beauty. We found that we could only just begin to appreciate this lovely part of the country in our week here - way too many historic sites, farm markets, wineries, and scenic places to see in just a few days.

Here are some photos from our tour of the Skyline and northern Blue Ridge Parkways. Over the next week, we will travel the Blue Ridge Parkway as far south as Asheville, NC - wish us luck on the hills, curves, and tight campgrounds!



View from the northern end of Skyline Parkway, south of Front Royal, VA

 


Tom and Shelby looking over the Shenandoah Valley from the Skyline Drive

 


Fall color along the Skyline Drive - overlooking the Shenandoah Valley - the haze is largely due to coal burning electrical generators and other man-made sources. If it were 1850, we could see the Allegenies from here!

 


More fall color with the Allegeny Mountains in the background, on the southern section of the Skyline drive with the Shenandoah Valley in the distance - what a difference in visibility a bit of rain during the night makes.

 


Barbara and Shelby above Arnold Valley on the northern section of the Blue Ridge Parkway - I wonder if I had ancestors in the area?

 


Fall color on the Blue Ridge looking over Arnold Valley, VA

  


The James River at its intersection with the Blue Ridge Parkway at about mile 65 - on a lovely clear Fall day. The James was the most important river in Virginia's colonial days - at this point, a canal went along the left side of the river, with locks that lifted boats past rapids. Now there is a dam downstream that slows the river. In the mid-1800's, the railroads made the canals superfluous, but the remnants of the locks preserved here serve as a reminder of earlier days.

 


Along the northern Blue Ridge Parkway, sun shining through the yellow leaves. Aren't we going to have fun driving the motorhome up this road tomorrow?

 


Mostly leafless trees silhouetted against the yellows and reds along the northern Blue Ridge Parkway

 

Family Visits and Engine Issues

For the last couple of weeks we've been visiting family in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. We also spent a few days in Gettysburg, which will be the subject of another post.

Tom's cousin Judy Packard treated us to both lunch and dinner at her weekend home in Martinsburg, West Virginia - Judy has an avid interest in genealogy, and has a wonderful library of source material that rivals that of some historical societies. She also has interesting collections of antiques and various Packard memorabilia displayed throughout her home. We had a great time talking family history and current affairs. 

The following weekend we went out for dinner with Tom's younger daughter Tisha, and figured out it's been 5 years since they last saw each other. Tisha lives on the north side of Philadelphia, which has not been on any of our itineraries until now. On Sunday, we enjoyed a wonderful warm afternoon at the RV park in Coatesville with Tisha, her friend David, and Tisha's two Bedlington Terriers, Hamlet and Ophelia. Unfortunately, Shelby is not fond of other dogs, so we had to keep them somewhat separated. Tisha did a nice demonstration for us, getting Shelby to heel and come around (we've really undone most of Shelby's great early training by letting her just wander on walks, but she responded to Tisha's commands right away). We were quite negligent, and did not take any photos during this visit.

We had planned to spend a week in Arlington, VA, visiting the National Archives for some research, then spending time with Barbara's brother Jim's family - but instead spent 3 days in Harrisburg, PA getting a bad injector in our diesel engine replaced. Not fun to go up hills on only 3 cylinders, limping along at 10 mph with emergency flashers warning drivers coming up behind! Fortunately they did finally figure out what was wrong, and fixed it under warranty, so while we lost 3 days, it didn't break the bank. 

We did spend the weekend with Jim's family - we left our motorhome at the park and spent the night at Jim's place in Arlington, catching up with him, his wife Susan and their children Isabel and Matthew. Their dog Boomer, a very mellow black Lab, had no problem with Shelby, nor she with him - I'm beginning to think it's only dogs her own size she tries to dominate. Jim has a great wine cellar, and treated us to delicious grilled lamb with a nicely matched vintage for dinner. On Sunday morning, we all went to Isabel's soccer game - it was her 17th birthday, and you'd think she'd deserve a win, but the opposing team's goalie was just too good, and all but one of her team's attempts were fended off. After the game, we again had an interesting and tasty meal, followed by a mile-long walk down the hill to a neat little neighborhood "market" that is actually a beer garden. I think the walk back up the hill probably took care of some of the calories we'd consumed.

