Zombies (7/27/2023)

“It must be the zombie apocalypse” was our reaction, while sitting in the parking lot of the Burger King in Hillsville, Virginia. A sirens was going off, an ambulance was coming by, various fire engines, and not to count the large number of police cars. We were on our first real camping trip in our van; post retirement. Somewhat of a dress rehearsal for our coming trip across country, and also just our first real vacation. (By the way, I am borrowing the zombie apocalypse metaphor from Nigel Saunders from the Bonsai Zone who always uses that phrase when he hears a siren.)

We left home on Monday morning for the Rocky Knob Camp Ground on the Blue Ridge Parkway, just outside Floyd. We planned to stay there two nights, knowing well that there would be no electric hookups; water was available at the restrooms. In other words, camping was relatively primitive. It proved to be delightfully true when we got there. It was a larger campground than expected, and the camping spots were fine. It took a bit of adjusting to get a somewhat level site, but by the second night we were fine. We had taken the van out to go to a magnificent hiking spot (more about this a little later), followed by lunch at a winery and a visit to Floyd which was downhill from the campground. So, when we returned, we had learned our lesson and parked the van at a more level position.

After two nights, we packed up and drove to Grayson Highland State Park. Their campground is much more developed; it has running water and electricity. Spots are tighter together, and here again, partially because of my choice and because of the vehicle, getting a perfectly level (sleeping) site was difficult. However, the second night was a charm. We stayed in the park, did some magnificent hiking and after two nights, we moved to Highland County to visit friends where we camped in their driveway but ate and showered in their home. My wife even managed to break their toilet seat cover. The following day we drove home.

What amazed me the most about both camp grounds was that they had volunteer hosts. These were older couples in their 70s and 80s who stay at the place for free and help with hospitality and in the camp store (if there is one). Something to consider.

The hiking:

In the Rocky Knob Recreation Area, we did the Rock Castle Gorge Trail the first day. We only did the lower part, approximately 2.8 miles each way, although our FitBits told us it was closer to 3 miles (so 6 miles total). It is an absolutely gorgeous trail. A fairly moderate hike (on the easy side of moderate in our eyes), with some nice up hills and vistas along a wild creek. It was extremely enjoyable. We topped it off with that visit to the Chateau Morrisette Winery for a glass of cold white wine and a cheese plate for lunch. The winery is very dog friendly; I highly recommend a visit to this winery. The location, vistas, layout and the wine a super.

On our way out, on the second day we walked the 3-mile Black Ridge Trail. This trail was also very nice, somewhat slightly more challenging, but very pleasant with some nice vistas. This trail has much more variability in the landscape; however, both trails in this area were great.

In Grayson Highland we only walked one trail. The 3.7-mile Stamper’s Branch Trail kicked our butt; however, it was great! With the 3.7 miles I mean that the trail is actually only about 1.9 miles each way and it leads from the camp ground to the visitor’s center. The trail has an elevation gain of close to 900 feet and let me tell you, these 70-year-old knees felt it. Moreover, coming from sea level, I noticed that we peaked at an elevation of almost 5000 feet. Grayson Highland is near Mount Rogers, Virginia’s highest mountain. I enjoyed the types of vegetation we hiked through and we even saw a bear in the far distance.

So how did my bonsais fare while we were gone? I had received a LinkTap Wi-Fi watering timer what is called a “tap linker”. This is a Wi-Fi water timer that opens a valve to a hose on which I had two sprinklers mounted. I had the sprinklers go on every morning for 20 minutes. Let me tell you, from the looks of it my plants loved it. They look lush and in much better shape compared to when I water them by hand. Thank goodness, my neighbor Bob was also looking out for them, and all was good.

In all, we had a successful trip. We now feel much more comfortable and want to do again. Living the retired life! Not like zombies.

Our Rocky Knob camp site.  Somewhat primitive, but very pleasant.

Our first hike.  It was a nice tail along a stream.

Chateau Morrisette Winery.  Our cheese palte after a nice hike.  A great way to recover.

The view on the hike of our second day (departure day) on Rocky Knob.

Our Grayson Highland Hike.  The stream crossing.

Roanoke (5/6/2015)

It's been a long week of travel and teaching my stormwater and erosion and sediment control classes,  but it does get me out there and see different places.  I decided to stop in Roanoke on my way to my next destination: Rocky Mount.  In the past I was generally disappointed by the dining possibilities in Rocky Mount,  so I thought I had a great excuse to do a bit of hiking in the Roanoke Mountain area and grab a nice dinner afterwards.  (FYI, Rocky Mount has now gotten a great new place for lunch and dinner that I was not aware of before my visit this week, it is down town near the farmers market.)

I have hiked in the area before, I was looking forward to a nice hike after a full day of teaching.  Googleling (is that a word?) hiking in Roanoke I decided to hike at least part of the Chestnut Trail.  Getting there is relatively easy; I got there via the Blue Ridge Parkway.   Reading the website of the hike I read now that you need to park in the "Overlook "parking lot,  which I did not do.  I drove on the to the picknick/camping area.   I would vote against that since it seems that there is anative entrance fee to that area.

The part of the trail that I hiked was nice.  My only gripe was that the trail was not well marked and that there were too many unmarked side trails.  However it was very intuitive and I never got lost thanks to my smartphone and Google maps which has the trail maps on it.

If you are in the area, a visit to Roanoke Mountain is a must.  You have some great views of the surrounding area from this mountain.   Weather was coming in during my visit this time, so I cut my visit short and went to dinner.

Dinner at Montano's was great as usual, and my drive to Rocky Mount was exciting with all the gorgeous lightning and heavy rain.

Blue Ridge Parkway (10/15/2014)

Having to travel out to the western part of the state, we decided that it did not matter what time we arrived at our motel, so we took the Blue Ridge Parkway to our destination.  It was just after a rain, and the fall colors were in their full glory.  Below are some pictures I took on my way down to Roanoke from Afton Pass.

The pictures below give you an idea of the vistas and just simply nice areas we passed by.  We crossed the James River, which was flowing lazily underneath the bridge that is posted here as well.  There is a restored lock on the other side, and that really amazes me, the human effort that was put into getting transport up these types of river.  The other photographs are some beautiful pictures of fall colors and a wall near the visitor's center near the Afton Pass.  It was a great dive and wonderful to see nature in its full glory.