Virginia to North Carolina
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Bandit's Roost Campground: We packed up and left our forest oasis and headed for kayak territory. We stopped at North Wilkesboro to pay tennis where it was sunny and hot. This campground is on the Kerr Reservoir. Our site didn't get shade until the late afternoon and it was way HOT.
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3 May, Tuesday - it was a beautiful early morning kayak on the reservoir while it was cool and quiet. There were a few fishermen but no loud boats. The reservoir has lots of coves and inlets to explore. Later we saw some bass boats with huge engines as well as the small trolling motor. There must have been some kind of fishing contest as we watched a bunch of boats scream out of a launch site all at the same time headed in all directions. By 11:00 it was too hot and we were very happy for the AC! We tried tennis in Wilkesboro around 5:00 but it was still sunny and hot. We found a Food Lion for groceries and bought some cold things for dinner as it was too hot to cook. A thunderstorm in the late afternoon and at night brought some coolness, but not too much.
4 May, Wednesday - another early morning kayak in the opposite direction from yesterday toward the dam then home to hunker down with the AC in the heat of the day. We decided to leave a day earlier than planned and head back to the mountains. There was a cooling trend predicted, so now we might be cold! This campground had an electronic code for entry which was different than we had seen elsewhere. At around 5:00 we walked/hiked 2 1/2 hour roundtrip to Berry Mountain Park along the shore of the reservoir. There were a lot of switchbacks to cross inlets from the lake. It was a nice trail, mainly for mountain bikes, hot but not too uncomfortable. We would up at Berry Mt. Park looking directly across the water for our campground - so close by water and so far by land! We had a great dinner of chicken, broccoli and rice.
4 May, Wednesday - another early morning kayak in the opposite direction from yesterday toward the dam then home to hunker down with the AC in the heat of the day. We decided to leave a day earlier than planned and head back to the mountains. There was a cooling trend predicted, so now we might be cold! This campground had an electronic code for entry which was different than we had seen elsewhere. At around 5:00 we walked/hiked 2 1/2 hour roundtrip to Berry Mountain Park along the shore of the reservoir. There were a lot of switchbacks to cross inlets from the lake. It was a nice trail, mainly for mountain bikes, hot but not too uncomfortable. We would up at Berry Mt. Park looking directly across the water for our campground - so close by water and so far by land! We had a great dinner of chicken, broccoli and rice.
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New River State Park: 5 May, Thursday - We did some early morning tennis in the cool of the day, had breakfast and packed up to leave. We checked out a day early and the system automatically credited our account - so simple! While heading to New River State Park, going up a mountain smoke starts to billow our of the engine! Luckily there is a perfect, wide pullout spot to stop. Billy says it looks like transmission fluid coming out. We called AAA and found out a bit late that our car is covered for towing, but the trailer is not. We never thought to check on that! There are nice, helpful people on the phone and they arrange for a flatbed truck to put the car on and tow the trailer behind. A call to a repair shop lets us know that, surprisingly, they would be able to look at the car today! While waiting we admired the spectacular view as we were almost to the top of the mountain and only 2 miles short of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
A super friendly young man puts the car on the flatbed, hooks up the trailer and takes us about 8 miles into the town of West Jefferson, NC. It turned out to be a great repair shop with skilled technicians and personable manager. Turned out the that transmission fluid had been overfilled (not sure when and how that happened!), the fluid got hot and came up the breather tube and all over the hot manifold. The repair people got the transmission fluid to the correct level, cleaned off the overflow fluid and took it for a good test drive. The whole ordeal took 4-5 hours, but we were back on the road the same day!!! We arrived at New River State Park to an over-the-top visitor center, beautiful campsites and a bath house that looks like a spa. There were only 20 RV sites so it was not crowded and all spots were private and meticulous. We decided to park it and stay for 8 nights. Whew!! Time for dinner and bed. |
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The New River: The New River is an ancient river system, the oldest on the North American continent and second only to the Nile River in Africa as the oldest river in the world. It begins as two streams in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, before merging into the New River four miles from the Virginia line. And therein lies another quirk of this ancient river – it flows northward rather than southward like most of the other major rivers along the eastern seaboard. It meanders some 160 miles through the counties of Grayson, Carroll, Wythe, Pulaski, Montgomery and Giles in Virginia before it turns into Bluestone Lake in West Virginia and emerges later as the Kanawha River at the Gauley Bridge. The New River ends its metamorphosis when it empties into the great Mississippi River. (from https://dwr.virginia.gov/waterbody/new-river/)
The name "New River" came as early explorers came across the river that was not on their map, so they named it the "New River". |
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6 May, Friday: After our breakdown adventure yesterday, we had a slow start to the morning then went shopping in the town of West Jefferson. We visited the local cheese factory where we watched a good video of the cheese production, but they had finished for the day so didn't get to see it in person. We had no idea that North Carolina grows most of the Xmas trees for the US - there are hillsides and hillsides of them. There was a whopping thunderstorm with hail at night and REALLY loud in the camper - so glad we weren't in a tent!
7 May, Saturday: There were lovely trails in the park and took a morning jog. It was a lazy day as it rained all afternoon. We looked at kayaking options and drove to Dusty Trails Outfitters and found out that they could take us up river and then we can paddle back to our car, so we planned to schedule that for the coming week. We purchased 2 kayak leashes, a toaster! and sent out a travel update of family and friends.
8 May, Sunday: No rain today, but cool temps. We hiked in the West Jefferson National Area - about 5 miles with a nice overview of the towns below and hills in the distance. A snack at Taco Bell is always welcome after hiking. We play some tennis on the good courts at the high school. It was Mother's Day and phone calls and texts made the day special. Friends responding to the travel update was fun to read.
