Blue Ridge Parkway Adventures

Sights to See Along Virginia's Ridgetop Highway


The Tree of Life at Twenty Minutes Cliff, mp 19.


White Rock Falls is a short hike from the Parkway...

Just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway near milepost 20 you will find The Slacks Overlook. Park here and cross the parkway for a wonderful short hike (about 2.5 miles round trip) to White Rock Falls. This is one of the prettiest waterfalls in our part of the world, and a great hike.

After crossing the parkway, you will need to wander North along the road for a bit to find the trailhead. The path will enter a world of laurel thickets and rhododendron. In early June this can be beautiful!

Soon you will find yourself following the stream that feeds the falls as it cascades down. There are cliffs to explore as well. After a good rain the falls can be pretty impressive.


...and rhododendron and laurel abound on the trail to the falls.

Breaking Through the Clouds at Raven's Roost

Sunlight Illuminating the Mountains of Big Levels


"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." -- Isaiah 9:2

Winter Blue Ridge Mountain Majesty

Sunshine on Winter Ice Outlines Hidden Ridgetops








I have walked many of the ridges and coves that were magically highlighted by the Winter storm. As the morning light played along the folds of the mountains, I recalled many a good walk!

Abbott Lake from Peaks of Otter Lodge

The Japanese Bridge on the Lake Trail


The touch of a Japanese garden greets visitors to Peaks of Otter Lodge...


...and Sharp Top Mountain completes the magic.


The trail to the top of Sharp Top Mountain has some magic of its own.

Sharp Top, Virginia's Fuji

View from Abbott Lake Recalls a Japanese Scene


The Symmetry of Sharp Top as seen from Abbott Lake...

“From Otter's summit, Virginia's loftiest peak, To crown a monument To Virginia's noblest son.” -- Inscription from the Virginia Stone in the Washington Monument.


...and her rugged summit call to mind Japan's Fuji.


The stone steps seem like something from Tolkein's stories.

Once thought to be the highest peak in Virginia, Sharp Top stone was used to carve the Virginia stone in the Washington Monument, which was completed in 1884. The engraved stone block recognizes 3,875-foot Sharp Top Mountain as Virginia's highest peak. Later it was thought that 4463-foot Elliott's Knob in Augusta County was the highest. More sophisticated measuring techniques confirmed that 5,729-foot Mount Rogers was indeed Virginia's Highest Mountain.

A 3.2 mile round-trip hike takes you to the top and back.


Boulders at the summit.








A shelter is nestled in the rocks near the top.




Abbott Lake and Peaks of Otter Lodge are seen in the distance.

Happy Hinamatsuri 雛祭り

Greetings for Japanese 'Girl's Day'


My cousin wished everybody "Happy Hinamatsuri" on her Facebook yesterday. Fitting, as my wife and I were spending some time at Sharp Top at Peaks of Otter. From Abbott Lake the mountain's symmetry is reminiscent of Fuji.

Winter Scene in the Mountains

Icicles Along the Blue Ridge Parkway


Cold temperatures create a wonderland by the roadside.

A Walk to White Rock Falls

Autumn Turning to Winter with Fresh Snowfall


Autumn leaves create a pattern of ripples in the stream below the falls.

I hiked to White Rock Falls [click to read] on Sunday. This is a relatively short hike from the Blue Ridge Parkway to a beautiful watefall.

Autumn Color Begins on the Parkway

The Mountains Take on a bit of Color


Raven's Roost Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Snow Along the Blue Ridge Parkway

A Cold Morning on a Closed Stretch of the Parkway


It's under twenty degrees. The road is closed and the bright silent Winter morning is remarkable.

White Rock Falls

On the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Slacks Overlook


This waterfall is about a mile's walk hiking from the overlook.

Ice and Snow on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Three Weeks After the Big Snow it is Still Closed


The gate has been closed for three weeks now.


The going is slick, even on foot...


...unless you walk in the deep snow.


Humpback Mountain is five miles away.


The snow on the road still has a lot of melting to do.


The cliffs are icy too...


...with formations that look like bridal veils.

Here are some thoughts from SWAC Girl about Dr. Neil Frank [click to read].

Dr.Frank says: "Now that Copenhagen is past history, what is the next step in the man-made global warming controversy? Without question, there should be an immediate and thorough investigation of the scientific debauchery revealed by “Climategate.”

The hacked emails from the Climate Research Unit of the United Kingdom's University of East Anglia show a pattern of surpressing dissenters to the theory of choice -- in this case 'global warming.'

In an editorial entitled Climategate: You Should be Steamed [click to read] Dr. Frank points out just how serious this propagation of a myth has become.

Mountain Top Living

More Thoughts on the Village at Afton


Stratton Mountain Village.

Lynn [SWAC Girl] writes:

Bob, another thought. In your sketchings you had buildings that looked like apartments? If there was year-round housing there it would be more viable. I realize having a gas station and restaurant are seasonal if that's all that's there ... BUT ... if people lived there (and it's but a short hop down the mountain to Waynesboro or Charlottesville), those places would get year-round business.

There are SO many possibilities for Afton and you are correct ... it takes someone with a vision. I would think investors would back Mr. Delaney in this venture because so many people want mountain property.

It may have to wait a bit to get started due to the economy ... but that would give time for planning. I love it!


Stratton Mountain Village in Vermont.


Condominium interior at Wintergreen. Living at the Village at Afton could be very nice indeed!

Share Your Thoughts at Our Facebook Page [click to read].

What do you think the Village at Afton should include? Comment Here.

The Gap at Rockfish

A World-Class Entrance to Shenandoah National Park,
The Blue Ridge Parkway, Waynesboro and the Valley


The abandoned motels at Rockfish Gap.


It reminds me of Sarijevo after the war.


Rusty water tower above the Inn at Afton.

In earlier times it was the site of a busy Howard Johnsons and a Holiday Inn. Exit 99 on Interstate 64 was actually the preferred exit for Wintergreen before the road up the mountain was upgraded. Indeed one would have predicted a bright future for businesses located at the Southern entrance to Shenandoah National Park, the Northern terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the gateway to the beautiful Valley of Virginia. Today the area has fallen into ruin. Even the Afton Convenience Store is closed and the Visitors' Center is going away to a modular trailer. With the 75th anniversary of the Skyline drive approaching in 2011, it is time to think about revitalizing this important place.

SWAC Girl Comments on the Crumbling Complex as Well [click to read]. In fact, her writing about it sparked this creative exercise in the first place. Could it be successful? There are many existing examples of similar projcts that are popular destinations. Rendering it has already taken me through some very loose programming and business model analysis.

So imagine the fog lifting one morning to reveal a new 'Village at Afton.' A bit of Tyrolean culture in Rockfish Gap. It is not so out of the question.


Today...


...tomorrow!

The new buildings pretty much fit into the footprint of the old complex. Hopefully that would minimize site preparation.


The rusty water tower becomes a baroque chapel. The steeple houses a cellular tower.


Cobblestones and cafes!


The new Visitors' Center is marked by this camponile.


A new roof gives an Alpine flavor to the Inn at Afton. The Inn provides economy lodging for travellers and housing for seasonal workers at the Village.


New service station and market.

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