Yesterday Peggy was feeling a little under the weather so we hung around the trailer all day while allergens had fun with Peg’s sinuses. Today, however, her ailments were down to a manageable level so we went exploring. We fiddled around a little in the town of Buchanan which has some nice houses with gorgeous architecture and got some fuel before heading up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our quest for today was to cruise from where we are at about milepost 90 southwest down to Smart View at milepost 155, the furthest north we had gone from Fancy Gap. The road from Buchanan to the Parkway is short but very twisty and there are no straight sections because the road follows a creek. In about 5 miles we went up nearly 1300 feet.
As expected, the scenery along the way was terrific. On the southeast side of the Parkway we could look 1500 or 2000 feet down into Virginia. On the northwest side, we could peer down into the Great Valley which runs all the way from northern Alabama to Washington, D.C. I-81 now runs down the center of the valley. There are flowers everywhere, even in the massive rhodies and Mimosa trees. Crepe Myrtles also contribute to the riot of flowers. We spotted many ground hogs and quite a few deer in addition to a myriad of colorful songbirds.
Once we got to Smart View, we reversed course for about 3 miles and then dropped off the Blue Ridge into south central Virginia for some failed dead reckoning form of navigation. Along the way, we did find the Booker T. Washington National Monument where Booker was born into slavery. He fooled everyone and became a leader for his people, despite whitey’s efforts to hold him back.
Due to the nature of Virginia roads, it is very difficult to go anywhere because the roads are almost circular while being serpentine. To go east, one must travel almost every direction except east to get to the destination. For quite some time, I was not entirely sure where we were because our GPS unit, our road atlas and Virginia highway signs all refer to roads by different designations. We ultimately made it back home but I’ll be damned if I could tell you how we did it.
We took a few photos along the way. To see them, click here