9 May, Monday: We tried to kayak upstream - holy, moly - talk about going nowhere!!
10 May, Tuesday: Dusty Trails Outfitters shuttled us 8 miles upriver. The driver was a very personable young man whose family had been in the area since the early 1800's. As we paddled downstream there were small rapids every 10-15 minutes that we had to try and figure out how to maneuver around without hitting a rock or running aground as this is a very shallow river. Our kayaks are christened repeatedly! There was a lovely lunch stop on a tiny island in the middle of the river. One class 2 rapid got our heart rates up, but it was over very quickly! A fun adventure for sure.
11 May, Wednesday: We were up early to get the car to the repair shop to do an optional repair which ended up taking all morning. We had a brunch at the Hill Billy Grill which as OK, then did laundry, grocery shopping and walked around the upscale, touristy town of West Jefferson. There were many colorful murals throughout the town - loved them! "Lotta Doughnut" had been recommended to us, but unfortunately was closed. On the way back to camp we stopped and played a bit of tennis.
12 May, Thursday: Our plan was to ride on the Virginia Creeper Rail Trail. Many people do the other half of the trail, they get shuttled up to Whitetop Station and ride the big downhill to Damascus. We decided to ride the other half starting in Damascus and riding to Abingdon - about a 32 mile round trip. The GPS takes us on a ridiculous journey on gravel roads, up and down mountains! The town of Damascus is jumping as it is getting ready for their huge 3 day "Trail Days" event as the Appalachian Trail goes right through town. There were hikers, bikers, goat on a leash, craft tents getting set up, sound systems, tourists, dogs... The rail trail is great!!! It goes through varied territory, along the river, next to farm fields, through the forest. It is good hard-packed surface and was not crowded. This stretch is pretty level or slight incline with only the last 4 miles up hill to Abingdon. We stumbled upon a little Greek restaurant and had the most delicious Greek Nachos - fried, thick pita bread with cheese, jalapeños, tomatoes, and tzatziki dipping sauce - perfect bike food! The ride back is mostly downhill. Driving back we get lost and 10 miles our of our way and have to retrace another 10 miles, so we didn't get home until about 8:00. We prepared the camp for rain and for leaving the next day, eat some dinner and fall into bed.
We met lovely people at this campground - the couple from Florida that we had "fire time" with, the family from Charlotte, friendly lady from PA at the visitor center, the men at the repair shop, the owner of Dusty Trails Outfitters...
7 May, Saturday: There were lovely trails in the park and took a morning jog. It was a lazy day as it rained all afternoon. We looked at kayaking options and drove to Dusty Trails Outfitters and found out that they could take us up river and then we can paddle back to our car, so we planned to schedule that for the coming week. We purchased 2 kayak leashes, a toaster! and sent out a travel update of family and friends.
8 May, Sunday: No rain today, but cool temps. We hiked in the West Jefferson National Area - about 5 miles with a nice overview of the towns below and hills in the distance. A snack at Taco Bell is always welcome after hiking. We play some tennis on the good courts at the high school. It was Mother's Day and phone calls and texts made the day special. Friends responding to the travel update was fun to read.
9 May, Monday: We tried to kayak upstream - holy, moly - talk about going nowhere!!
10 May, Tuesday: Dusty Trails Outfitters shuttled us 8 miles upriver. The driver was a very personable young man whose family had been in the area since the early 1800's. As we paddled downstream there were small rapids every 10-15 minutes that we had to try and figure out how to maneuver around without hitting a rock or running aground as this is a very shallow river. Our kayaks are christened repeatedly! There was a lovely lunch stop on a tiny island in the middle of the river. One class 2 rapid got our heart rates up, but it was over very quickly! A fun adventure for sure.
11 May, Wednesday: We were up early to get the car to the repair shop to do an optional repair which ended up taking all morning. We had a brunch at the Hill Billy Grill which as OK, then did laundry, grocery shopping and walked around the upscale, touristy town of West Jefferson. There were many colorful murals throughout the town - loved them! "Lotta Doughnut" had been recommended to us, but unfortunately was closed. On the way back to camp we stopped and played a bit of tennis.
12 May, Thursday: Our plan was to ride on the Virginia Creeper Rail Trail. Many people do the other half of the trail, they get shuttled up to Whitetop Station and ride the big downhill to Damascus. We decided to ride the other half starting in Damascus and riding to Abingdon - about a 32 mile round trip. The GPS takes us on a ridiculous journey on gravel roads, up and down mountains! The town of Damascus is jumping as it is getting ready for their huge 3 day "Trail Days" event as the Appalachian Trail goes right through town. There were hikers, bikers, goat on a leash, craft tents getting set up, sound systems, tourists, dogs... The rail trail is great!!! It goes through varied territory, along the river, next to farm fields, through the forest. It is good hard-packed surface and was not crowded. This stretch is pretty level or slight incline with only the last 4 miles up hill to Abingdon. We stumbled upon a little Greek restaurant and had the most delicious Greek Nachos - fried, thick pita bread with cheese, jalapeños, tomatoes, and tzatziki dipping sauce - perfect bike food! The ride back is mostly downhill. Driving back we get lost and 10 miles our of our way and have to retrace another 10 miles, so we didn't get home until about 8:00. We prepared the camp for rain and for leaving the next day, eat some dinner and fall into bed.
We met lovely people at this campground - the couple from Florida that we had "fire time" with, the family from Charlotte, friendly lady from PA at the visitor center, the men at the repair shop, the owner of Dusty Trails Outfitters...
