Treasures along the '76 BikeCentennial Trail

9 June 2009 Blowing Rock, NC to Dublin, VA (Claytor Lake State Park) 133 miles



Pictures L to R: Christmas Trees in NC and Virginia; Henry wants a "pop"!; Peggy doing her computer thing...disregard the bad hair...this is after showers and no hair dryer!



















We left the Blue Ridge Parkway today…actually we didn’t have a choice because there was road repair/construction on the parkway itself. The detour took us down into Boone, NC, home of ASU- Appalachian State University. The detour took us through some beautiful countryside…rolling hills…hills filled with Christmas trees. We’ve decided that Northwest North Carolina and Southwest Virginia must be the Christmas tree supplier for the southeastern seaboard like Oregon and Washington is for California. We passed acres and acres of Christmas trees! Most of the day detoured off the parkway, and we decided since we were off of it, and it was supposed to rain in the mountains the rest of the week, we would stay off of it and make our way up into Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley.

We stopped at the visitors center in Wytheville, VA and picked up some great information for Virginia. As we headed out of town, we picked up the old highway that goes from Florida to Pennsylvania. It is also part of the Transamerica Bike Trail that Peggy and her mom rode on during their bicycle trip across Virginia—30 some years ago. We ultimately made our way to Claytor Lake State Park for the night where we virtually had the campground loop to ourselves…I guess that is what happens when there is a 40% chance of rain. We set up camp, ate leftovers for dinner, and before we knew it, it was bedtime! Henry did take some time to play around…he was not happy that we wouldn’t let him have and soda before bed!

10 June 2009 Dublin, VA to Greenville, VA 153 miles

Pictures L to R: Claytor Lake Campground; Downtown Lexington, VA; Washington and Lee Univerisity in Lexington, VA; The Bikecentennial Trail sign

Another quiet day of driving…working our way up the valley…stopping at antique malls on and off as we passed them. We did find an original 1920’s era marcasite necklace and screw back earrings—stamped sterling—at what we think was a great price. Once again we found ourselves following the bike trail on and off, through some of the actual cities Peg had ridden—Radford, Christiansburg, Troutville, Buchanan, and Lexington. When we reached Lexington, we stopped and visited the museum and chapel at Washington and Lee University, which is where General Robert E. Lee and his family are buried, as well as his horse Traveler, which carried him through countless battles throughout the Civil War.

Civil War Trivia…Did you know…?

…that George Washington and Robert E. Lee were related? Robert E. Lee married a descendent of George Washington’s step-granddaughter.

…that President Lincoln offered Robert E. Lee full command of the Army of the Potomoc at the beginning of the Civil War? However, Lee’s loyalties were to the State of Virginia first, and he declined that command, and instead assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia.

We are testing providence that we will have a fourth night without rain…even though there are thunderstorms around us…and are camped at Stoney Creek Campground in Greenville, VA, just off Highway 11 (just south of Staunton, VA). We’ve had a few sprinkles, but so far our luck has held out.