Our last day of travel covered about 375 miles, but it took us an hour and a half to cover the first 42 miles! Route 80 (county road? state road?) was a narrow, winding road that took us from Breaks Interstate Park to Route 460, heading for Wytheville. It went through tiny mountain towns that had, at most, a gas station with a convenience store, and the switchbacks were something I was glad not to be driving! If you thought Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty "fixed" Appalachia, try driving through this part of Virginia. It's hard to believe that some people still live this way in extreme poverty. It looked as if some of the towns had a bit of an uptick at some time in the past 20 years or so, but now there are many shuttered small businesses and run-down buildings. Depressing.
I-81 through the western part of the state is always thick with semis and today was no different from other trips. It is starting to look like autumn in that part of the state with red sumacs and yellowing leaves on trees.
Once home, around 4:30, it was apparent that there had not been much rain in our absence .The sprinklers kept the shrubs going, along with lots of weeds in those beds. All the bird baths are totally dry, and the planter on the front porch needs a total replanting. Oh well. Lots to do in the coming days, getting back to routine after a three-week vacation. Laundry....unpacking....grocery shopping. We have the long Labor Day weekend ahead to take care of it all. Still worthwhile spending time on the road in our little RV!
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
A Day of Exploring Breaks Interstate Park
We awoke to a foggy morning up here on the mountain, a good excuse for a lazy few hours of drinking tea and reading my novel while Dan slept late.
After a big breakfast, we headed out hiking. By noon it was already getting quite hot, so we kept it fairly short. We started out on Grassy Overlook Trail which indeed took us to a viewpoint where we could see the road into the park. Given this location, the hiking trails were rocky, with lots of ups and downs.
Continuing on the Laurel Branch Trail which took us to Laurel Lake, we traveled along a narrow trail with dense rhododendrons and mountain laurels on either side . (It must be beautiful in the last spring.)
We covered only about 2 1/2 miles, but that was enough on a warm day (one of the warmest of the trip). Back to our site for a relaxing afternoon, enjoying the scenery out back of the camper and the shade.
The sites have been filling up as the afternoon goes on. Not only is this weekend Labor Day but also here at Breaks it's the weekend of their big Gospel Music Festival. Three full days of gospel. The campground is supposed to be totally booked along with the overflow area. I think it's a good thing that we are heading out tomorrow.
After a big breakfast, we headed out hiking. By noon it was already getting quite hot, so we kept it fairly short. We started out on Grassy Overlook Trail which indeed took us to a viewpoint where we could see the road into the park. Given this location, the hiking trails were rocky, with lots of ups and downs.
We covered only about 2 1/2 miles, but that was enough on a warm day (one of the warmest of the trip). Back to our site for a relaxing afternoon, enjoying the scenery out back of the camper and the shade.
The sites have been filling up as the afternoon goes on. Not only is this weekend Labor Day but also here at Breaks it's the weekend of their big Gospel Music Festival. Three full days of gospel. The campground is supposed to be totally booked along with the overflow area. I think it's a good thing that we are heading out tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)