Ohio Travels

We spent the last two weeks of September circling around Ohio, visiting, giving workshops, and generally enjoying scenery that was new to both of us.

A - Allegeny State Park, NY

B - Geneva, OH

C - Cincinnati, OH

D - Celina, OH

E - Falling Waters, WV

After two days at Allegeny State Park, which was nearly deserted on a Monday and Tuesday after Labor Day, on Oct 14 we traveled to one of our Harvest Hosts wineries, Virant Family Winery in Geneva, OH. Charlie Virant helped us get situated at the edge of the parking lot, then gave us tastes of a number of his wines. We liked his Mya's Majesty, a light-bodied dry red blend named after his dog Mya.

That evening, we enjoyed dinner with our friend Darren Warren, one of Tom's coworkers at SNBL, who is now working in Painesville, OH, just down the road from Geneva. We had a nice time catching up on the happenings at SNBL and with our respective families.

On the 15th, we made a one-night stop in Columbus, OH so Barbara could have her eyes checked and order a years' worth of contact lenses at Costco. The next day we drove down to Cincinnati, where we stayed for 4 nights at the Family Motor Coach Association campground. Over the weekend, we went across the Ohio River to Kentucky for some genealogy research. One of Tom's ancestors immigrated from Ireland, served in the Revolutionary War, and farmed near Union, KY. He is buried in a family plot that is now on the 18th hole of a golf course! The county library in Burlington has a large collection of local history and genealogy sources, so we spent a few hours filling in some details for Tom's records. We also enjoyed a nice dinner and visit with Jim and Kathy Maurer at their lovely home just north of Cincinnati. Jim was one of Tom's regular golf partners when they both attended annual Society for Toxicological Pathology meetings.

On Monday the 19th, Barbara helped Donna Simmons, a friend from our histology days, give a workshop on writing a scientific paper at the National Society for Histotechnology Annual Symposium. We also visited with a number of old friends at the Charter Members reception that evening. Even though we've both been out of the field for almost 30 years, we treasure memories of our times in NSH, and it's great to see people we remember fondly.

From Cincinnati we moved on to Celina, OH for our first Eastern Gypsy Gathering - an annual RV rally put on by Nick and Terry Russell, authors of the Gypsy Journal, a publication for RVers and wanna-be RVers. We first met Nick and Terry at the Life on Wheels conferences in 2007 and 08, but this was the first time we were able to attend one of their rallies. We had a great time, despite the cool rainy weather - four classes a day, vendors we patronized too generously, door prizes and entertainment in the evenings, and lots of new people to meet. We especially enjoyed the classes taught by Jim and Chris Guld, the Geeks on Tour. In fact, I learned how to set up this blog in one of their classes. Tom and I gave a session on Harvest Hosts, and also hosted a get-together for the Newmar RV owners - 11 of the 110 RVs at the rally were Newmars.

After spending last night at the WalMart in Morgantown, WV, we are now in Falling Waters, WV, just southwest of Hagerstown, MD. The drive from Morgantown was very interesting despite the incessant rain - fall colors are beginning to pop, and I-68 snakes up, down, and around through the mountains of northern West Virginia and far western Maryland. Barbara used low gears and the compression brake quite frequently! The dramatic geology of the area is displayed in the cuts made to smooth the road - we even saw some people parked on the side of the interstate collecting coal that had crumbled down from an exposed vein. We would like to come back here sometime when the sun is shining, rather than in the rain that we've driven in all day yesterday and today! 

Tomorrow we'll visit with Judy Packard, one of Tom's cousins who works in DC, but lives in Martinsburg, just south of here.

Next week we'll visit Gettysburg, PA, then go on to Coatesville, PA to visit with Tom's daughter Tisha, followed by a week in Virginia, where we'll visit with Barbara's brother Jim and his family and do some research at the National Archives in DC.