Blue Ridge Parkway, 0 to 45

Sasha wasn't well last night, but seemed to feel better this morning. We think she ate something that hasn't agreed with her. She loves to taste her way along her walks, and often snatches up something even though we've learned to watch her like hawks.

As Sasha and I took our morning walk, we saw a beautiful butterfly just outside the door of the motorhome.

In view of that, we decided to take her with us on a short drive along the northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We joined the parkway at milepost zero near Waynesboro, Virginia. Our first stop was at milepost 6 to visit the Humpback Rocks Visitors Center and farm. A short trail leads to The Rocks, whose rounded appearance gives the area it's name.

Also at the Visitors Center is a placement of original buildings that shows how farm life was in the late 18th century. A sunny meadow invites the visitor to run through the grass!

Along with more butterflies, log cabins are set along a small creek.

These cabins have been meticulously moved from their original locations and set up near the Visitors Center in precisely the same manner as they were originally. Every one has been researched, numbered, and documented, so their history is well known. All are original to this immediate area.

Under threatening skies, we continued along the Parkway, past Twenty Minute Cliff, and on to Whetstone Ridge. This area provided many a pioneer with fine grained sharpening material! At Yankee Horse Ridge we stopped to read about a hard riding Union soldier's horse falling and needing to be shot. Across the street to the west we got some of our first glimpses of the great Shenandoah Valley.

Bounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains on the east, the Appalachians to the west, the Potomac River to the north, and the James River to the south, this valley was first occupied by the Iroquois indian tribes, and then explored and mapped by europeans in the late 1700's. In 1743, the Iroquois sold their interest in the valley for 100 pounds sterling, and completed the sale in 1744 for an additional 200 pounds in gold, where "pound" refers to the English system of monetary counting.

In the 19th century, the Shenandoah Valley became know as the Breadbasket of the Confederacy, and was considered so important to the war effort that two major Confederate campaigns were executed in the valley, and eventually a Union effort cleared the valley of rebel forces by using scorched earth tactics.

Just past Whites Gap Overlook, at 2567 feet, we took our last look at the Blue Ridge mountains from the crest. The mountain shapes had changed a bit, becoming a bit more angular, but were still beautiful.

At milepost 45, we bailed off the east side of the Parkway and made our way to Amherst, where we picked up our friend, US 29. That's the highway that took us to our somewhat disenchanting visit to the Charlottesville KOA a couple of days ago. A westward bend on VA 6 took us to Misty Mountain RV Park, where we settled in to comfort Sasha, who has not been particularly happy today. She is obviously not 100%, so we are keeping a close eye on her, and may have to visit a local veterinary. We'll hope for the best, of course.

Another 126 mile day trip, but one that we enjoyed. The scenery along the Blue Ridge Parkway is something not to be missed!