We slid out onto the Blue Ridge Parkway again today, this time going south. We started out at Fancy Gap Cabins and Campground where we are currently set up and headed for the North Carolina border. There are tons of flowers along the roads and the rhododendrons are in bloom. Our first stop was at the Blue Ridge Music Center where I had an emergency loaf pinch and Peggy picked up some CDs of local hillbilly music. I felt much better but I haven’t heard the music yet.
A few miles further south, we turned off on a side road and headed for the town of Galax which I seem to remember as a planet in the old Superman comics. It turned out to be a nice, small city with some gorgeous architecture, particularly the residential construction. There is also quite a bit of Americana and yard art strewn about the area. We even found a Borg. We also passed a house called the J. Sidna Allen house which was the home of a early 20th Century lunatic who shot off a cop’s finger and then was involved in a massive shootout at the courthouse when he did not agree with the length of his sentence. Four people were killed, nineteen wounded. Bullet holes can still be found in the walls of the courthouse. J.Sidna escaped for a while but he and his son were ultimately electrocuted for being bad. The local historical society got possession of the house recently and promptly built a foundation beneath it since the house was originally built directly on the dirt.
We returned pretty early in the day to replace one of our trailer downspouts and, as usual, I substantially underestimated the amount of time it would take to finish all the work. We finished up around 7:30, just in time to notice the other rear corner of our trailer needed to have some work done on it before it got ugly. I suspect we will finish the work tomorrow but, considering my recent labor estimates, don’t bet on it.
To see today’s pix, click here